Profilo
Dennis W. Hillier concentrates his practice on real estate, corporate, hospitality, and club membership matters, with a particular focus on the development and implementation of private club membership programs and the legal infrastructure supporting residential and resort communities.
For more than 40 years, Dennis has designed over 1,900 membership programs for developments located throughout the United States, Europe, Caribbean, Mexico, South America, Africa, and the Middle East. His experience includes membership structures associated with golf clubs, country clubs, tennis facilities, equestrian communities, yacht clubs, social clubs, ski clubs, resort developments, residential cruise ships, and other recreational and hospitality-oriented properties.
Dennis advises developers, owners, and operators regarding club membership programs, including equity and non-equity membership structures, membership rights and privileges, recreational access arrangements, governance provisions, resort rental programs, and operational agreements.
His practice also includes preparing and negotiating the legal documentation associated with residential, resort, and master-planned communities. This work includes homeowners association (HOA) documents, property owners association (POA) documents, declarations of restrictive covenants, community governance documents, sales contracts, and real estate acquisition and disposition agreements.
In addition, Dennis has experience preparing management agreements, operational agreements, franchise agreements, financing and refinancing documents, and recreational access agreements for hospitality and resort properties.
His work has involved developments ranging from residential communities and private clubs to large-scale resort and master-planned community projects throughout the United States and internationally.
Concentrations
- Recreation and hospitality practice
- Real estate
- Corporate
- Taxation
- Contracts
- Land Development associated with master planned communities and resorts
Competenze
Esperienze Professionali - Attività Accademiche
- Represented developers in selling more than 200 clubs to the members by converting the club to an equity club that owns and operates the club facilities.
- Created club membership programs that have enabled developers to recoup their investment in recreational facilities in conjunction with real estate and club membership sales.
- Designed and created club membership programs that are an integral part of private residence clubs.
- Obtained significant rulings and Technical Advice Memoranda from the Internal Revenue Service indicating that certain types of membership deposits paid by members to acquire a club membership are nontaxable loans and are not subject to interest imputation requirements.
- Obtained no action letters from the Securities and Exchange Commission and state securities agencies indicating that club membership programs do not require a securities registration.
- Represented owners and developers with regard to hotel franchise and management agreements.
- Represented lenders in the securitization of loans regarding club membership programs.
- Created a database, including market research, regarding more than 4,000 clubs and golf courses that are used for recommending amenity strategies and designing club membership programs.
- Developed long-term business strategies for developers, resort owners and companies in the golf and club industry.
- Club marketing group developed marketing plans for clubs, and conducted training sessions to instruct club sales personnel in implementing sales and marketing strategies.
- Legal Writing Instructor, University of Florida Levin College of Law
Riconoscimenti e Premi
- Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, Real Estate Law, 2007-2026
- Listed, Who's Who Legal, Hospitality, 2024
- Team Member, a Law360 “Hospitality Practice Group of the Year,” 2021
- Team Member, Chambers & Partners USA Real Estate Law Firm of the Year, 2010, 2013, 2017-2018, and 2022
- Team Member, a U.S. News - Best Lawyers®, "Law Firm of the Year" in Real Estate Law, 2015
- Team Member, The Legal 500 United States, "Top Tier" Firm in Real Estate, 2013 and 2014
- Team Member, a Law360 "Real Estate Practice Group of the Year," 2011-2013, 2015, and 2022-2023
- Rated, AV Preeminent® 5.0 out of 5.0
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, Florida Bar Association
- Member, Palm Beach County Bar Association
- Member, Urban Land Institute
- Member, National Club Association
- Member, National Golf Foundation
Formazione
- Laurea magistrale in Giurisprudenza, University of Florida Levin College of Law
- B.S.B.A., University of Florida
- Florida