NEW YORK – Jan. 13, 2023 – Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP was recognized with six 2022 Law360 Practice Groups of the Year awards in the following categories: Construction, Environmental, Hospitality, Media & Entertainment, Product Liability, and Real Estate.
The annual awards series recognizes practice groups that worked on the biggest deals or achieved the biggest wins in the most important cases over the prior year, according to Law360.
“Our phenomenal number of awards in this series is both a recognition of the firm’s culture of collaboration and a testament to our attorneys’ commitment to helping our clients achieve their business goals,” Greenberg Traurig’s Chief Executive Officer Brian L. Duffy and Executive Chairman Richard A. Rosenbaum said in a joint statement. “The successes that Law360 recognized this year mark the culmination of years of dedicated effort on behalf of our clients, who turn to Greenberg Traurig for their most significant matters. We are proud of what we’ve accomplished and look forward to even greater achievements in the coming years.”
Real Estate, Construction, and Hospitality
Three of the six awards were won by the Real Estate Practice and two of its speciality areas – Construction Law and Hospitality. This is the sixth year that the Greenberg Traurig Real Estate team received this recognition. Hospitality won for the fourth time, and Construction is a second time honoree.
In 2022, the Real Estate team closed several multi-billion-dollar deals. Among its major representative transactions, the team advised CBRE Investment Management in its $4.9 billion acquisition of a global industrial portfolio from Hillwood Investment Properties; served as Nevada and gaming counsel for Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT) in a $5.65 billion sale-leaseback involving The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas; and guided Necessity Retail REIT’s acquisition of 81 open-air shopping centers across the United States. The team also represented SL Green, New York City’s largest office landlord, in its partnership with RXR Realty in the $1.7 billion recapitalization of 5 Times Square, a 1.1-million-sq.-ft. skyscraper in the heart of Midtown Manhattan.
The Construction Law Group’s most notable win this past year was the settlement of the class action litigation arising out of the tragic partial collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida. The firm led the defense in negotiating a $1.02 billion settlement – the second-largest class-action settlement in Florida history – within a year following the tragedy. Greenberg Traurig attorneys won a nationally significant ruling on behalf of client Triple Five Group, the developer of the $5 billion American Dream project in the New Jersey Meadowlands. The New Jersey Superior Court ruled that the state’s Prompt Payment Act does not apply when the contractor breaches the construction contract.
The Hospitality team continued to help clients navigate an industry rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic, handling complex projects for developers, investors, owners/operators, and joint ventures, including major rebranding matters, refinancing, and loan default workout matters across the United States and globally. The firm represented Swire Properties in the $174 million sale of East Miami Hotel at Brickell City Centre, one of the largest hotel transactions in South Florida since the start of the pandemic. The team also counselled BLDG Management Co., Inc. in the acquisition of the Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa via a partnership that also included Metrovest Equities and BB Living.
Product Liability
For the second consecutive year, and for the third time, Greenberg Traurig’s Products Liability & Mass Torts and Pharmaceutical, Medical Device & Healthcare Litigation groups along with the Trial Practice group were collectively recognized as Product Liability Practice Group of the Year. The team achieved a win in the Fifth Circuit for C. R. Bard, Inc. in its inferior vena cava filter litigation, including both the federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) and state court cases. The group obtained numerous victories for Medtronic as a member of the Medtronic Preferred Provider Program in its role serving as national counsel and trial counsel for product liability litigation arising from several business units, including its spinal cord stimulators. It also won final resolution of the decade-long, sprawling Chinese drywall litigation, in which the team served as Florida counsel for Taishan Gypsum Co. Ltd. and Tai’an Taishan Plasterboard Co. Ltd. for cases remanded from the federal MDL in the Eastern District of Louisiana back to the various transferor district courts in Florida and for other Florida state court cases outside the federal MDL. The group also secured a major appellate win for Teva in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, affirming the dismissal without leave to amend of all claims asserted in litigation involving the prescription drug amiodarone.
Environmental
One of the Environmental Practice’s most significant wins was the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that limited the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, in which Greenberg Traurig represented the state of North Dakota. The Environmental team also collaborated closely with the Construction group in defending the Champlain Towers South Collapse Litigation and played a lead role for the joint defense group in successfully negotiating and consummating the settlement of that litigation. Greenberg Traurig also won two decisive victories on behalf of Empire State Development that cleared the way for the $1.3 billion Belmont Park redevelopment project to proceed in New York – including the New York Islanders’ new 19,000-seat arena. Additionally, it won a major victory for Lockheed Martin in a toxic tort lawsuit brought by 45 plaintiffs in Illinois state court alleging Lockheed Martin contributed to soil and groundwater contamination in Wedron, Illinois.
Media and Entertainment
Greenberg Traurig’s Entertainment & Media Practice received international acclaim last year when it obtained a court-ordered suspension of Britney Spears’ father as conservator, leading to the termination of the superstar’s 13-year conservatorship, while also defeating his efforts to take her deposition. The practice also represented country music superstar Kenny Chesney in the sale of his recorded music catalog to Hipgnosis Song Management, its first major catalog purchase since launching a $1 billion partnership with Blackstone in 2021 to invest in songs, recorded music, music intellectual property, and royalties. Greenberg Traurig also secured a victory for leading daily newspaper publisher Gannett Co., Inc. in a high-profile defamation suit brought by plaintiff Nicholas Sandmann claiming Gannett mischaracterized his conduct towards a Native American activist at a 2019 rally. It also obtained dismissal of a Complaint filed against comedian Kathy Griffin alleging a variety of torts including defamation related to the same rally.
About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2500 attorneys in 43 locations in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm reported gross revenue of over $2 Billion for FY 2021 and is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law 100, Am Law Global 100, and NLJ 250. On the debut 2022 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard, it is a Top 15 firm. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule 5.0 Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab and the Center for Resource Solutions Green-e® Energy program certifies that the firm’s U.S. offices are 100% powered by renewable energy. The firm is often recognized for its focus on philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono. Web: www.gtlaw.com.