Hope K. Plasha has a national real estate practice that encompasses the full spectrum of property types and includes leasing, acquisitions and dispositions, construction and design contracts, complex commercial financings, development, management, and easement agreements, joint ventures, and general legal and business advice relating to strategic real estate transactions. 

Ms. Plasha is recognized by Chambers USA in the area of Real Estate: Mainly Dirt – New York. Clients quoted in Chambers praise her for bringing “a level of knowledge, expertise, service, pragmatism, and common sense that is rare, exceptional and highly valued." They note, "Hope is incredibly capable, innovative, savvy, tenacious, and a creative problem-solver."

In 2024, Ms. Plasha was named to Lawdragon's list of 500 Leading Global Real Estate Lawyers. She is a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and a member of the Advisory Board of the Advanced Commercial Leasing Institute. In 2021, Ms. Plasha was named to the National Law Journal’s list of Real Estate/Construction Law Trailblazers and in 2022 was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America®.

She has particular experience with international real estate, serving as outside real estate general counsel for a global media company in most of its property matters worldwide (including transactions in over 37 different countries).

Ms. Plasha also has worked extensively with tax-exempt organizations to address their unique real estate concerns—including a number of NYC’s most renowned cultural, medical, and educational institutions.

Representative Matters

Extensive commercial leasing experience representing landlords and tenants in the negotiation of office, retail, industrial, and warehouse leases, both in the United States and internationally (including a private educational institution in the leasing and development of multiple school campuses throughout the United States and in major financial centers around the globe (including Brazil, China, Qatar, Mexico City, London, and elsewhere), a hospital system in the leasing of a 500,000 sq. ft. office, a landlord in the leasing of 150,000 sq. ft. to a major law firm, a professional school in the net leasing of 60,000 square feet of classroom and laboratory space, an international company in the leasing of a Hong Kong warehouse for product distribution, the net lease of 200,000 sq. ft. of incubator space to a technology company in Cairo, and a fashion retailer in the negotiation of numerous store leases (including flagship locations in New York, Tokyo, Honolulu, and Palm Beach)).

Representing owners, investors, and developers in the acquisition, disposition, and development of property and in the structuring of joint ventures (including the sale of a high-profile development site near the U.N. Headquarters in New York City, the development of a complicated site in Midtown Manhattan (including acquisition, financing, and the negotiation of management agreements), and the acquisition and development of various commercial properties throughout the United States for an international insurance company and its local partners)).

Negotiating various design and construction contracts on behalf of owners and developers, including “Green Building” projects (e.g., the construction of a build-to-suit U.S. headquarters for a Japanese medical research company, the build-out of 80,000 sq. ft. of office space for a law firm, the construction of an underground facility for an entity subject to complex regulatory restrictions, the construction of a LEED-certified international conference center for a private foundation, and the installation of the largest solar panel array in the Northeastern United States for a corporate client).

Representing borrowers and financial institutions (including international lenders) in connection with over $1,000,000,000 of loans, with a special emphasis on complex construction, permanent, mezzanine and preferred equity financings (including tax-advantaged bond financing and public-private joint ventures, Patriot Act concerns, and the unique issues presented by Islamic financing structures).

Pro Bono
Serve on the Board of Directors of Queens Community House, the Board of Advisors of West Harlem Environmental Action (WE ACT), and as a clinical supervisor in the Community Economic Development Clinic of a local law school.

Bar Admissions

• New York

Education

• Yale Law School (J.D., 1996)
• Oxford University, Magdalen College (M.Litt., 1993)
  • Marshall Scholar
• Columbia University, Columbia College (A.B., magna cum laude, 1990)
  • Phi Beta Kappa
  • Graduated early

• Named a 2014, 2015, 2016 Super Lawyer (and Top Woman Lawyer in New York).

• Listed in 2015 Euromoney Legal Media Group Rising Stars.

• Listed in 2014 Euromoney Construction and Real Estate Expert Guide.

• Participated (by invitation) in the 2007-2016 Advanced Commercial Leasing Institute of Georgetown University Law Center.

• Appointed to AIA-New York Committee preparing report to advise national organization about potential 2007 revisions to AIA form architecture contracts (2007).

• Named to Lawdragon's 500 Leading Global Real Estate Lawyers in 2024.
• Named to The Best Lawyers in America® in 2022.
• Named to the National Law Journal’s list of Real Estate/Construction Law Trailblazers in 2021.
• Appointed to the American Law Institute’s Continuing Legal Education (ALI-CLE) Real Estate Law Advisory Panel in 2021.
• Appointed to the Advisory Board of Georgetown University's Advanced Commercial Leasing Institute in 2020.
• Elected a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers in 2019.
• Named a 2014-2021 Super Lawyer (and Top Woman Lawyer in New York).
• Listed in 2014-2017 Euromoney Construction and Real Estate Expert Guide.
• Listed in 2015-2017 Euromoney Legal Media Group Rising Stars.
• Recipient of The Urban Justice Center’s 2016 Community Service Award.
• Participated (by invitation) in the 2007-2022 Advanced Commercial Leasing Institute of Georgetown University Law Center.
• Appointed to AIA-New York Committee preparing report to advise national organization about potential 2007 revisions to AIA form architecture contracts (2007).

• Co-author, "Purchase Agreement Pitfalls to Avoid - Traps for the Unwary," Probate & Property Magazine (September/October 2024)