Thomas M. Sherwood’s clients include lenders, property owners, developers and users who are parties to transactions involving real property. He represents institutional lenders in negotiating and documenting construction and permanent financings and the modification of these facilities. He has also represented developers in all aspects of the development process including acquiring property, obtaining land-use entitlements, negotiating and preparing agreements with municipalities, securing California Department of Real Estate approvals, negotiating and preparing construction documents, formation of owner associations, and drafting and implementing project sales agreements.

Mr. Sherwood has significant experience in real property transfers and leasing. He represents lenders, borrowers and investors in new financing transactions for property acquisitions, development and dispositions, as well as loan workouts and lease restructurings, with special emphasis on enforcing remedies in mortgage loan transactions. Representative workout projects include the restructuring of a series of troubled apartment loans with complicated take-out provisions under a commitment from a major life company, the workout of a $70 million construction loan on a Southern California apartment project, and the completion of construction of a 59 unit for-sale condominium project in Los Angeles which suffered from construction delays, cost overruns, general contractor and subcontractor liens, a bankruptcy filing, and related litigation. Representative front-end transactions include a syndicated $151 million construction loan, a multi-state sale/leaseback of real estate valued at $145 million, and a $130 million multi-state property transfer for a Fortune 500 company. His work also involves entity formation for property owners and developers and the review of these entities for creditors.

Mr. Sherwood has represented both developers and municipalities in connection with a variety of land use matters, including preparing and obtaining approval of specific plans, zoning ordinances, subdivision maps, development agreements, and environmental impact reports. He also has extensive experience representing lenders, landlords and tenants in the leasing of office, industrial, and retail space.

Before joining Buchalter, Mr. Sherwood was a shareholder and director with Ellman, Burke, Hoffman & Johnson (1990-2009) specializing in transactional real estate. Previously Mr. Sherwood was in private practice in San Rafael, California and in Sacramento, California, specializing in real estate and business transactions, land use law, lending, and litigation.

Honors

Mr. Sherwood has been selected as one of Northern California’s Super Lawyers from 2010 – 2013, 2015 – 2019, is AV Preeminent rated by Martindale Hubbell and was recognized as a Top Rated Lawyer in the area of Bank & Finance in 2013 and 2014. Mr. Sherwood has also been recognized in the Best Lawyers in America, Real Estate Law, 2023 – 2025.

Bar Admissions

• California

Education

• University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law
• University of the Pacific