As a valued team member of clients in the real estate and hospitality industries, Rori is able to leverage her understanding of their business concerns and objectives with her deep experience and current market knowledge to navigate her clients from term sheet to closing of complex commercial transactions. Recently, Rori has been speaking to clients and the real estate community on the uptick in preferred equity transactions, sharing the depth of her experience with both joint ventures and financings and offering guidance on these transactions.

She represents local and national developers, REITs, institutional equity investors, institutional and non-institutional lenders, and hotel owners and operators with their commercial real estate development and finance transactions. These transactions involve a variety of asset types, including mixed-use development, office, retail, hotel, condominium, multifamily and residential and commercial property.

Working with clients across the United States, she assists both borrowers and lenders on financings, and hotel owners and operators on the negotiation of management and license agreements. Additionally, she partners with clients on real estate acquisitions, dispositions, workouts, and equity and debt participations.

Rori is a frequent speaker and panelist on the hospitality industry and preferred equity transactions.

Bar Admissions

Education
JD, The George Washington University Law School, The George Washington Law Review, 1995

BA, Boston University, University Professors Program, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1992

• Representation of an operator in the negotiation of a joint venture agreement for the acquisition and development of a to-be-constructed 128-room Mondrian hotel in the Old City of Istanbul, Turkey.
• Representation of an operator in the acquisition, lease and management negotiations with respect to food and beverage operations at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada, and related documentation and negotiation with respect to Delano, Las Vegas, Nevada.
• Representation of a developer in the negotiation of a purchase and sale agreement for the acquisition of a newly constructed 122-room Holiday Inn in New York City (Midtown).
• Representation of a developer in the negotiation of a purchase and sale agreement for the acquisition of a newly constructed 185-room Hyatt Place in New York City (Midtown).
• Representation of an owner in the negotiation of management and license agreements for a Crowne Plaza in Charlotte, North Carolina.
• Representation of a developer in the negotiation of management and license agreements for a Courtyard by Marriott in College Park, Maryland.
• Representation of a joint venture in the negotiation of a $350 million loan secured by the St. Regis in Laguna Beach, California.
• Representation of a joint venture in the negotiation of a $201 million loan secured by the Anaheim Hilton in Anaheim, California, and negotiated the joint venture agreement and related documents on behalf of the developer.
• Representation of equity in the refinance of a $250 million loan secured by the historic and award-winning Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, in Washington, DC.
• Representation of a joint venture in the acquisition and $130 million financing of a 35-acre mixed-use development project (including hotel and branded residences as well as commercial, retail and residential) in Huntington Beach, California, known as Pacific City, and negotiated the joint venture agreement and related documents on behalf of the developer.
• Representation of equity in the acquisition of a 20-acre mixed-used development project (including retail, restaurant, hotel, entertainment, commercial, residential, education and civic space) in Miami, Florida, known as Miami Worldcenter, and negotiated the joint venture agreement and related documents on behalf of equity.
• Representation of a developer in the acquisition and finance of the former Las Vegas City Hall and adjacent future development land from the City of Las Vegas to be developed and leased to Zappos.com.
• Representation of a developer in the $46 million refinance of a GSA leased office building in Washington, DC.
• Representation of a developer in the restructure of a $200 million real estate portfolio of undeveloped land, hotels, mixed-use, office and development holdings in California and Texas.
• Representation of an equity investor in a $50 million sale of the retail component and a $61 million sale of the apartment component of an urban mixed-use project in Washington, DC.
• Representation of an equity investor in a $262 million purchase of two office buildings and a development parcel located in Washington, DC.

• Named among Women of Influence, Real Estate Forum, 2017
• Listed for Real Estate, Legal 500 United States, 2013, 2017

• Seeking Comfort — Hotel brands provide lender assurance — for a fee, CIRE Magazine
• Do Lenders Really Get Any Comfort From Hotel Comfort Letters? Thomson Reuters Aspatore: Navigating The Complexities Of Leisure And Hospitality Law Leading Lawyers On Effectively Managing Transactions And Preventing Potential Liability Issues