CHARLOTTE (September 19, 2023) - Seyfarth Shaw LLP has announced that Katie Schwarting has joined the international law firm as a partner in the firm's Real Estate department, where she will become the practice group chair for a newly created Servicing/Special Servicing practice group and an integral part of the firm's Real Estate leadership team. Schwarting will be based in the firm's Charlotte office.
She comes to Seyfarth along with three other top lawyers from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP: partners Amy Simpson and Tricia Macaluso and counsel Randa Barton. The latter three will be based in Dallas, where they are launching a new Seyfarth office .
Schwarting, Simpson and Barton will play key roles in Seyfarth's highly regarded Real Estate group, one of the five largest in the country. Macaluso will become part of the firm's noted Litigation department. Her practice complements and helps support the real estate team.
The team of Real Estate lawyers moving to Seyfarth has built a formidable reputation across the industry for handling the full life cycle of loans from origination, servicing, and special servicing.
"The addition of this highly-accomplished team of lawyers cements Seyfarth as the leader in real estate finance capabilities and positions us to dominate the market in loan servicing and special servicing," said Paul Mattingly, partner and national chair of Seyfarth's Real Estate department.
Schwarting focuses primarily on CMBS and Freddie Mac securitizations, regulatory issues impacting securitization, asset management, and workout and foreclosure strategies and the sale of servicing rights.
"We are excited to have another talented real estate lawyer with a robust practice of marquee clients join our team," said Eric Sidman and Frederick "Fritz" Smith, co-Managing Partners of Seyfarth's Charlotte office. "The addition of Katie's lending-focused practice, including loan servicing and securitization work, further deepens the strength of Seyfarth's national real estate finance group. Her energy and enthusiasm for serving clients is infectious and will be a catalyst for the continued growth of our Charlotte office."
Schwarting previously served as Senior Director of the Mortgage Bankers Association's Commercial Real Estate/ Multifamily Finance Department in Washington, D.C. Her principal responsibilities there included advancing issues, standards, regulations, and legislation to support the commercial real estate industry's MBA members in asset administration, including CMBS, portfolio lending and life company servicing, and loan origination, including lenders, rating agencies, consultants, insurance companies and attorneys.
"Joining one of the country's largest and most accomplished law firm Real Estate groups at Seyfarth provides me with a great opportunity to extend my practice while also expanding the firm's capabilities by leading the new Servicing/Special Servicing practice group," said Schwarting. "I am equally delighted to become part of Seyfarth's fast-growing office in Charlotte and help our many clients there navigate the legal complexities of commercial real estate capital markets."
Schwarting's professional affiliations include the Mortgage Bankers Association, the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council, Women in Housing & Finance, and Women Lawyers of Charlotte.
She holds a JD from the University of North Carolina and a BA from Duke University. Schwarting is admitted to the North Carolina and District of Columbia bars.