We’re excited to share the news that our partner Holly Chamberlain has been named the Head of Cadwalader’s Real Estate Finance practice.
Holly, who also serves on the firm’s Management Committee, is a two-time recipient of Law360’s Real Estate MVP award since 2022. She has earned a reputation as a leading lender’s counsel, having advised a who’s who of financial institutions in the financing of a range of properties, including office, retail, hotel, multi-family, industrial and skilled nursing facilities through single asset, as well as multi-state and multi-property, transactions. Holly represented the originating lenders on the $3 billion securitized financing of New York City skyscraper One Vanderbilt, the largest-ever fixed-rate securitization secured by a single building, which was cited by the Financial Times in its North American Innovative Lawyers report; and one of the financings necessary to effectuate the Commercial Observer 2023 Deal of the Year – Blackstone’s acquisition of American Campus Communities.
We’re also proud to announce that our colleague Sulie Arias has been elected partner.
As an associate and a special counsel, Sulie has been a critical member of the Real Estate Finance team on complex and large real estate transactions. She has closed multiples of billions of dollar of loans over the past five years. Sulie’s practice includes balance sheet (single-lender and agented), construction and bridge loans, CMBS, mortgage and mezzanine financings, as well as loan-on-loan and leverage financings across all major asset classes. Her leading work for clients has earned trade press recognition, with Sulie being named one of the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America in the publication’s Real Estate Law category in 2024 and 2025. Her recent work includes advising clients in matters involving a diverse array of U.S. properties, including a lender in the origination of a $187 million construction loan to the borrower in connection with the construction of a residential complex in Miami, Florida; a lender in the origination of a $125 million construction loan to Brookfield in connection with the construction of industrial warehouse buildings in Stoughton, Pennsylvania; and a money center bank in the origination of a loan-on-loan financing in the principal amount of $330 million to the underlying lender, which underlying loan was secured by 13 underlying mortgage loans of various asset classes, including retail, multifamily, office and hotels.
Our team has advised clients on many of the most notable recent transactions in the market. We have experience with virtually every type of collateral and represent a variety of clients in originating all types of financings, including balance sheet, bridge and construction lending, mezzanine and preferred equity finance, loan-on-loan financings and CMBS lending.
We also regularly represent clients in workout, foreclosure and bankruptcy situations, often involving multi-tiered debt structures and UCC foreclosures of mezzanine loans, and understand the unique concerns of large financial institutions, funds and other “non-bank” lenders, securitization trustees and special servicers, owner/operators, developers and government agencies alike.
We’re grateful to have strong relationships with a wide range of clients and will continue to help them achieve their goals. We look forward to sharing highlights of our work, and our insights into the issues impacting the commercial real estate industry, in future editions of REF News and Views.
In the meantime, thank you for your support of Cadwalader.