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Gerard Walsh

Partner

Los Angeles

Jerry Walsh, a partner in the Real Estate Group, is based in Los Angeles. He advises public and private entities, developers, companies and institutional lenders (including commercial banks, pension and opportunity funds and their advisors) on the acquisition, construction, development, entitlement, financing, leasing, restructuring and disposition of master planned communities, hotel, golf and resort projects, mixed use projects, corporate campuses, and commercial and retail centers.

Jerry is particularly recognized for his work in connection with the acquisition, restructuring and realization of distressed debt in the real estate and hospitality markets. Clients seek him out for the most complex distressed debt transactions, including securitized and mezzanine debt intercreditor workouts and the establishment of mezzanine debt lending platforms. Jerry led a multidisciplinary Orrick team in one of the most sophisticated real estate debt transactions that was restructured in 2013, involving a series of complex transactions and multi-state litigation. Recognized as a key lawyer in the 2022 Real Estate category, a client told The Legal 500 US that Jerry is “smart, responsive and extraordinarily helpful and collaborative.”

In addition, Jerry leads Orrick’s hospitality practice and advises global opportunity, hotel and pension funds and advisors in connection with the acquisition, repositioning and disposing of hotel portfolios throughout the United States. He advises on acquisitions, joint ventures, financing, rebranding, disposition and negotiation of hotel management agreements, shared services and amenities agreements, and franchise agreements, including termination of hotel management and franchise agreements involving brands such as Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Marriott, St. Regis, Renaissance, Luxury Collection, Westin, Kimpton and other Sheraton/Starwood brands.

Jerry's representative clients include Cisco Systems, Inc., Cornerstone Advisers LLC, JMA Ventures, LACERA, The Newhall Land and Farming Company, Walton Street Capital, and Westbrook Partners.

Before joining Orrick, Jerry was a partner with a magic circle firm and chairman of the real estate group of a prominent national law firm.

  • Jerry's representative engagements include:

    • Advised a Walton Street Capital fund in the multi-step acquisition of multiple tranches of mezzanine debt and a portion of mortgage debt ultimately secured by a portfolio of 12 office buildings located in Seattle and Bellevue, Washington. After resolving multi state litigation brought by a minority co-lender, he assisted Walton Street in concluding a UCC mezzanine debt foreclosure (which resulted in a Walton Street entity acquiring the portfolio) and in the restructure of $466 million of senior mortgage debt.
    • Advising Walton Street Capital on the establishment of a new mezzanine debt lending platform for a new Walton Street debt fund.
    • Represented a joint venture among a global opportunity fund and another entity in the acquisition of multiple mezzanine loans originated by Lehman Brothers Holdings and secured by mezzanine borrowers with indirect ownership interests of office buildings in Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Also advised on the subsequent sale of all such loans.
    • Represented mezzanine lenders in connection with exercising par purchase options under Intercreditor Agreements and deeds in lieu and strict foreclosure actions to obtain control of the underlying real estate and equity.
    • Advising an international opportunity fund in connection with the joint venture, construction and financing of ten residential developments containing 700 single family and condominium units in coastal planned communities in Southern and Northern California with an estimated retail value of more than $1 billion.
    • Represented a pension fund investment advisor in its successful bid on a 300,000 square foot West Los Angeles office building in a $111 million Bankruptcy Code Section 363 sale linked to the high-profile bankruptcy of one-ime real estate mogul Ezri Namvar.
    • Advised a global opportunity fund as the successful bidder in a 363 bankruptcy auction to purchase a two‑tower building containing live/work units and adjacent property to be developed for residential townhomes located in Marina del Rey, California. He also represented the fund in the subsequent sale of the adjacent property.
    • Advised a global opportunity fund on the joint venture, restructuring and loan assumption of the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco. This was one of the first successful restructurings involving the assumption and extension of commercial, mortgage-backed securities.
    • Advised a global opportunity fund in connection with the acquisition and financing of several hotels in San Francisco, including the Stanford Court Renaissance Hotel and acquisition of a $150 million senior mortgage loan and deed in lieu of foreclosure for the San Francisco Westin Hotel.
    • Advised a global opportunity fund on the acquisition of mezzanine debt on the Hyatt Regency San Francisco, the Embassy Suites Irvine, and hotel portfolio including the Burbank Marriott and Denver Renaissance Hotel.
    • Advised a global opportunity fund on the sale of 50 finished lots to Standard Pacific Homes from the 128 unit Latitude 33 residential development project in Marina del Rey that the client acquired in a 363 sale from the Landsource bankruptcy for a third of the initial developer's cost.
    • Advised a public pension fund and advisor in connection with acquisition, due diligence, financing, joint venture, hotel and golf course management, renovation, reflagging and repositioning of the Princeville luxury resort in Kauai, Hawaii.

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