Paul M. Kawakami, a partner with the firm’s Real Estate & Finance Group, focuses his practice on a wide range of real estate transactional and business matters. He specializes in the acquisition, development, sale and exchange of real estate; retail, office and industrial leasing; real estate financing and secured transactions, including acquisition, construction, mezzanine and permanent loans; loan modifications, workouts and restructurings; and the formation of joint ventures and LLCs.
Paul M. Kawakami, a partner with the firm’s Real Estate & Finance Group, focuses his practice on a wide range of real estate transactional and business matters. He specializes in the acquisition, development, sale and exchange of real estate; retail, office and industrial leasing; real estate financing and secured transactions, including acquisition, construction, mezzanine and permanent loans; loan modifications, workouts and restructurings; and the formation of joint ventures and LLCs.
Mr. Kawakami represents developers, investors, institutional lenders, end-users, and educational institutions with respect to transactions involving shopping centers, restaurants, urban campuses, mixed-use complexes, office buildings, big box retail stores, hotels, build-to-suit facilities, apartment buildings, office parks, professional centers and industrial sites.
Mr. Kawakami's representative transactions include: representing developers, financial institutions, insurance companies, and other owners of office and industrial buildings and shopping centers located throughout California; assisting a private university and a film studio with all of their respective real estate needs, including land acquisition and disposition, ancillary office space leases, and other issues relating to their urban campuses and satellite locations; representing national big box retail chains in the acquisition, development, sale, and exchange of sites throughout the Western United States; representing both owners and tenants in the drafting and negotiation of ground leases and space lease for office, retail, and industrial uses; represent both lenders and borrowers with respect to new financing transactions and the workout and restructuring of existing debt; and assisting a client acquire, finance, operate and dispose of hotels throughout the United States.
Affiliations, Activities and Accomplishments
Mr. Kawakami is admitted to practice in California. He is a member of the State Bar of California, the International Council of Shopping Centers, and the Urban Land Institute. He is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Real Property Law Section of the State Bar of California, and was also a co-chair of the Real Estate Finance Subsection.
Presentations and Publications
Mr. Kawakami frequently publishes articles and gives lectures on real estate matters.
Recent presentations include: “Legal Issues And Opportunities In Acquiring Distressed Assets”, “Hot Tips and New Issues on Loan Workouts,” moderating a panel of leading industry experts for an Urban Land Institute program titled “Secrets of the Dealmakers,” and moderating a panel of lawyers and law school professionals at Sedgwick’s 2011 Diversity Symposium.