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Joseph Shenker has a broad ranging multidisciplinary practice, including extensive experience in negotiated mergers and acquisitions (public and private), domestic and cross-border joint ventures, the representation of private equity investors and family investment offices in the Americas, Europe and Asia, securities offerings, private and public financings, and related tax and estate planning, with a primary focus on the real estate industry. Selected Transactions His clients include numerous public real estate companies, including: Vornado Realty Trust and General Growth Properties; large real estate operating companies, including the Goldman Sachs Whitehall Funds (worldwide); and other private owners, developers and operators of real estate assets, including members of the Tisch and Pritzker families and related entities. Mr. Shenker's notable transactions include his representation of: the Tisch and Mara families (owners of the NY Football Giants) and the New York Football Giants, Inc. in the new $1.6 billion joint venture with the NY Jets to develop a new football stadium and entertainment and retail complex in the Meadowlands, NJ; the majority of the Pritzker Family Beneficiaries in their families' restructuring of their worldwide assets ($25+ billion); The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. in connection with its new 2.2 million square foot world headquarters to be located on land leased from Battery Park City Authority in Lower Manhattan; General Growth Properties in its $12.6 billion acquisition of The Rouse Company (the largest REIT merger in history); Vornado Realty Trust in all its acquisition activity, including its joint venture acquisition of Toys "R" Us and its acquisitions of The Mendik Company, Americold, URS, Merchandise Mart and Charles E. Smith Commercial Properties; Soros Financial Management in its equity financing of the $1.4 billion acquisition of the GM Building, NYC; an international consortium of investors (the Goldman Sachs Whitehall Funds, the Niarchos and Agnelli families, David Rockefeller and Tishman Speyer Properties/Crown Equities) in the acquisition by merger of Rockefeller Center Properties, Inc. and, four years later, in its sale; the acquirers (GS Capital Partners, Starwood Capital and Nomura Securities) in the joint venture acquisition of Westin Hotels Companies, and, following that, Westin Hotels in its sale by merger three years later to Starwood Lodging Trust; a multinational group of investors in the acquisition of Canary Wharf PLC (Mr. Shenker also served on the board of Canary Wharf) and, subsequently, the same investor group in Canary Wharf's IPO four years after the acquisition, as well as the Whitehall Funds in Canary Wharf's going private transaction; and the Whitehall Funds in numerous acquisitions and dispositions of publicly and privately traded companies worldwide, including Cadillac Fairview (Canada - both purchase and subsequent sale by merger as well as the subsequent sale of Cadillac Fairview US), Hillman Properties (both purchase and subsequent sale), Westminster Health Care Holdings PLC (UK - purchase), UNUM (Italy - purchase) and Kerzner International (Bahamas - management buyout). Professional Activities and Community Involvement Among his pro bono and community activities, Mr. Shenker is: President of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty one of New York City's largest poverty aid organizations and is a member of the Board of the Jewish Community Relations Council and of the Steering Committee of the Lawyers' Division of the UJA. Rankings and Recognition Mr. Shenker has been recognized as a leading lawyer in: Chambers USA: America s Leading Lawyers for Business Recognized for Real Estate (2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003-2004) Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business Recognized for Real Estate (2003, 2002-2003) The Legal 500, United States, Volume IV Recognized for Real Estate (2007) Euromoney's Guide to the World's Leading Lawyers: Best of the Best Recognized for Real Estate (2007, 2005, 2003) PLC Which Lawyer? Yearbook Recognized for Real Estate (2008 - announced, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2003-2004) PLC Cross-border Corporate Real Estate Handbook (2007/08, 2006/07) The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers Recognized for Real Estate (2006, 2005, 2003-2004, 2002) The International Who's Who of Real Estate Lawyers (2006, 2004, 2002, 2000) The Best Lawyers in America Recognized for Real Estate (2008, 2007, 2006, 2005-2006) and for Corporate, M&A and Securities Law (2005-2006) Lawdragon Recognized for Real Estate, M&A, Private Equity, Corporate Governance, and Bankruptcy (2007, 2006), for Corporate, M&A and Securities (2007) and for Banking & Finance (2006) Lawdragon 500: Leading Lawyers in America The 500 Better Than the Best (2007) Mondaq, Guide to the World's Leading Real Estate Lawyers (2006) New York Super Lawyers Recognized for M&A (2007, 2006), including among the "Top 100 New York Super Lawyers" Recognized for overall excellence (2007). Mr. Shenker became a partner of the Firm in 1986, has coordinated the Firm's global commercial real estate practice since 1991, has been a member of the Firm's management committee since 1996 and was named Vice Chairman of the Firm in 2006. |
