Meryl Chae is the leader of Skadden’s Los Angeles office real estate practice and one of the leaders of Skadden’s REIT practice, which has been named a “REIT industry powerhouse” by The Legal 500. Ms. Chae’s practice includes property acquisitions and sales, leasings, financings, partnership and joint venture formations, reorganizations, and public and private placements of various types of real estate securities.
Her clients have included buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants, borrowers and lenders, with a particular emphasis on the representation of REITs. For example, Ms. Chae has represented:
- AustralianSuper Pty Ltd. in its partnership with General Growth Properties, Inc. to own and operate the $5.5 billion Ala Moana Center mall in Honolulu;
- Nationwide Health Properties, Inc. in its $7.4 billion acquisition by Ventas, Inc.; and a multiyear transaction valued at $1.75 billion with Pacific Medical Buildings LLC;
- Westfield America, Inc. in its formation of a $4.8 billion joint venture with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for 12 of Westfield’s shopping centers in the U.S.; and structuring and effecting the acquisition of shopping center properties;
- Apartment Investment and Management Company in acquiring other REITs and in selling, acquiring, financing, managing and structuring equity interests in portfolios of private and public partnerships and apartment projects;
- Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. in acquiring, financing and structuring interests in properties to be used for life-science purposes;
- DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, L.P. in a ground lease, development and financing of a 1 million square foot mixed-use project in Hollywood, Calif.; and
Ms. Chae’s representations also include DEXUS Industrial Properties, Inc.; The RMR Group LLC and Senior Housing Properties Trust; M. David Paul & Associates and Centurion Real Estate Partners, LLC; André Balazs and The Standard Hotel; NorthStar Capital and Koll Development Company; and Bristol Farms.
Ms. Chae has been recognized as a “Key Individual” in Chambers Global’s “Investment Funds: Real Estate” section and in Chambers USA. She also has been recommended by The Legal 500 for both REITs and Real Estate and repeatedly named one of Real Estate Forum’s “Women of Influence.”
Ms. Chae has been named a “Top Women Lawyer” and “Top Real Estate Attorney” by the Daily Journal, and she was included among the Los Angeles Business Journal’s list of “Who’s Who in L.A. Real Estate Law.”
Education:
- J.D., University of California Hastings College of the Law, 1994 (Member of the Hastings Law Journal)
- B.A., Tufts University, 1991 (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa)
Admissions : California
Associations:
- Board Chair, Bet Tzedek Legal Services
- Member of NAREIT (National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts)
- Member of CREW-LA (Commercial Real Estate Women Network)
- Board Chair, Oakwood School
Cost
Rate : $$$