Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has appointed private equity real estate lawyer Robert Porter Robert Porter as Of Counsel in the firm’s London office.
Porter, who joins from another international law firm, has more than 30 years of experience in the real estate sector, advising private equity real estate (PERE) firms, sovereign funds, property companies and financial institutions on UK and European real estate funds, joint ventures, M&A, financings and highly structured transactions across Europe and the Middle East.
Porter, who will head Skadden's European real estate private equity initiative, which complements the firm's prominent global PERE capabilities, says: "Skadden is a world leader for cross-border transactional and regulatory work, and offers many synergies with my own practice. The European PERE sector is changing quickly, and I am very much looking forward to assisting clients in making the most of these opportunities."
Pranav Trivedi, Skadden's London office head, says: "We have seen a significant increase in demand from clients for real estate expertise in the private equity space. Robert's credentials in the real estate sector, combined with our already deep experience in private equity work and cross-border transactions generally, will be a significant enhancement to our strategic European offering."
Harvey Uris, leader of Skadden's global real estate practice, says: "Our international clients are more frequently in need of expert counsel that bridges both US and European jurisdictions, and investment opportunities for Europe-based clients in global real estate are increasing. Robert's experience will be of tremendous value to our clients."
The PERE initiative will further strengthen Skadden's existing European investment management and funds formation team. In 2012 partner Stephen Sims joined Skadden to lead the European practice, and in 2013 Skadden won PERE Magazine's "Global Deal of the Year" for advising BlackRock, Inc in connection with its acquisition of MGPA, an independently managed private equity real estate investment advisory company.
