Akin Gump Adds Real Estate Team in Fort Worth

(Dallas - Fort Worth) – Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is pleased to announce that Marc Epstein has joined the firm as a partner in the real estate practice in the firm’s Fort Worth office. He comes to Akin Gump from Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP, along with Sean Bryan and Randall Quick, who both join as senior counsel.

Mr. Epstein boasts nearly 30 years of experience counseling owners, developers, landlords, tenants and investors on an array of real estate and business transactions such as sales, acquisitions, financing, leasing, development, management and construction.

Firm chairperson Kim Koopersmith said, “Akin Gump’s real estate team has been proud to offer the kind of counsel to our clients that has helped them succeed through periods both of rapid growth and market adjustment. With years of high-level experience in the field, Marc, together with Sean and Randy, represents a tremendous resource for his new colleagues at Akin Gump and for clients of the firm.”

At Akin Gump, Mr. Epstein will advise clients on a broad range of real estate and real estate-related matters, including assisting clients in structuring various vehicles for real estate-related investment such as funds, joint ventures, partnerships, limited liability companies and real estate investment trusts. His experience will be complemented by Mr. Bryan’s skills in working with clients on matters involving the formation, structuring and maintenance of entities used in business transactions and the tax aspects of business transactions as well as by Mr. Quick’s representation of a wide variety of clients in construction and real estate development projects.

Ken Menges, partner in charge of Akin Gump’s Dallas office, noted, “The arrival at the firm of Marc, Sean and Randy represents a great step forward in the development of our Dallas-Fort Worth capabilities. Their knowledge and experience in the areas of real estate and corporate work build on the great team we already have in place, and I’m very happy to welcome them to the firm.”

Mr. Epstein added, “Akin Gump’s strong Texas roots are well known, and it has an excellent track record in the real estate industry. At the same time, the firm has built a terrific national and international platform that allows its attorneys to address the global needs of its clients. Sean, Randy and I look forward to collaborating with our new colleagues across the firm to bring our skills to bear on real estate and other matters.”

About Marc Epstein

Marc Epstein has extensive experience with the structuring and negotiation of agreements involving real estate development and operation, including design and construction agreements, development agreements and management/leasing agreements.  He has been involved with numerous development projects around the country and abroad, including hotel, retail, office, residential, industrial, transportation, museum and entertainment projects, and has negotiated well over a billion dollars’ worth of design, engineering and construction contracts.

Mr. Epstein is a member of the Urban Land Institute and a fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation.

Mr. Epstein received his B.A. from Vanderbilt University in 1981 and his J.D. cum laude in 1984 from Texas Tech University, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif.

About Sean Bryan

Throughout his career, Sean Bryan has structured and advised on numerous formations, mergers, divisions and conversions of entities among structures and among states, including those involving real estate investment funds, security investment partnerships, shopping center developments, service companies, real estate holdings and family-owned partnerships.  He has also been involved with loan and other financing transactions, including tax-deferred exchanges of assets.

Mr. Bryan is a fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and Tarrant County Bar Foundation, and he serves on the boards of directors of the Fort Worth Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Tarrant County College Foundation.

Mr. Bryan received his B.B.A. summa cum laude from Abilene Christian University in 1987 and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1990.

About Randall Quick

Randall Quick has represented private educational institutions, museums, public entities, private developers and corporate owners as well as design professionals and contractors in construction and real estate development projects.

Mr. Quick is a fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and of the Tarrant County Bar Association. He received his B.S. from Trinity University in 1980 and his J.D. cum laude from SMU Dedman School of Law in 1999.

Founded in 1945, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 850 attorneys in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

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