Winstead has recruited the general counsel of The Dinerstein Companies to join as a shareholder and bolster its real estate development and investments practice.
McCall Grimes has worked on several deals with Winstead leaders George Kraft and Jeff Matthews in his four and a half years as the top lawyer at the Houston-based family-owned real estate and development firm. He said he has been thinking about returning to private practice for a while, and Winstead was the obvious choice.
“[Winstead’s] established sponsor-side real estate platform, entrepreneurial culture, and Texas base with national presence create an ideal environment for immediate integration and long-term growth,” said Grimes. “Plus, who doesn’t want to work with [Kraft and Matthews]. They are business-minded and not hung up on the esoteric parts of the law.”
Winstead guided Dinerstein on its Sterling Tiger Valley student housing development at Louisiana State University and the refinancing of the Aspire Gulch luxury apartments high-rise in Nashville.
Grimes started his career working on capital markets transactions and mergers and acquisitions at Vinson & Elkins before joining Dinerstein’s legal department in 2019. He didn’t have any substantive real estate experience.
“[Dinerstein CEO] Brian Dinerstein described it as taking a power forward out of the NBA and turning me into a really great tight end in the NFL,” Grimes said. “I’ll take that compliment. I call myself a real estate lawyer now.”
In addition to the Winstead-led deals already described, Grimes’ legal team of three lawyers and two paralegals has been busy, particularly with student and conventional apartment developments and acquisitions. Recent deals include:
- The Aspire Reserve at Texas A&M, which Grimes calls the “Taj Mahal of student housing”
- Sterling Quadrangle at the University of Central Florida
- Atlas Blue Hill at the University of North Carolina
- Atlas Alvarado at San Diego State University
- Addison & Clark in Wrigleyville, Chicago
- Revl at Lamar in Austin
“Student housing across the country is really interesting,” Grimes said. “You can quickly size up whether it is a good market to invest in or not. What is the university saying it is going to invest in? What does enrollment growth look like?”
Grimes said it is helpful for lawyers to go in-house.
“I got my hands down in the mud and got to know all of the business groups,” he said. “I have perspectives now that change how I will practice. I know what is influencing new deals, why we are investing in a certain market and not others, and know where to tweak a deal. You add a lot of value in how you lawyer a document.”
In working closely with the Dinerstein leadership team of Brian Dinerstein, Brad Dinerstein and John Caltagirone, Grimes saw first-hand one of the benefits of being at a third-generation family business.
“I knew at the end of the day, the guys around the corner were making decisions for the long term. Not next quarter, next year, but next generation,” he said.
Grimes said he is already continuing his working relationship with Dinerstein now that he is on the other side of the deals.
Kirstyn Kaipust, who joined Dinerstein in 2022 from Winstead, has been promoted from vice president of real estate transactions and associate general counsel to succeed Grimes. Dinerstein elevated Ellen Pierce into Kaipust’s former role.