Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton recently announced that real estate partners Douglas Yeager and Jeffrey M. Smith, both formerly of Winston & Strawn, have joined its Houston office.
The duo has been working together for more than two decades. Prior to their seven-and-a-half years at Winston & Strawn, Yeager and Smith practiced at Locke Lord.
Yeager, a graduate of SMU Dedman School of Law, represents owners, investors, private equity funds, landlords, tenants and developers in the acquisition, development, financing, leasing and disposition of commercial real estate. He has also worked in the loan workout, distressed asset and debt areas, including restructuring and bankruptcy transactions and foreclosures.
Smith, who received his law degree from the University of Illinois, represents developers, private equity funds, net lease providers, family offices, investors, large corporations, landlords and tenants in complex commercial real estate transactions related to the acquisition, development and disposition of industrial, multi-family, office, retail and hospitality properties. He has significant experience in sale-leaseback transactions.
Sheppard Mullin Real Estate, Energy, Land Use & Environmental practice group co-leader Michael Leake said in a press release that “as the economic market in Texas continues to expand, so does our need for deeply experienced attorneys like Doug and Jeff who can navigate clients through the complexities of their real estate-related transactions.”
Earlier this year, Smith was on the deal team that advised International Cellulose Corp., a privately owned Houston manufacturer of commercial specialty insulation products, on the sale of business assets to Saint-Gobain.
Last year, Sheppard Mullin added a five-lawyer real estate team in Dallas from Jones Day led by Michelle R. Brown and Andrew Bengtson.