Real Estate Finance Lawyer Kevin Wakefield Joins Jones Day in Dallas

 The global law firm Jones Day announced today that Kevin Wakefield has joined the Firm's Real Estate Practice as of counsel and based in the Firm’s Dallas Office. Mr. Wakefield represents banks and other institutional lenders in a variety of real estate transactions, with an emphasis on the origination of commercial mortgage and mezzanine loans. He also advises clients on the acquisition, sale, development, and leasing of commercial real estate. 

 

With a broad base of experience in commercial real estate finance and investment, Mr. Wakefield’s practice focuses on representing banks, insurance companies, and other institutional lenders in the origination of commercial mortgage and mezzanine loans, while also counseling real estate developers, owners, and investors on complex acquisition, disposition, and joint venture transactions. On the lending side, he’s represented a national bank in connection with a $376 million mortgage loan secured by twenty single-tenant industrial properties across multiple states and a bank in connection with the origination of a $395 million mortgage and mezzanine financing of an office complex in Silicon Valley, California. On the investment side, Mr. Wakefield has represented a real estate developer in a joint venture to purchase a development site in Manhattan for redevelopment as a luxury condominium and represented a real estate development group in a joint venture for the $550 million development of a mixed-use building on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. In addition to his transactional practice, Mr. Wakefield previously worked at a nationally recognized statistical rating organization, where he provided legal analysis of commercial mortgage loans included in CMBS transactions—giving him a distinctive perspective on the capital markets side of real estate finance. 

 

"Kevin is an outstanding addition to our Real Estate Practice," said Brian Sedlak, who co-leads Jones Day's Real Estate Practice. "His deep experience representing institutional lenders in commercial mortgage and mezzanine loan originations, combined with his work on acquisitions, dispositions, and development matters, will immediately benefit our clients across the country. We are excited to welcome him to the Firm."

 

Mr. Wakefield joins a global team of 130 lawyers in Jones Day's Real Estate Practice, recognized by The Legal 500 for its "deep bench of resources" and "attorneys who anticipate client needs and respond quickly with well-crafted, customized solutions." The team provides clients with comprehensive advice across all stages of real estate investment and all major real estate sectors. Disciplines include funds, joint ventures, M&A, finance, digital infrastructure, development, tax, regulatory, planning/zoning, and environmental, and for private equity real estate funds, institutional investors, public and private companies, REITs, lenders, developers, operators, and managers.

 

"Kevin is a terrific addition to our Dallas Office," said Matt Kairis, Partner-in-Charge of the Dallas office and Texas Region for Jones Day. "His arrival strengthens our real estate finance capabilities not just here in Dallas, but across our offices throughout Texas and the United States. As Dallas continues to grow as a hub for institutional real estate capital, having a lawyer of Kevin's caliber on the ground here reinforces our commitment to serving clients throughout the region and beyond."

 

Mr. Wakefield has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch for Real Estate Law from 2021 to 2024 and was named an ABA Free Legal Answers 2023 Pro Bono Leader. He earned his JD from Fordham University School of Law and his BA from Columbia University. He is admitted to practice in New York and Texas. 

 

"I am excited to join Jones Day and its great Real Estate Practice," said Mr. Wakefield. "What drew me to the Firm is its true culture of teamwork and seamless collaboration across offices and practices — the ability to draw on colleagues' experience across the country and around the world to deliver the best possible result for a client, regardless of where a deal originates. I look forward to working alongside my new colleagues in Dallas and across the platform to build on the strong relationships I've developed with institutional lenders and real estate clients, and to contribute to a practice that is known for anticipating client needs and delivering customized solutions."

 

Jones Day is a global law firm with 2,500 lawyers in 40 offices across five continents. The Firm is distinguished by: a singular tradition of client service; the mutual commitment to, and the seamless collaboration of, a true partnership; formidable legal talent across multiple disciplines and jurisdictions; and shared professional values that focus on client needs.