PRACTICE AREAS

Sales and Purchases

• Represent sellers and buyers in single-asset and portfolio transactions

• Sales and Purchases of commercial real estate – retail, office, multi-family, industrial, and mixed-use projects – in NYC and nationally

• Joint Ventures and Equity Investments

Commercial Leases & Subleases

• Represent owners and tenants in commercial lease and sublease transactions of all sizes and types, including multi-floor office space, retail and restaurants, warehouse and industrial, art galleries, schools and non-profits

• Ground leases, assignments, licenses, brokerage and surrender agreements

• Lease renewals, extensions, and modifications, landlord consents, estoppels and lease administration

Real Estate Finance

• Represent lenders and borrowers in all types of secured and unsecured financings

• Acquisition and construction loans; mortgage, mezzanine, and warehouse loans; and preferred equity

• Residential mortgages and refinancings

Development and Construction Projects

• Represent landlords, tenants, and owners with construction and renovation projects, including build-out of office space and retail stores, and renovations of apartments and other residential properties

• AIA and other contracts with project managers, architects, engineers, contractors, and other consultants

Residential Transactions

• Represent sellers and buyers in all types of residential real estate transactions

• Sales and Purchases of residential properties, including co-op apartments, condominium units, townhouses, brownstones, single family residences, and vacation homes

Other Practice Areas

• Expert Witness

• Litigation Consulting

• Due Diligence

• Family Office Services

About the Firm

Andrew Berman PLLC is a boutique law firm in New York City, with a focus on real estate transactions.

The firm advises and represents clients in a broad range of transactions involving both commercial and residential properties with sales and acquisitions, leases, joint ventures, financings, development and construction projects. Andrew Berman PLLC also provides clients with due diligence services and is able to serve as expert witness or litigation consultant in real estate disputes.

Andrew Berman’s clients have included owners, buyers, developers, financial institutions, start-ups and Fortune 500 companies, not-for-profits, arts and educational institutions, individuals and families. Andrew has given advice and counsel to sellers and buyers, landlords and tenants, lenders and borrowers, and other clients with complex business and real estate transactions.

Andrew Berman PLLC provides timely and cost-effective advice to clients, negotiates and drafts agreements to reflect business terms, and successfully completes commercial and residential real estate transactions. The firm provides efficient and thoughtful responses to our clients’ questions and concerns.

The firm’s experience and breadth of knowledge sets it apart from other solo practitioners and small firms, and allows Andrew Berman PLLC to provide clients with superior service and legal advice in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

ABOUT ANDREW BERMAN 

With over 25 years of experience, Andrew has extensive knowledge of the real estate market. He has served as an expert witness and litigation consultant on complex legal matters and counseled clients on a broad range of transactions. Andrew’s experience includes:

• real estate partner at major law firms (Orrick Herrington; Akerman LLP; and Sidley Austin) and prior legal practice at Wachtell, Lipton and Davis Polk

• in-house counsel to a real estate brokerage and advisory firm

• law professor at New York Law School where he taught courses on property, real estate transactions and finance, commercial leases, and residential transactions

• Founding Director of the Center for Real Estate Studies at New York Law School

• expert witness and litigation consultant on significant cases

• author of the sixth edition of Friedman on Leases, published by Practising Law Institute, considered by many to be one of the most trusted guides to commercial leasing

Education

• J.D., New York University School of Law, cum laude; Order of the Coif

• A.B., Princeton University (Princeton School of Public and International Affairs)

Honors and Memberships

Andrew has been elected as a Fellow to the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) and the American College of Mortgage Attorneys (ACMA), and is a member of the American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, and the National LGBT Bar Association. Andrew has also been appointed a Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Real Estate Law at New York Law School.

Publications and Presentations

Andrew Berman has published numerous articles on real estate law in national law reviews and for business and law textbooks.

• Friedman on Leases (6th ed., March 2017, and annual revisions since 2018)

• Mezzanine Debt and Preferred Equity in Real Estate, in Alternative Investments: Instruments, Performance, Benchmarks, and Strategies 163 (H. Kent Baker & Greg Filbeck eds., John Wiley & Sons 2013)

• Risks and Realities of Mezzanine Loans, 72 MO. L. REV. 993 (Fall 2007)

• “Once a Mortgage, Always a Mortgage” – The Use (and Misuse) of Mezzanine Loans and Preferred Equity Investments, 11 STAN. J.L. BUS. & FIN. 76 (Autumn 2005)

In addition, Andrew is regularly asked to speak at real estate law conferences throughout the United States. Previous speaking engagements include among many others:

• American College of Real Estate Lawyers, “Leases, SNDA’s and Estoppels in Real Estate Transactions,” April 2017

• CLE Seminar, “Mezzanine Loans and EB-5 Financings,” June 25, 2015

• Practising Law Institute, Commercial Real Estate Financing, “Real Estate – Finance Opinions of Counsel,” April 20, 2015

• Institute for In-House Counsel, Moderator and Conference Organizer. Panels included: “Hot Issues in Leasing”; “Building a Successful Compliance Department”; “Ethics for In-House Counsel”; and “Managing the Outside/In-House Counsel Relationship,” April 8, 2014

CONTACT

Andrew Berman PLLC
205 West End Avenue, Unit 10N
New York, New York 10023
(212) 721-0849
info@andrewbermanlaw.com