Accomplished Corporate Lawyer Joins Morrison & Foerster in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) September 09, 2015 -- Morrison & Foerster is pleased to announce that Lauren C. Bellerjeau has joined the firm’s Washington, D.C. office as a partner in the Corporate Department.
Ms. Bellerjeau represents publicly and privately held companies in a variety of corporate and securities matters, with a particular emphasis on M&A, as well as public securities offerings and corporate governance matters. She has been particularly active representing REIT issuers in complex formation transactions in connection with initial public offerings. Her clients span a number of industries with a focus on real estate, aerospace/defense, healthcare, technology, and industrial and consumer goods.
“Building upon our already successful REIT practice has been a priority for the firm and Lauren’s deep experience will further our growth in this area. With significant M&A activity in the REIT sector, Lauren’s arrival is well-timed, and she will be an essential part of our team,” said David Slotkin, co-head of Morrison & Foerster’s Corporate Finance Practice Group and head of the Washington, D.C. Corporate Practice.
Lawrence Yanowitch, global co-chair of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions Practice Group, added: “Lauren is an accomplished M&A practitioner, and her arrival further strengthens our already deep bench of M&A lawyers on the East Coast. Her extensive experience with aerospace/defense and REIT transactions is a great match with our leadership in those sectors.”
In the past year, the firm’s REIT Practice has handled over $20 billion in M&A transactions and $2 billion in securities offerings. It is recognized for its engagement on some of the most high-profile matters in the REIT space over the past several years–including representing: UDR, Inc. in connection with Lone Star’s $7.6 billion acquisition of Home Properties, Inc., AmREIT in its $763 million acquisition by Edens Investment Trust, Trade Street Residential in its pending merger with Independence Realty Trust, Global Logistic Properties in multiple deals with an aggregate value of approximately $14.1 billion, and Equity Residential in its $16 billion acquisition of Archstone Enterprise. Our REIT practice has also led multiple initial public offerings in 2015 including those by Community Healthcare Trust and Jernigan Capital. In addition, the firm’s D.C. corporate practice advised Inovalon in its $685 IPO and represented underwriters in connection with Royal Dutch Shell’s $10 billion bond offering.
“I am thrilled to join Morrison & Foerster and look forward to contributing to its continued growth, particularly in the REIT space,” Ms. Bellerjeau said. “The firm’s premiere M&A practice, global platform and its collaborative culture are among the qualities that attracted me to the firm.”
Ms. Bellerjeau’s representative transactions include:
• Advising GE in connection with its $23 billion divestiture of its commercial real estate portfolio
• Advising Lockheed Martin Corporation in several acquisitions of private companies in the government contracting industry, including the acquisition of QTC Holdings, Inc. and the divestiture of Lockheed Martin Corporation’s Enterprise Integration Group business
• Representation of KPP Trustees Ltd., trustee of the Kodak Pension Plan of the United Kingdom on certain commercial matters relating to the acquisition of Eastman Kodak Company’s Personalized Imaging and Document Imaging businesses in connection with the implementation and completion of a comprehensive settlement of claims in connection with Eastman Kodak Company's bankruptcy
• Advising Equity Residential on the $16 billion acquisition of Archstone Enterprise LP from Lehman Brothers Holding, Inc.
• Advising PPG Industries, Inc. in connection with several acquisitions of private companies, including its recent acquisition of Cuming Microwave Corporation
• Advising Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo Securities and Deutsche Bank Securities on US$2.3 billion IPO of Paramount Group, Inc.
• Advising Playa Hotels & Resorts, B.V. in a series of real estate property and management related transactions
Ms. Bellerjeau joins Morrison & Foerster from Hogan Lovells, where she was a partner. She received her law degree summa cum laude from Indiana University School of Law, where she served as an editor for the Indiana Law Review and her B.A., magna cum laude, from University of Richmond.
ABOUT MOFO
We are Morrison & Foerster — a global firm of exceptional credentials. Our clients include some of the largest financial institutions, investment banks, Fortune 100, and technology and life sciences companies. The Financial Times has named the firm to its lists of most innovative law firms in North America and Asia every year that it has published its Innovative Lawyers Reports in those regions. In the past few years, Chambers USA has honored MoFo’s Corporate/M&A team with a client service award and the firm as a whole with its Global USA Firm of the Year award. Our lawyers are committed to achieving innovative and business-minded results for our clients, while preserving the differences that make us stronger.
Jocelyn De Carvalho, Morrison & Foerster, +1 212.336.4051, [email protected]
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