Lynn K. Cadwalader represents clients investing in acquiring, developing and operating hotels and mixed-use projects in the United States and internationally, including Latin America and the Caribbean. Lynn’s practice has recently expanded to include providing legal and business advice to foreign investors seeking to invest in hospitality and real estate assets in the US, as well as representing hotel owners and developers in structuring investments through the EB-5 immigrant visa program.
Lynn represents private equity firms, developers, owners and operators in all facets of hospitality and mixed-use real estate investment and development, including both single property and complex multi-state portfolio transactions. Through her many years of practice in this hospitality sector, she understands the business, operational and legal aspects involved in negotiating the key transaction documents involved in this area, including purchase and sale agreements, hotel management agreements and related sales and marketing, pre-opening and technical service, and development agreements. Lynn is well known for her ability to craft workable solutions to tough legal and business issues. Her clients think of her as a business advisor as much as a lawyer. Many of her projects in the mixed-use area involve a sophisticated blend of concepts and uses contained in one integrated campus, requiring extensive planning and coordination of all components of the project to insure seamless operation. Lynn is adept at creating hotel mixed-use legal structures that take into account varying uses and operational needs.
More specifically, her work in the hotel and mixed-use development area involves structuring the relationship between the hotel operator, the developer, key retail tenants, the master condominium and residential unit owners, and the owners associations governing the project, drafting and negotiating the hotel management and license agreements the CC&Rs and other documents that implement this structure and govern the complex relationships between the interested parties, structuring unit rental programs and related agreements, and advising on applicable real estate and securities law involved in the offer and sale of any project residential units, as appropriate.
Internationally, this work has involved structuring and implementing mixed-use condominium and hotel projects in countries with laws that do not anticipate such structures or the hotel's need for control over the entire project in connection with hotel operations and maintenance of hotel brand standards. Lynn’s practice in this area has involved representation of hotel owners and operators in structuring and negotiating branded mixed-use communities and hotel projects, including the negotiation of the hotel management agreements, license agreements, pre-opening agreements and technical service agreements. She has been highly sought after by hotel operators and developers entering foreign countries and adapting local laws to the needs of hotel operations. Lynn, working with local counsel in foreign jurisdictions, has created and implemented novel structures to address these hotel operational concerns.
Lynn’s representation of clients in the master planned community area involves all phases of project development, including negotiation of government entitlements, concessions and leases, financing the phases of the project (joint venture, debt and equity), creating the necessary master community and project documents, such as the master covenants, conditions, easements and restrictions which establish and govern the overall resort (CC&Rs), shared facilities agreements, use and access agreements, condominium, timeshare and club regime documents, golf and beach club membership plans, conservation easements, environmental and historic preservation restrictions, and purchase and sale agreements. Her representation also includes representing hotel owners and operators in establishing structures to protect their brand and management interests. Her work often involves appearing before planning and zoning commissions, regulatory and political bodies and governmental agencies on behalf of her clients.
Lynn is a frequent speaker at hotel, hospitality and mixed-use development industry conferences.
