Lawyer Overview

Keith Barnett is a partner in the Real Estate Practice Group. He joined the firm in 1991. Mr. Barnett has significant experience locally, nationally and internationally in representing clients in all aspects of commercial real estate, including real estate finance, development, acquisitions, sales and leasing.

Practice

Mr. Barnett has significant experience in connection with various different real estate finance options including traditional mortgage loans, mezzanine loans, preferred equity investments and so-called “bond leases,” “synthetic leases” and other accounting and tax sensitive transactions. He has also represented clients in connection with numerous major real estate developments, including hotel projects, retail developments, office buildings, biotechnology and high technology facilities, residential developments, warehouse and industrial facilities and academic buildings. Mr. Barnett also has a very active practice representing owners and tenants in connection with various leasing transactions and buyers and sellers in connection with both the acquisition and disposition of real estate in all asset classes. Representative clients include investors, developers, retailers, pension fund advisors, life insurance companies, commercial banks, opportunity investors and publicly traded companies. Recently, Mr. Barnett has taken a leading role in the firm’s Distressed Real Estate Solutions Group, working to advise clients in various positions with respect to options and opportunities in a troubled economy.

Recent Highlights

• Representation of international NYSE retail company in acquisition, permitting and development of several new stores and expansions throughout New England
• Representation of developer of a luxury 300 room hotel in Boston, Massachusetts, financed in part by state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits, a pension fund venture partner and a construction to mini-perm mortgage loan
• Representation of owner of a mixed-use commercial property in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in a $126,000,000 financing through a mortgage loan and mezzanine loan
• Representation of white knight who provided bridge financing and then purchased a majority of the assets in the mixed use development of a championship golf course and luxury residential community in north suburban Boston
• Representation of pension fund advisors in the acquisition of multiple assisted living facilities, residential, retail and office projects
• Represented clients in the acquisition, financing and disposition of approximately $250,000,000 of property in sale/leaseback transactions
• Continued pro bono representation of The Walden Woods Project in connection with the preservation of approximately 100 acres of environmentally sensitive land in Concord and Lincoln, Massachusetts

Professional Activities

Mr. Barnett is a member of the International Counsel of Shopping Centers and NAIOP, The Commercial Real Estate Development Association. He is also a member of the American Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Boston Bar Association.

Honors and Awards

• Selected by his peers as one of the Best Lawyers In America in the area of real estate law (2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010)
• Named a "New England Super Lawyer," in the area of real estate law, in Boston Magazine (2004, 2005, 2008 and 2009)

Publications

• Chapter of MCLE Commercial Real Estate Primer with respect to mortgage loans.
• “Leasing Worries Severe, But Don’t Sign It All Away,” Mass. High Tech (September 11-17, 2000).

Speaking Engagements

• New York University - Schack Institute of Real Estate: Conducted a full day seminar on commercial real estate workouts (July 22, 2009)
• Columbia University: Guest Lecturer for Graduate Level Course, "Real Estate Investing in a Distressed Environment" (November 17, 2009)
• Real Estate Committee of the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC): "Distressed Real Estate Solutions," Two-part Webinar Series – April 28 and May 12, 2009

Community Involvement

Mr. Barnett is a member of the Board of Visitors of The New England Baptist Hospital. He has also been actively involved in various political campaigns at local, statewide and national levels.

Areas of Practice

• Real Estate
• Life Sciences
• Corporate and Transactional
• Distressed Real Estate Solutions
• International

West Practice Categories

Bankruptcy Law, Biotechnology, Estate & Gift Taxation, Pharmaceutical Products, Property (Ad Valorem) Taxes, Real Estate Law, Reorganizations & Restructuring, Workouts

Bar Admissions

• Massachusetts

Education

• University of Michigan Law School, 1991
  JD
  Honors: magna cum laude
• Harvard University, 1988
  AB
  Honors: magna cum laude

Published Works

• Cloaked in Uncertainty: Treatment of "Stub Rent" in the Goody's and Stone Barn Retail Apparel Bankruptcies, 2009

Address

60 State Street
Boston, MA 02109

Phones

+1 617 526 6930 (Business Phone)

Faxes

+1 617 526 5000 (Business Fax)

Emails

Contact Us (Business Email)

Websites

www.wilmerhale.com