WASHINGTON, D.C. – Nov. 29, 2018 – Samantha Ahuja has rejoined the Washington, D.C. office of global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP as of counsel in the Real Estate Practice.
“We are thrilled to welcome Samantha back to Greenberg Traurig. Her legal skills—from negotiating management contracts to financing—and her special interest in the intersection of cutting edge financing and the hospitality industry make her an asset to our clients in our Washington, D.C. office and beyond,” Laura Metcoff Klaus and Robert Mangas, Washington, D.C. office co-managing shareholders, said.
Ahuja focuses her practice on hotel acquisitions, operations, development, and finance; hotel management agreements; licensing agreements; and commercial real estate acquisitions and sales. She advises domestic and international clients on the acquisition and disposition of hotels and other commercial property, hotel management and operations, franchising, licensing and branding, restaurant management agreements, lease negotiations, and casino agreements.
Ahuja regularly engages in complex transactions involving a combination of hotels, resorts, condominiums, food and beverage facilities, and other shared access amenities. She also advises her clients on traditional and investor financing, joint ventures, and capital and legal structures for complex transactions.
She works closely with her clients to address operational issues that arise over the course of ownership. Notably, Ahuja counsels clients on a wide range of blockchain related matters, from anti-money laundering and know-your-customer best practices for cryptocurrency transactions to legal issues associated with novel uses of blockchain within the hospitality industry.
“Greenberg Traurig not only has a stellar reputation with regard to its award-winning real estate and hospitality sectors, but it’s also a special place that values its attorneys, which is one of the many reasons I decided to return,” Ahuja said. “Additionally, the firm’s expansive resources and broad platform will allow me to better serve my clients, particularly in the hospitality privacy and blockchain space.”
The firm’s Washington, D.C. office continues to expand having added Ahuja on the heels of Peter L. Tsirigotis, shareholder in the Corporate Practice; Scott A. Schipma, shareholder in the Government Contracts & Projects Practice; and Tomás Leonard and Nicole Y. Silver, shareholders in the International Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice.
Ahuja serves as pro bono counsel to many affordable housing cooperatives and tenant associations with the District of Columbia. She works with her clients to find alternative financing, investors, or other government grants to maintain long-term housing affordability. She received her J.D., cum laude, from Valparaiso University School of Law in 2004 and her B.S. from American University in 1997.
About Greenberg Traurig’s Washington, D.C. Office:
Greenberg Traurig’s Washington, D.C. office is home to a multidisciplinary team of lawyers and governmental affairs professionals with strategic experience helping companies of all sizes to navigate the federal government. The office’s work encompasses governmental affairs, federal procurement, global trade and investment, health and FDA business, litigation, government contracts, antitrust, insurance recovery and advisory, energy, telecommunications, real estate, intellectual property, representation of foreign governments, and national defense and homeland security. Greenberg Traurig’s clients range from the federal defense sector to energy, telecommunications, and health care companies, which the firm represents before government agencies, regulatory bodies, Congress, and the courts. The firm’s Washington, D.C. attorneys are also involved in handling a wide range of regulatory, corporate, and finance work for clients in these industries.
About Greenberg Traurig's Real Estate Practice:
The Greenberg Traurig Real Estate Practice is a cornerstone of the firm and recognized leader in the industry. The firm’s real estate attorneys deliver diversified and comprehensive counsel for property acquisition and investment, development, management and leasing, financing, restructuring, and disposition of all asset classes of real estate. The team draws upon the knowledge and experience of more than 400 real estate lawyers from around the world, serving clients from key markets in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. The group’s clientele includes a broad range of property developers, lenders, investment managers, private equity funds, REITs, and private owners. The firm’s real estate team advises clients on a variety of matters across a broad spectrum of commercial, recreational, and residential real estate, including structured equity and debt and the hybrids.
About Greenberg Traurig:
Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has more than 2,000 attorneys in 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, was named the largest firm in the U.S. by Law360 in 2017, and is among the Top 20 on the 2018 Am Law Global 100. Web: www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law.