DENVER – Oct. 10, 2024 – Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP continues its Western region growth with the additions of Kevin H. Kelley, Andrea Austin, and Austin Evans as shareholders and Chloe Mickel as of counsel to the firm’s Denver office, expanding its Real Estate, Sports Facilities & Entertainment Venues, Litigation, and Construction practices.
“We’re adding dynamic, talented attorneys to our team in Colorado; legal practitioners who are good cultural fits with our highly collaborative Denver office and lawyers across the firm,” firm CEO Brian L. Duffy said. “They are team players in every sense, and I know they’ll continue to knock it out of the park here at Greenberg Traurig.”
Kevin and Andrea’s commercial real estate practice focuses on master planned developments, redevelopments, and mixed-use, multifamily, retail, office, and industrial spaces at every stage in the transaction. Kevin represented Denver’s Regional Transportation District in the redevelopment of the city’s historic Union Station using both public and private funds to create a mixed-use project of public transportation, a boutique hotel, and retail, food, and beverage. Andrea’s practice includes public-private partnership transactions for student housing and other social infrastructure projects. Kevin and Andrea also represent public owners of sports arenas, stadiums, ballparks, and team practice facilities as well as professional sports teams in negotiations concerning leases, operations, and facility renovations. The team works on structuring new sports venue development agreements for NBA, MLB, NFL, MiLB, USL, and NWSL facilities. They join the firm from Husch Blackwell.
Austin is a trial lawyer whose practice focuses on defending consumer-facing manufacturers and retailers against claims of product defect in individual and mass tort cases. He was previously senior in-house counsel at Walmart Inc., and has frequently worked on multidistrict and other products liability litigation on behalf of the Fortune 50 company and other manufacturers. In additional to his trial work, Austin counsels clients on risk mitigation strategies, regulatory compliance, and large-scale settlement programs. He joins the firm from King & Spalding.
Chloe works on both transactional and litigation matters focused on Construction Law. She represents owners, developers, and other construction professionals as well as interior designers, with a focus on data center developers and operators. Her hybrid practice entails drafting complex design and construction agreements for her clients’ business needs as well as resolving disputes involving delays, construction defects, design errors and omissions, and project closeout. Chloe joins the firm from Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP.
“Real estate is one of the cornerstone practices at Greenberg Traurig, and Kevin and Andrea are bringing a local development practice with deep ties to the community that dovetails with the firm’s national strategy,” said Naomi G. Beer, co-managing shareholder of the firm’s Denver office. “We expand to support important areas of the firm, areas where we are seeing growing client demand, such as products litigation where Austin’s practice resides, and construction law, where Chloe’s practice adds another development facet. We can offer a large suite of legal services from Denver to meet that demand.”
Kevin is actively involved with local civic groups such as the Downtown Denver Partnership (DDP) where he currently serves on the board of directors and finance committee. He has chaired multiple committees in the past, including the Municipal Elections Task Force, the Urban Exploration Steering Committee, and the Downtown Denver Awards Jury. Kevin also serves on the board of directors of Rocky Mountain Junior Achievement and the Metropolitan State University of Denver Foundation, which supports the low-income and first-generation students, veterans, and others seeking a higher education degree at the school.
“We couldn’t pass up the chance to join a firm with a global platform that focuses on sophisticated real estate transactions and has a top notch Sports Law Practice,” Kevin Kelley and Andrea Austin said in a joint statement. “Greenberg Traurig is known for its high caliber talent, and we’re looking forward to collaborating with energetic and innovative lawyers.”
“Greenberg Traurig emphasizes bringing value and efficiency in handling matters and always understanding the client’s business goals, which is how I like to run my practice,” Austin Evans said. “There are multiple synergies between my practice and the firm, which has been a leader in the products space and trial work, and I look forward to leveraging those synergies to do cooperative, results-driven work for clients.”
About Greenberg Traurig’s Denver Office: Greenberg Traurig's Denver team offers clients a business-minded perspective into legal issues as well as a strategic gateway for Denver businesses to operate in today’s global marketplace. The Denver team’s core practice areas include American Indian Law, appellate litigation, commercial litigation, compensation and benefits, commercial litigation, corporate transactions, data privacy, employment litigation, energy and natural resources, environmental compliance and litigation, federal regulatory and administrative law, financial services litigation, healthcare and FDA law, intellectual property and technology, land use and zoning, mergers and acquisitions, public finance, real estate, securities law, tax and water law.
About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2750 attorneys in 48 locations in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. The firm is a 2022 BTI “Highly Recommended Law Firm” for superior client service and is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law Global 100 and NLJ 500. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab. The firm is recognized for powering its U.S. offices with 100% renewable energy as certified by the Center for Resource Solutions Green-e® Energy program and is a member of the U.S. EPA’s Green Power Partnership Program. The firm is known for its philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono. Web: www.gtlaw.com.