Articles Posted in Outlook and Trends

The NLJ’s Midsize Hot List

The National Law Journal (NLJ) published its Midsize Hot List this week, and we are pleased that Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP was included as one of only 20 firms selected.

How the selection process works

In its national survey, the NLJ judged firms by how they stood out from their competition, what made them distinct in terms of organization and operations, and by the key matters the firm handled for clients in 2011. As part of that process, the NLJ’s researchers contact the firm’s clients for their input.

According to the National Law Journal, the 20 law firms that comprise its 2012 Midsize Hot List “are good at what they do, but they’re also good at how they do it”.

Known globally for hospitality

In its profile of Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP (JMBM), the National Law Journal noted that the firm has many successful practices in industry niches, being best known globally for its Global Hospitality Group®. Particular note was also made of the related activities of our Chinese Investment Group® in both EB-5 and inbound investment from China.

At JMBM, we believe that clients benefit from industry specialization. When a lawyer has deep experience in an area, you are almost certain to get a better outcome. Not only that, you will get it faster, cheaper, and with less risk. I have always reminded our clients — hotel owners, developers and capital providers — that hotels are NOT just real estate. Hotels are complex operating businesses, integrally intertwined with special-purpose real estate. So when you have an important hotel matter, why would you go to a just a real estate lawyer? You need a hotel lawyer!

What our clients think

It’s always nice to be recognized for one’s work but, for me, it was most gratifying to read the comments made during the reference checking by Warren Ernst, senior city attorney for the city of Dallas, for which our hotel lawyers conducted a request for proposal — using JMBM’s HMA Pro™ approach — for hotel brands to manage its large convention center hotel. (We assisted in the selection process and then negotiated a “qualified hotel management agreement” meeting the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code for a project financed with tax-exempt bonds.) Here’s what he told the National Law Journal:

Warren Ernst, a senior executive assistant city attorney for Dallas, said that Jeffer Mangels “made a very complex component of the project go efficiently, while assuring the city’s leaders and managers that the city’s interests were being very well protected. JMBM was critical in providing both legal and practical business advice throughout the process. “

Our goal has always been to be more than “just” excellent hotel lawyers, but to also bring business advice — both practical and strategic — to each of our client’s projects. For sophisticated clients who don’t have expertise in hospitality, like Warren’s team at the city of Dallas, our team provides hotel-specific knowledge about what is “market” or “customary.” We can help them understand what’s a fair deal and how to get it. Applying creative and unusual approaches, like our HMA Pro™ approach to finding a great hotel operator, we can add value and help to solve sticky problems.

CONTINUE READING →

19 January 2012

Hotel lawyer in Los Angeles, looking at a new first in the hotel conference industry. The Americas Lodging Investment Summit or ALIS runs next week from Monday through Wednesday, January 23-25, 2012, at the JW Marriott in downtown Los Angeles. ALIS is one of the major annual hotel investment conferences and gets some of the best attendance in the industry. In 2012, it returns to Los Angeles after several years of being held in San Diego. It is always a great way to get a handle on what’s happening in the hotel industry at the beginning of the year, and many of us look forward to it as a regular annual event.

However, this year, the conference is creating something of a stir with what seems to be an industry first. For several weeks, rumors have abounded that the conference promoter, BHN, has “bought out” all of the public space at the JW Marriott. The practical impact of this is that only people with ALIS Conference badges will be permitted in any of the public spaces at the conference hotel.

Today, I received an e-mail sent to all registered ALIS delegates. It confirmed the rumors. Among other things, this e-mail from the “Alice Registration Team” said the following:

Security will be tight at both the JW Marriott Hotel and Nokia Theatre. ALIS has secured all public areas at the JW Marriott Hotel beginning Monday, January 23. In order to access both venues, only registered ALIS delegates with ALIS name badge and picture ID will be granted admittance.

CONTINUE READING →

1 November 2011

Congratulations to Hotel Management on a great annual hotel conference in Washington DC.

Our heartiest congratulations to Stacy Silver and Stephanie Ricca of Hotel Management and their team for a great first day (just ended) on their 3rd annual hotel conference, now called NATHIC (North America Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference). This was my first time attending this conference, but it certainly won’t be my last.

Washington DC makes an excellent venue for a conference, because it is efficient to combine the conference with business meetings with so many hotel companies based in the greater metropolitan area. Washington DC is a capital of the hotel industry.

So here is my take on the trip to Washington, DC and the NATHIC conference so far.

CONTINUE READING →

15 October 2011

Optimistic keynote at the Dallas Lenders Conference from FelCor Chairman Tom Corcoran

One of the bright spots at Steve Van’s Fishing for Solutions lender conference was the keynote address given by FelCor Lodging Trust Chairman, Thomas J. Corcoran. Known for his blunt and sometimes salty candor, Tom sounded a call for a reality check for doomsayers, likes where we are now in the hotel industry and expects things to get better.

Yes, he reads the newspapers, knows all about the “market volatility” and pokes fun at how the world cringes on reports that Slovakia may not approve the European bailout of Greece. Everyone is over-reacting to news he says.

Here are the details . . .

CONTINUE READING →

27 September 2011

Hotel Lawyers with some (very) good news.

Of course there are plenty of macro economic issues and industry challenges to worry about. (See It’s not just me. The market has changed.)

But there are also some things to feel good about. If you want to be gloomy, go read your newspaper. If you want to cheer up, keep reading.

Here are a few nuggets of information to brighten your day.

[The slides in this article are taken from presentations at The Lodging Conference in Phoenix by Mark Woodworth of PKF, and Vail Brown of Smith Travel research. We appreciate their permission to use their slides.]

CONTINUE READING →