Benesch Adds 20-Lawyer Real Estate Finance and Structured Finance Team from Reed Smith

Benesch today announced the addition of a premier real estate finance and structured finance team from Reed Smith, significantly expanding the firm’s nationally recognized Real Estate Practice Group. The move increases Benesch’s national real estate bench from approximately 65 to 85 lawyers. The addition supports the launch of a new Miami office, strengthens the firm’s New York presence and establishes a sophisticated structured finance platform at Benesch.

The group is expected to include approximately 20 lawyers and additional professional staff, with attorneys focused on commercial real estate finance, secondary market transactions, securitization and complex lending matters.

“This is a transformational addition for our firm and our clients,” said Benesch Managing Partner Gregg Eisenberg. “It reflects the continued momentum of our strategic growth plan and our commitment to building a platform that attracts top talent to service our clients’ increasingly complex and sophisticated business objectives.”

The move is led by Jodi Schwimmer, who previously served as global co-lead of Reed Smith’s Financial Industry Group and is widely recognized as a leader in structured finance and securitization, and Randy Eckers, a highly regarded real estate finance attorney with more than 25 years of experience. Together, their group brings extensive experience representing banks, debt funds, private equity funds, institutional investors, bondholders and other market participants across the full spectrum of commercial real estate finance transactions. Their work spans loan originations, bridge lending, CMBS transactions, mezzanine financing, syndicated lending, preferred equity investments, secondary market transactions and complex workout matters. The team is also known for Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing, one of the fastest-growing financing tools for commercial real estate projects.

The addition creates a full-service practice offering at Benesch that combines sophisticated real estate finance, structured finance, securitization and capital markets capabilities, enabling borrowers, developers, lenders and investors to access a broader range of financing solutions and capital sources across the full capital stack and throughout the lifecycle of a transaction.

“We are adding exceptional talent in commercial real estate finance, expanding our capabilities in secondary market transactions and establishing a premier structured finance practice that immediately enhances what we can offer clients,” said Benesch Real Estate Practice Group Chair and Firm Administrative Partner Jeff Wild. “This addition enables us to help clients access capital in new ways while further strengthening our position as one of the country’s leading real estate practices.”

Schwimmer has advised on hundreds of billions of dollars in commercial mortgage-backed securities and related debt transactions, with extensive experience in CMBS, CRE CLOs, bridge-to-securitization structures, warehouse facilities and other sophisticated structured finance arrangements. She is ranked in Chambers USA for Nationwide Capital Markets: Securitisation: CMBS and has been recognized by IFLR1000 for Structured Finance and Securitization.

“This move creates an opportunity to join a firm that is investing strategically in growth while offering our clients access to a broader, more integrated platform across the deal lifecycle,” said Schwimmer.

Eckers represents lenders, debt funds, banks, bond investors and other financial institutions in commercial real estate financing, structured financing and secondary market transactions. His practice includes CMBS, C-PACE, bridge, construction and mezzanine lending, as well as complex co-lending and intercreditor arrangements.

“Our clients can now access a seamless team that helps them originate, finance and access the capital markets more efficiently, creating new opportunities and financing solutions that simply weren’t available before,” said Eckers.