Boutique real estate law firm Blackacre LLP announced that real estate attorney Janet Ray has joined the company.
“Janet’s extensive experience in-house with a large retailer gives her an in-depth understanding into the business decisions behind a client’s real estate needs,” said firm Founding Partner Daniel Brozost. “Her knowledge, dedication to client service and wide network of industry contacts make Janet an excellent addition to Blackacre.”
Ray has spent over two decades representing clients in variety of real estate matters, including commercial leases, acquisitions, dispositions, development deals and general corporate matters. Her practice and experience focus on representing national and regional retailers, where she has drafted and negotiated hundreds of retail leases and worked on numerous real estate dispositions and acquisitions. She spent 18 years working in-house at large retailer Smart & Final and was responsible for the disposition of the company’s significant real estate holdings. Most of these disposition transactions involved the sale-leaseback of the company’s operating properties.
“I really enjoy working with developers and retailers, and I am highly motivated to not only get the best deal for my client, but to get the deal done in a timely manner,” said Ray. “I joined Blackacre to better provide my clients with predictability and accountability with respect to their real estate matters. The firm’s unique fixed fee pricing model and client centered approach allow for that.”
Prior to working in-house, Ray was in private practice handling a large variety of matters, including real estate litigation and defending brokers. She worked for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Los Angeles regional office in their enforcement division, where she was elevated to a branch chief position.
Now an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, real estate has been part of Ray’s upbringing in a small town in Northern Illinois. Her father was a brick layer and her grandfather was a general contractor. Janet completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Texas-Arlington and earned her JD at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
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