David A. Kaufman

Special Professor of Law

B.A., Brandeis University
J.D., George Washington University Law School

E-mail: David.A.Kaufman@hofstra.edu

Biography

David A. Kaufman is a Principal at The Kaufman Law Group and a Partner at A.Y. Strauss LLC. He has extensive experience representing financial institutions, owners and developers in sophisticated real estate acquisition, disposition and financing transactions, including mortgage loans, mezzanine loans, preferred equity, and joint ventures, as well as negotiating commercial leases (both tenant-side and landlord-side), management and leasing agreements. His work in real estate law earned him recognition in Real Estate New Jersey's 2009 "Meet the Lawyers" issue, which profiles the state's leading real estate attorneys.

Mr. Kaufman received his J.D. with honors from the George Washington University Law School, where he served on the Law Review, and his B.A. from Brandeis University.

Prior to joining A.Y. Strauss, he was a principal in The Kaufman Law Group and served as counsel to the Real Estate Practice Group of Lowenstein Sandler, PC. Before that, he was General Counsel of R Squared Real Estate Partners, an investment firm that owns and operates more than seven million square feet of development and redevelopment property throughout the New York metropolitan area. Previously, he was an associate in the Real Estate departments of Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP and Whitman Breed Abbott & Morgan LLP (now Winston and Strawn LLP).

Mr. Kaufman also served as a legal intern for the United States Senate Special Committee to Investigate Whitewater Development Corporation and Related Matters.

Mr. Kaufman has been honored by the Legal Aid Society of New York for outstanding pro bono service in connection with his contributions to the Society's Continuing Legal Education programs as an instructor. He has been a member of the Junior Council Steering Committee of the Kitchen, an organization that provides artists in all stages of their careers with technical, artistic and administrative resources for performances and exhibitions. He is also a part-time stand-up comedian.

Previous representative transactions include:

• The borrower in connection with the restructuring of an approximately $900 million mortgage loan secured by properties in New York and Chicago.
• Brookfield Financial Properties in connection with leasing at the World Financial Center in New York.
• A major investment bank in its $1.1 billion acquisition of the owner and operator of more than 130 golf courses across the United States.
• Rechler Equity Partners in its $315 million acquisition of the Long Island industrial portfolio of Reckson Associates Realty Corp., comprising 100 properties and approximately 6 million square feet of industrial space.
• A joint venture between Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc and Prince Alwaleed in the sale of the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
• Millennium Hotels and Resorts in its financing of a pool of hotels throughout the United States.
• R Squared Real Estate Partners in its $153 million sale of The Source at White Plains.
• R Squared Real Estate Partners in connection with the construction financing on a luxury cond-op in Tribeca, New York.
• Tishman Hotels and Resorts in connection with its refinancing of the Hilton Walt Disney World.
• An affiliate of RFR Realty in a $230 million mortgage financing and a $121 million mezzanine financing in connection with the acquisition of the Seagram Building in New York City.