Advising clients on business and real estate transactions since 1978, Matt has been involved in representing a variety of start-up, growing and maturing businesses, as well as developers, lenders and tenants of high-rise office buildings, hotels, shopping centers, mixed-use projects, single family and multi-family residential projects, and industrial office parks. He has significant experience in leasing, sale/leaseback transactions, redevelopment projects, private/public partnerships, construction and development contracts, and complex multi-phased projects.
Matt’s clients have included CIM Group, Hollywood Park, Chevron, Citicorp, Comerica Bank, The City of Alameda, Union Oil Company of California, MJW Investments, APPA Real Estate, Raeden, Inc., The Strada Group, Aon Insurance, General Electric Capital Corporation, Imperial Credit Commercial Mortgage Investment Corp., McDonald’s, Trammell Crow, Legacy Partners, Deutsche Financial Services, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, N.T. & S.A., Orchard Capital, The Prudential Insurance Company of America, First Interstate Bank, Credit Lyonnais, Dunlop Tire Corporation, Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton, as well as a sovereign wealth fund.
Matt has lectured at the University of Southern California Real Estate Development Graduate School (1995-1999) and to various local, state and national bar groups on “Opinions in California Real Estate Loan Transactions” (1987), “Real Estate Aspects of Co-generation Facilities” (1988), “Reciprocal Easement Agreements” (1990), “Negotiating Agreements Between Tenants and Lenders” (1991), “Customizing Title Endorsements” (1991), “Alternative Pricing for Legal Services” (1994), “Tenant Improvement Work Letters” (1994-1999), “Nondisturbance, Subordination and Attornment Agreements” (1996, 1997), “Financing Ground Leases” (1998, 1999), “Environmental Disclosures” (1999), “Year 2000 Real Estate Issues” (1999), “Structuring Real Estate Ventures” (2002, 2003), “Miscellaneous Provisions” (2004), “Mixed Use Projects” (2006), “Negotiating Leases” (2007), “Buying Distressed Real Estate” (2010), “Negotiating Leases with Large Tenants and Landlords” (2012), and “Negotiating Joint Ventures with Sovereign Wealth Funds” (2014).
Matt’s published articles include:
- “Atlas Shrugged – Who Wrote This Damned Lease Provision Anyway?”, Los Angeles County Bar Association Real Property Section Review (January, 1995).
- “Fine Print”, Los Angeles Lawyer (January, 1998, cover article).
- “Tips for Buying Property Out of Bankruptcy” (with Peter J. Gurfein), Los Angeles County Bar Association Real Property Section Review (September/October, 1998).
- “Universal Document Drafting Checklist”, Los Angeles County Bar Association Real Property Section Review (March/April, 1998).
- “Sophisticated Use of Estoppel Certificates”, Los Angeles County Bar Association Real Property Section Review (2004).
- “Insurance Deductibles as an Operating Expense”, Los Angeles County Bar Association Real Property Section Review (2004).
- “A New Paradigm for Mentoring”, Los Angeles Lawyer (July/August, 2005).
Matt obtained his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law in 1978, and his B.A. from Yale University in 1975. Matt is admitted to practice law in California.
Before founding FSPM, Matt was an equity partner at Sonnenschein Nath Rosenthal, LLP from 1992 to 2000 and at Mayer Brown & Platt, LLP from 1989 to 1992.
Matt is chair of the Board of Governors of the Kasser Joint Institute for Food, Water and Energy Security and is currently a competitive powerlifter, holding a number of state, national and international records in his age group.