Rachel Bates, Global Vice Chair of Latham's Real Estate Practice, advises clients on all aspects of their most complex and significant real estate transactions across a variety of asset classes, with a particular focus on the hospitality industry.
A nationally regarded real estate lawyer, Ms. Bates serves a broad range of market participants, including private equity sponsors, developers, leading hospitality brands, family offices, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and institutional investors. She frequently serves as a go-to advisor to real estate owners, operators, and developers on every facet of complex transactions.
Ms. Bates’ practice includes:
- Single asset and portfolio acquisitions and dispositions
- Development projects, including public-private partnerships
- Joint ventures and other preferred equity structured vehicles
- Financings, including mortgage financings, mezzanine financings, construction financings, and bridge financings
- Management agreements, franchise agreements, and development agreements
- Acquisitions of distressed debt
- Repositioning of distressed assets through recapitalization or negotiated workouts
A versatile practitioner, Ms. Bates brings particular experience advising both owner and brand-side clients in the hospitality industry.
Ms. Bates delivers business-minded counsel to clients, with a focus on developing thoughtful and creative solutions. She strives to help clients mitigate potential risks while achieving their strategic objectives.
Ms. Bates also frequently advises clients on a pro bono basis. Her work includes child guardianship matters, as well as affordable housing-related matters on behalf of the Chicago Community Loan Fund.
Ms. Bates serves on Latham’s Women Enriching Business (WEB) Steering Committee. She is also a member of CREW Chicago, an organization for senior-level executive women in the Chicago real estate field.
Ms. Bates' experience includes:
- Acquisition of hotel operating company and fee interest of 200+ hotels together with franchise and management agreements
- Joint venture acquisition of mezzanine debt, foreclosure of such debt and senior mortgage restructuring secured by hotel in Hawaii
- Joint venture to develop a convention center hotel, mortgage financing, public/private financing, and ground lease
- US$1 billion portfolio sale of three luxury hotels
- Sale of five-star urban hotel and contemporaneous management agreements for three additional hotels
- Acquisition and financing of luxury hotels in San Francisco and New York
- Leading real estate investment trust in connection with a merger with a non-traded REIT resulting in a combined US$7 billion public company
- Ground lease with purchase option for a to be developed cancer center and medical campus
- Joint venture to develop multi-family housing project along with mortgage financing
- Restructuring mortgage and mezzanine debt and implementing debt-for-equity exchange for golf club operator
- Leading real estate investment trust owning US$3.2 billion of property in connection with its corporate restructuring and US$500 million initial public offering equity offering
- National industrial developer in connection with the formation of a joint venture for the acquisition and development of a US$750 million industrial facility for the National Nuclear Security Administration
- Joint venture for the development of a mixed-use office retail, residential, grocery project; along with senior mortgage financing and mezzanine financing
- Sale of Wrightwood Capital’s investment platform to Ares Commercial Real Estate
- Joint venture of a specialized unit of a National Bank with a hotel operator for a programmatic hotel development platform
- Acquisition and financing of a portfolio properties leased to public utilities