People: Dean Heller, Partner

Dean Heller

Partner

Los Angeles - Downtown
Direct: (213) 270-9639
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Mr. Heller is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP.  A member of the Real Estate Practice Group, he represents a number of large pension funds, investment funds, REITS and fund investment managers in connection with their investments in all kinds of real estate, from world-class hotels to landmark office towers to commercial and industrial real estate portfolios.  Among the many transactions that he has handled on behalf of these clients are the purchase, debt financing and sale of the historic Hotel del Coronado in San Diego and the 2008 sale of the Century Park Hyatt Regency in Los Angeles.

Mr. Heller also represents both lenders and borrowers in mortgage and mezzanine debt financings, having handled more than a billion dollars of mezzanine debt transactions.  In addition, for over 30 years, he has represented lenders, investors and special servicers in numerous debt workouts and restructuring transactions, as well as foreclosures.

Mr. Heller is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP.  A member of the Real Estate Practice Group, he represents a number of large pension funds, investment funds, REITS and fund investment managers in connection with their investments in all kinds of real estate, from world-class hotels to landmark office towers to commercial and industrial real estate portfolios.  Among the many transactions that he has handled on behalf of these clients are the purchase, debt financing and sale of the historic Hotel del Coronado in San Diego and the 2008 sale of the Century Park Hyatt Regency in Los Angeles.

Mr. Heller also represents both lenders and borrowers in mortgage and mezzanine debt financings, having handled more than a billion dollars of mezzanine debt transactions.  In addition, for over 30 years, he has represented lenders, investors and special servicers in numerous debt workouts and restructuring transactions, as well as foreclosures.

Education

  • L.L.B.,, Yale Law School (1969)
    cum laude
  • B.A., Duke University (1966)
    magna cum laude

Admissions

  • California

Courts

  • U.S. Supreme Court

Representative Engagements

  • Represented junior mortgage holder in the acquisition and debt restructure of 5-star resort hotel in Southern California.
  • Represented the mezzanine lender in a workout and recapitalization of a large structured debt financing of luxury hotel in Beverly Hills, California.
  • Represented Sunstone Hotel Investors, a publicly owned hotel REIT, in the sale (for a reported $366.5 million) of the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles.
  • Represented foreign banks and U.S. pension fund managers in the acquisition of over a billion dollars in mezzanine and "B" piece debt obligations, including (A) $55 million note secured by five-star hotel and beach and golf resort in San Diego County, California, (B) $40 million mezzanine loan indirectly secured by office high rise in downtown Chicago, (C) $65 million mezzanine loan indirectly secured by 16-hotel portfolio and (D) $63 million mezzanine loan secured by multi-tower high-rise apartment project in Manhattan
  • Handled the structuring of a number of joint ventures for commercial, industrial and residential real estate investments, including office tower in Houston, Texas and R&D/warehouse re-development projects in California and Texas
  • Handled acquisition and debt financing of the Universal Sheraton Hotel in Los Angeles, California
  • Handled real estate construction and development loan workouts for the real estate lending subsidiary of a major international bank.

Presentations

  • “Hotels and Other Operating Properties: Issues in Restructuring and Purchasing Trouble Hotels and Other Operating Properties,” Panel Presentation at the USC Gould School of Law 2010 Real Estate Law and Business Forum, April 2010.
  • “Intercreditor Agreements & Deal Negotiations in 2009: How Are They Standing Up in Workouts,” Panel Presentation at IMN Sixth Annual Western Borrowers/Investors’ Forum on Real Estate Loans, March 2009.
  • “Stress in the Marketplace,” National Association Real Estate Investment Managers, Senior Legal Office Forum, Denver, Colorado, June 2, 2008.
  • “Negotiation, Allocation and Assumption of Risk in Real Estate Deals Today,” USC Gould School of Law LACBA Benjamin S. Crocker Symposium on Real Estate Law, Los Angeles, California, May 3, 2005.

Publications

  • “One Deed of Trust and Several Obligations: The Case for Layered Foreclosure,” California Real Property Journal (Vol. 28, Issue 2).
  • “Short of Foreclosure: Less Drastic Remedies for the Real Estate Mezzanine Lender,” The Practical Real Estate Lawyer (May 2010).
  • “A Refusal You Should Not Offer,” The Real Estate Finance Journal/Summer 2009.
  • “Sometimes, It’s Better to Ask for Only Half a Loaf,” Real Estate Southern California, volume one, number 10, September 2000.
  • “When it Comes to Estoppels, Recent Rulings are Puzzling,” Real Estate Southern California, volume two, number 6, April 2001.
  • “Caveat Emptor: Buyer and Seller Beware!” Real Estate Southern California, volume three, number 9, October 2002.