Kevin Ray has been an attorney with the firm since its founding in 1995. Kevin has a diverse practice in transactional law that concentrates on general business, entity structure, organization and maintenance, real estate and financial transactions with an emphasis on hospitality matters.  Through his extensive work for leading real estate developers and hospitality pioneers, Kevin is often called on when unique problems require creative strategies. Kevin has helped close diverse purchase, sale, construction, and finance transactions with valuations in excess of $100,000,000 and as small as $50,000. Kevin’s trusted relationship with some clients extends beyond the deal-by-deal involvement of the typical attorney. Instead, with those clients, Kevin acts as outside “General Counsel” where he functions as an integral member of the executive management team regarding legal strategy and liability protection. Such role include counsel regarding management of corporate governance including corporate minutes, directors meetings, shareholders meetings, share issuance, employment contracts, non-compete agreements, risk management, and other requirements for day-to-day business operations and ordinary course contracting.

General Real Estate: Kevin’s real estate practice includes 20+ years of representation of regional & national developers, lenders, landlords and tenants, title insurers, property management companies and other parties in small and large real estate transactions and related financing structures; from simple vacant land transactions and residential purchases to complex office building and multi-use transactions. His real estate experience includes expertise in (i) drafting and negotiating acquisition and sale contracts and applicable easements, deeds, assignments and bills of sale, (ii) conducting legal due diligence, including title review, review of environmental reports, zoning, and use and entitlement rights, (iii) structuring the legal entities and partner rights and obligations with respect to the project, (iv) structuring and negotiating any financing required for the acquisition; (v) construction projects, including, the contracting structure, negotiating and administering the contracts, and limiting and resolving any claims that may arise, (vi) drafting and negotiating architecture, engineering, procurement, construction and financing contracts of all types, (vii) all aspects of leasing from both the landlord and tenant perspective, including ground leases, office, residential, industrial, retail, cell tower and restaurant leases, and (viii) creation and review of covenants to protect the land, from cross-easement agreements among adjoining landowners to complex covenants creating owners associations and architectural restrictions.

Hospitality: Kevin has been providing legal services in the hospitality industry since 1997. He is a member of the American Hospitality Industry Attorneys. Kevin’s hospitality experience includes full-service legal representation in connection with hotel and restaurant management, acquisition, partnership and entity structuring, sale, financial structuring and development throughout the United States.  Kevin’s hospitality experience includes: (i) representing owners in the negotiation of operating and management contracts, franchise agreements and operating leases, (ii) acquisition and sale of hotels, resorts and restaurants, (iii) development of hotels including complicated urban core development or redevelopment projects utilizing development incentives, (iv) representing management companies in the negotiation and administration of management contracts, (v)  negotiations for construction and development agreements, as well as for debt and equity financing for hotel and restaurant acquisitions, developments, redevelopments and property improvement programs, and (vi) advice and administration of the day-to-day issues that arise in the operation of hotels and restaurants, (vii) the preparation and/or negotiation of technical service agreements, asset management agreements, and joint venture agreements among investors and developers.

Finance: In connection with his real estate practice, hospitality practice and general counsel practice, Kevin commonly counsels his clients with respect to traditional acquisition and construction loans, gap financing, mezzanine financing, bridge loans and permanent financing.