Thompson & Knight’s Real Estate Practice Continues to Grow with the Addition of Seven Attorneys

Dallas, Texas - (April 2007) – Thompson & Knight is pleased to announce the expansion of its Real Estate and Banking Practice Group with the addition of Jay Gibson, Laura L. McClellan, Misty Willcox, Sean D. Hawkins, and Meg Squiers in the Firm’s Dallas office and John B. Wood and Bohdan (Bud) S. Kosovych in the Firm’s New York office. These laterals strengthen an already thriving real estate practice of over 50 attorneys spread among four domestic and three international offices. The Firm’s real estate attorneys routinely counsel clients in a wide variety of real estate and banking transactions.

“Thompson & Knight is pleased to have all seven attorneys join our expanding Real Estate practice,” says Alfred M. Meyerson, Chair of the Firm’s Real Estate and Banking Practice. “Mr. Wood and Mr. Kosovych are the Firm’s first real estate attorneys in the New York office and will serve the needs of the Firm's clients engaged in business in the New York area. This is an exciting time for our Firm, and our clients will greatly benefit from their breadth of experience and contacts in New York.”

Gibson has over twenty years of experience advising clients in a wide variety of matters. He focuses his practice on real estate and business transactions. He represents developers in the acquisition, development, and disposition of undeveloped acreage, including review and documentation of senior and mezzanine financing and equity capital, as well as owners of shopping centers, industrial buildings, and mixed-use properties. He also provides counsel to companies and investment groups involved in healthcare, energy, technology, and manufacturing endeavors. Gibson received a J.D. from Texas Tech University School of Law in 1985 and a B.B.A. in Accounting, cum laude, from Texas Tech University in 1982.

McClellan began her legal career at Thompson & Knight in 1998 and has nearly ten years of real estate experience representing buyers and sellers in acquisitions, sale, and development of real estate, including retail, office, senior assisted living, and multi-family projects throughout the country. She also represents landlords and tenants in commercial leasing transactions. Ms. McClellan received a J.D., cum laude, from Cornell Law School in 1998 and Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, summa cum laude, from University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1995.

Willcox assists clients with acquisitions and dispositions and drafting and negotiating commercial leases. She received a J.D., cum laude, from Texas Tech University School of Law in 2004 and a B.A. in Biological Sciences from Texas Tech University in 1999.

Hawkins’ experience includes the representation of institutional investors in joint venture real estate transactions, developers in acquisitions and dispositions of real estate, and financial institutions in real estate financing. He received a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2005 and a B.S. in Psychology from Brigham Young University in 2001.

Squiers also began her legal career at Thompson & Knight in 1986, and the Firm is excited to have her return. She assists clients with real estate and real estate finance matters. She received her J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law in 1986 and a B.B.A. in Finance, with honors, from the University of Texas in 1983.

Wood focuses his practice on commercial real estate. He advises public and private companies on real estate acquisitions, facilities management, construction and development, brokerage law, commercial leasing, commercial property management, and litigation. Mr. Wood has represented owners in the design and negotiation of commercial leases covering in excess of 50 million square feet of retail, office, and mixed-use space projects for thirty years. Mr. Wood is a member of the American Arbitration Association Commercial Neutral Panel. He received a J.D. from Washburn University in 1977, an M.B.A. in Accounting and Finance from the University of Kansas in 1975, a B.B.A. in Accounting and Finance from Washburn University in 1973, and became a Certified Public Accountant in Kansas in 1980.

Kosovych focuses his practice on commercial real estate matters nationwide, including complex property sales and purchases the real estate aspects of corporate acquisitions and divestitures, and construction matters. His experience, during twenty-five years of practice, includes ground leasing, retail, office, and warehouse leasing and subleasing transactions. He received a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law in 1981 and a B.A. from Richmond College, CUNY in 1970.