High-stakes real estate matters unfold where business goals, community impact and regulatory complexity intersect. Rising costs, compliance hurdles, litigation risk and delays can jeopardize even the most promising projects, making trusted counsel essential.

Real Estate

Sophisticated counsel for real estate deals, disputes and development.

Real Estate

Overview

Whether structuring a deal or litigating a dispute, real estate investors, developers and owners turn to Munger, Tolles & Olson to safeguard their interests and position projects for long-term success.

We handle the full spectrum of real estate matters, from headline-making acquisitions and development to litigation and regulatory resolution. Our attorneys combine deep transactional fluency with courtroom-tested experience, giving clients seamless support across every phase of a project or property lifecycle.

We advise on complex acquisitions, joint ventures, financing structures and lease transactions, including high-value deals involving public-private partnerships, mortgage asset securitizations and investment funds. Our real estate team is often called upon to troubleshoot risk during due diligence, resolve title and environmental issues and guide clients through negotiations with lenders, contractors and public agencies.

When disputes arise, we are known for delivering favorable outcomes in litigation, arbitration and regulatory forums. Our experience includes handling construction defect claims, contract disputes, fiduciary duty breaches and real estate fraud. Clients trust us to move quickly in high-impact disputes while protecting their reputations and preserving asset value.

With a multidisciplinary approach and deep understanding of the industry, MTO brings commercial sensibility and legal rigor to help real estate clients turn opportunities into achievements and challenges into closed deals.

Clients

We represent investors, management companies, developers, construction firms and sports teams and arenas, including:

Canyon Partners
CCA Acquisition Company
CommonWealth Partners
GI RE Acquisitions
Caruso Affiliated Holdings
KB Home
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission
MGM Resorts International
Multigreen Properties
Oaktree Capital Management
Resmark Equity Partners

Experience

Our representations include:

The Los Angeles Clippers in resolving numerous legal obstacles to the development of their new arena by negotiating for Clippers owner Steve Ballmer to purchase a competing venue, The Forum, from the Madison Square Garden Company.
Anthony Bruce and the heirs of Willa and Charles Bruce in recovering property that the family lost nearly 100 years ago through a racially discriminatory condemnation action by the City of Manhattan Beach. MTO represented the Bruce family through the passage of California Senate Bill 796, which paved the way for Los Angeles County to return the property and defeated a legal challenge to the transfer.
MGM Resorts International in obtaining dismissal of shareholder derivative litigation in state and federal courts and settling the remaining federal securities class action relating to a drop in its stock price, allegedly due to misrepresentations regarding the construction and financing of the CityCenter development in Las Vegas, Nevada.
KB Home in achieving a pre-trial arbitration settlement to a $100 million construction defect claim concerning a large condominium development in Redwood City, California.
West Pueblo Partners in the first victory in a California court to establish that a commercial tenant had to show that its ability to pay rent was delayed by COVID-19 for a force majeure clause to apply.
The Estate of Etsuko Toguri in persuading an arbitrator to award over $30 million, including punitive damages, to the estate of a businesswoman who was defrauded by her partners after developing Alzheimer’s. The award was named a Top Verdict of the Week by the Daily Journal.
Simon Property Group in pre-litigation settlement negotiations with Greenlaw Partners regarding its proposed development of 800 luxury apartments and a six-story hotel near The Outlets at Orange project, including restructuring the existing reciprocal easement and CC&R documentation that governs the use and development of the area.
CommonWealth Partners in connection with acquisition, leasing and financing matters for a portfolio of office projects.
GI Partners in connection with acquisition, leasing and financing matters for a portfolio of office and R&D projects.