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With years of experience in real estate transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, development and finance; commercial leasing; and construction law, Rich Fildes advises both public and private companies on a broad spectrum of matters in the hospitality, real estate, sports and entertainment industries.

Rich represents owners, developers, lenders, investors, and operators in hotel and resort acquisitions, sales, financings, management, operations and development, franchising and licensing. As co-chair of the firm’s Hospitality & Leisure Group, he and his team have handled more than $25 billion in client transactions involving hotels, resorts, golf and country clubs, theme parks and water parks, family entertainment centers, ski resorts and marinas throughout the U.S. and Canada.

In addition, Rich has represented the developers and operators of sports venues as well as past and current professional athletes in various business capacities.

Chambers USA (2017)* reports that Rich is recognized for his excellence in real estate acquisitions, dispositions, development and finance, most notably with respect to the hotel, sports and entertainment sectors. He is co-chair of the firm’s hospitality and leisure group.

*We make no guarantees or promises that the reader will realize the same or similar results

Pete Lopez focuses on commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, development and finance, with an emphasis on acquisition and construction financings and re-financings.

Having more than 25 years of legal experience, Pete routinely represents owners and developers of hospitality and leisure assets and senior living facilities on a nation-wide basis and in a wide range or real estate methods. Pete is detailed in his approach to his practice and is solution oriented.

Becky  Wilson is chair of the firm's Land Use, Zoning and Environmental Group. She represents property owners, developers, lenders and other development participants with issues related to zoning, comprehensive plans, concurrency, administrative law, Developments of Regional Impact (DRI’s), procurement issues, due diligence and property rights.

As early as sixth grade, Becky advocated for the causes she believed in. Her concern about nuclear waste and water contamination in her hometown of Dothan, Alabama – and her thorough research – promoted her to press a state legislator with questions in the school auditorium. Having grown up in the South, Becky got in trouble for questioning authority – yet that life experience served her well.

After clerking for a federal judge in Washington, D.C., Becky landed in Orlando, quickly building a reputation at Lowndes for being thorough, outspoken, and a tireless advocate for clients. She ultimately found her niche in land use, collaborating with architects, transportation engineers and local governments to move her clients’ projects – and Central Florida – forward. Becky became one of the youngest female shareholders at the firm. Today, she is Chair of the Land Use, Zoning and Environmental Group.

Her clients include property owners, developers, lenders and other participants in the development of high-rise, hotels, planned communities, large “power-centers,” mixed-use projects, office buildings and big box commercial projects, projects within historic districts, multi-family developments, senior living, and affordable housing. Becky works closely with the local government entities to address the needs of her clients related to zoning, comprehensive plans, concurrency, administrative law, Developments of Regional Impact (DRI’s), procurement issues, due diligence, and property rights.

Undoubtedly, Becky’s diligence, activism and Southern charm were responsible in part for her appointment as chair of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) of Central Florida District Council, a global multidisciplinary real estate organization with more than 40,000 members dedicated to the responsible use of land, and creating and sustaining thriving communities.

Ormend Yeilding, co-chair of the firm’s Hospitality & Leisure Group, concentrates his legal practice on hotel and resort transactions. He routinely represents developers, institutional investors and private equity groups in the acquisition, financing, restructuring and disposition of resorts, hotels, golf courses and other leisure assets, with an emphasis on negotiating brand management agreements and franchise agreements.

Ormend is frequently asked to write and speak on legal and business issues related to the challenges, nuances and strategies of negotiating among multiple parties to successfully develop, brand and finance hotel projects.

During his more than 20 years with Lowndes, Ormend routinely handled a variety of complex transactions for hospitality and leisure assets located nationwide, including the Sheraton DFW Airport, Hilton Melbourne Airport, Grand Wailea Resort and Spa, Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, La Quinta Resort & Club, Omni Mount Washington Resort, Marriott Marquis Houston, Hilton Orlando, and several historic hotels located in the Miami Beach Art Deco National Historic District. He is frequently asked to write and speak on legal and business issues related to the challenges, nuances and strategies of negotiating among multiple parties to successfully develop, brand, manage and finance hotel projects.

Prior to rejoining the firm in 2022, Ormend spent two years as General Counsel for Stratford Hospitality, a Los Angeles-based hotel investment firm that specializes in providing asset management, financing and construction consulting services for its investment partners. This experience has given him a unique understanding of the industry, as well as valuable insight into legal business needs from the client’s perspective.

Patti Cook focuses her practice on corporate and finance matters, particularly in the real estate, hospitality, leisure industries and senior housing.

Patti has worked with several national and multi-state entities. Her experience ranges from corporate organizational and documentation matters to real estate and corporate acquisitions, dispositions, and financing transactions.

*Not admitted to practice in Florida. Admitted to practice in New York.

Dave Peterson has a broad background in bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, as well as commercial litigation, in general.

Dave represents lenders, creditors and lessors in sophisticated Chapter 11 reorganizations and Chapter 7 liquidations. He has represented creditors in negotiating Chapter 11 bankruptcy plans, as well as litigation concerning confirmation of bankruptcy plans. He has handled preference litigation, fraudulent conveyance claims, exemption litigation, and a wide range of other kinds of litigation arising out of bankruptcies, including appeals.

Further, Dave has experience accumulated over a period of approximately 26 years, handling real estate mortgage foreclosures, including foreclosures of hotels, apartment complexes, office buildings, retail property, and other types of commercial property, and in handling litigation arising out of the enforcement of security interests in personal property under the UCC.

He also has significant experience representing receivers in receivership cases, handling and litigating assignments for the benefit of creditors, and in defending lender liability claims. In addition, Dave has spent a number of years working on transactional matters related to his expertise in the area of finance. For example, Dave has experience handling the workout of problem loans and debt restructuring.

Dave has also spent approximately 8 years structuring, negotiating, documenting, and closing sophisticated financial transactions, such as mortgage warehouse facilities, repurchase agreement transactions, real estate loans involving special purpose entities, and revolving credit facilities secured by all kinds of personal property, as well as uniform commercial code transactions of all kinds. Many of these transactions have involved hundreds of millions of dollars.

Logan Opsahl is an attorney in the firm’s Real Estate Department who focuses his practice on commercial real estate transactions, land use, eminent domain and local government issues. He represents developers, homebuilders, landlords, tenants and franchisees in a wide range of matters involving the acquisition, disposition, development and leasing of commercial real estate.