2017 Year in Review: Carl Schwartz, Hunton & Williams LLP

Name & Title: Carl Schwartz, Partner and Co-Head of Hunton & Williams LLP’s Global Real Estate practice

Company Name: Hunton & Williams LLP

Address: 200 Park Avenue, 52nd Floor New York, NY 10166

What was the best decision you made in 2017 and why?

Supporting my partners’ efforts to bring in new partner Rob Brusco and special counsel Jill Hayman. As the real estate market has gotten more challenging, our clients have had to become more creative in structuring their deals. That means they need help from senior lawyers who have a wealth of experience and a deep bench behind them. Both Brusco and Hayman have worked at premier firms as well as in-house (Brusco at Lehman and Hayman at Morgan Stanley)—they’ve seen it all in their respective areas of expertise.

Who or what contributed to your success in 2017 and why?

My partners Laurie Grasso, Peter Mignone, Rori Malech and Matt Scoville, who recognized a trend early on: that a number of developers were looking into new business lines as providers of preferred equity and mezz financing. We assembled a first-rate team to help clients who were entering what was, to them, unfamiliar territory. And we’ve been rewarded by becoming a “go-to” firm for that work, not only with respect to originations but for fundraising as well.