Seward & Kissel LLP is pleased to announce that Lawrence Rouslin has joined the firm’s New York office as special counsel in the Real Estate Group.

Most recently counsel with A&O Shearman LLP, Rouslin structures and negotiates large and complex real estate transactions, with a focus on secured financings. Many of the transactions he executes involve multiple lenders and feature various types of mortgage and mezzanine financings, intercreditor agreements, participations, and co-lending agreements. He also represents institutional lenders in modifications, extensions, workouts, foreclosures, and deeds-in-lieu.

“Major international lenders, real estate developers, and others in the New York real estate market know Lawrence to be highly effective in originating secured financings,” said Rhona Kisch, a Seward & Kissel partner and head of the firm’s Real Estate Group. “His experience adds further depth to our capabilities and he will be a great asset to our clients.”

Focusing on real estate financing transactions for the last two decades of his 30-year legal career, Rouslin has regularly represented banks and developers in acquiring and creating joint ventures in real estate vehicles. He has also assisted real estate funds in acquiring mezzanine loans, mortgage loans, B notes, and participations on the secondary market.

“It’s an honor to join a firm with Seward & Kissel’s quality and history,” said Rouslin. “I look forward to working alongside members of the Real Estate Group as well as members of the firm’s strong complementary practices, including Investment Management, Tax, and Capital Markets and Corporate Securities, in addressing our clients’ business needs.”

Rouslin received his J.D. from New York University School of Law and a B.A. from Brown University.

His arrival is the latest in a series of lateral hires by Seward & Kissel from Am Law 100 firms, including the most recent addition of Walter Van Dorn, a partner in the Capital Markets and Corporate Securities Group, from Dentons last month.