Over his 35-year career Bob Lee has been involved in more than $40 billion in real estate private equity capital formations and joint ventures and more than $25 billion in real estate portfolio transactions and real estate company and real estate investment trust (REIT) mergers and acquisitions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia.
Bob co-heads Jones Day's Real Estate Practice worldwide. He leads cross-disciplinary and cross-border teams in innovative and complex preferred equity and debt investments; joint ventures and co-investments; fund formations, "club deals," "funds of one," and separately managed accounts; public and private real estate company and REIT mergers and acquisitions; asset management company mergers, buyouts, and recapitalizations; and large portfolio transactions.
Bob regularly represents Henderson Park Capital Management, LaSalle Investment Management, MARK Capital Management Limited, Mill Creek Residential Trust, Orion Capital Managers, Sarofim Realty Advisors, TriGate Capital, Warwick Investment Group, and Whitman/Peterson Partners.
Bob serves on the board of trustees of the Chicago History Museum and the board of directors of After School Matters, a public/private partnership that provides Chicago Public High School students hands-on, project-based paid apprenticeships and internships in a variety of content areas, including the arts, communications and leadership, sports, and STEM.
Experience
Speaking Engagements
- June 7, 2012
Jones Day Chicago 2012 MCLE University - May 5, 2010
Real Estate Outlook: Navigating & Prospering in 2010 - October 2008
Large Fund Sponsors' Roundtable: Fund Allocation & Portfolio Management Strategies Necessary to Reach the 20% Benchmark, session chair, IMN's 9th Annual European Real Estate Opportunity & Private Fund Investing Forum - June 3, 2008
Around the World in 90 Minutes: Luxembourg Fund Structuring, National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers (NAREIM) Senior Legal Officer Discussion Forum - November 15-16, 2005
Single Country Funds vs. Pan European Funds vs. Global Real Estate Funds, The 6th Annual European Real Estate Opportunity and Private Fund Investing Forum, Information Management Network - July 25-26, 2005
Complex Portfolio and International Investments, Non-Core Real Estate Funds Forum, Institute for International Research - June 1-2, 2005
Deal structuring: What are the critical issues? - Keys to getting the best terms on your next deal and Deals that have gone bad: Why? The Sixth Annual U.S. Real Estate Opportunity & Private Fund Investing Forum, Information Management Network - April 27-30, 2005
The Globalization of the REIT Industry, 16th Annual ABA Real Property Symposium - December 2-3, 2004
Creating an Opportunity Fund: Legal, Tax & Accounting Considerations, The Fifth Annual European Real Estate Opportunity and Private Fund Investing Forum, Information management Network - June 1-2, 2004
Structuring for Overseas Real Estate Investments, The Fifth Annual U.S. Real Estate Opportunity and Private Fund Investing Forum, Information management Network - November 10-11, 2003
Real Estate Private Equity, The Fourth Annual European Real Estate Opportunity and Private Fund Investing Forum, International Management Network
"Smart, experienced, savvy and tough."Chambers USA
- University of Michigan (J.D. cum laude 1985); University of Virginia (Bachelor of City Planning, American Planning Association Outstanding Student Award, 1982)
- Illinois
Law360 Real Estate MVP (2018)
Chambers USA directory (2004-2023): Illinois, real estate — described as "smart, experienced, savvy and tough," as "a titan of the real estate industry," and as having "superb commercial acumen"
Legal 500 (United States): "sharp and adept"
Best of the Best USA Expert Guide: Top 30 real estate practitioners globally (2021)
Connect CRE: Top 10 National Lawyers in Real Estate (2021)