Bio
Rob Berman is a partner in RMG’s Real Estate, Business Planning & Transactions, and Commercial Lending Groups. Rob primarily handles complex corporate and commercial real estate transactions and advises clients through various deal structures, including mergers, acquisitions, off-balance sheet financings (traditionally known as “land banking” or “lot banking”), developments, leasing, and traditional financings. His clients include institutional capital and other financial institutions, private equity funds, developers, investors, and operators.
Rob has extensive experience structuring and documenting land banking transactions, including both finished lot deals and development deals, and advising institutional capital and private equity clients as they navigate projects with home builders nationwide. Rob also represents clients establishing land bank platform facilities, offering fund placements for structured series land banking transactions.
Rob began his legal career working for an AmLaw100 firm in the Corporate Practice Group in the firm’s Washington D.C. office, practicing general corporate law with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions. He has experience representing private equity firms and companies in a range of industries, including real estate, technology, and manufacturing.
Rob is a member of the Maryland and Florida State Bar Associations. He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Maryland, Francis King Carey School of Law, his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Maryland, Smith School of Business, and his Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Practice Groups
Bar Admissions
- Maryland
- Florida
Education
- University of Maryland, Francis King Carey School of Law, J.D. (2019)
- University of Maryland, Smith School of Business, M.B.A. (2019)
- University of Maryland, B.A. (2015)
- Executive Committee Membership, Lawyer’s Campaign Against Hunger, Maryland Food Bank
- Vice-Chairman and Editor, Maryland Business Law Developments Blog
- Urban Land Institute (ULI) Baltimore, Member
- Maryland State Bar Association
- Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America – Real Estate Law (2024)
- Super Lawyers: Rising Star – Mergers & Acquisitions (2024)
Experience
REAL ESTATE
- Represent national and regional owners and developers in all aspects of acquisition and development of improved and unimproved real estate, construction, financing and refinancing, and leasing, including negotiating leasing transactions with “big box” tenants.
- Represent private equity funds and institutional capital providers structuring and documenting off-balance sheet financings (traditionally known as “land banking” or “lot banking”) for both finished lot and development deals.
Select Deals
- Represented largest Maryland-based self-service storage company in the sale of its 4.2 million square foot self-storage portfolio that was purchased by a California-based firm for a reported price of $1.8 billion.
- Represented private equity funds in their finished lot deals and development deals for nationwide residential developments with leading public home builders.
- Represented national industry-leading entertainment venue company in the successful negotiation and sale of multi-million dollar real estate assets.
- Represented national hotel operator in acquisitions of multi-million dollar hotels and real estate.
BUSINESS PLANNING & TRANSACTIONS
- Represent small business owners with respect to general corporate and real estate needs, including corporate governance, leasing, and financing matters.
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Advises on entity formation choices for new investments and business ventures, and assist with the creation of corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies.
- Advise companies and boards of directors on corporate governance and policy matters.
- Represent businesses in the negotiation and drafting of contracts with third-parties for manufacturing of goods, purchases and sales of goods and services, licensing of intellectual property, publishing, consulting, etc.
- Represent businesses in the negotiation and drafting of agreements between stockholders, members, owners and others of buy-sell, right of first refusal and covenant not-to-compete agreements.
Select Deals
- Represented national licensee and distributor of impaired vision technologies in its negotiation of licensing and distribution agreements with cross-border manufacturers.
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
- Represent private equity firms and small to mid-sized business in mergers, acquisitions, asset purchases and divestitures, strategic alliances and joint ventures.
Select Deals
- Represented industry-leading pharmaceutical services company, including successful negotiation and acquisition of multi-million dollar competing business.
- Represented Maryland-based cannabis dispensary business in multi-million dollar negotiation and sale of equity to industry leading acquiror.
- Represented photography and related services business in the successful negotiation and sale of multi-million dollar assets.
FINANCINGS
- Represent national and state-chartered banks in loan facilities, including originations, restructurings and workouts, secured by commercial and residential real estate as well as operating assets.
Select Deals
- Represented national bank in multi-million dollar successful negotiation, documentation and origination of construction loan facility borrowed by industry-leading developer.
- Represented lending institution in multi-million dollar successful negotiation, documentation and original of hotel acquisition loan facility.