2016 Women in Real Estate: Laurie Grasso

Laurie Grasso, Hunton & Williams LLP

Name: Laurie Grasso

Title: Partner

Company Name: Hunton & Williams LLP

Email: [email protected]

Years in real estate: 17 years

How did you get your start in real estate?

After completing college where I was a Division I volleyball player, I intended to stay in sports and become a sports agent. Instead, I was drawn to real estate, where my competitive nature would be an asset for real estate developers and owners. When you find your playing days are over, you can’t turn off that competitive energy and you need to channel it somewhere else. Real estate is a natural fit. Over time, I developed a talent for deal-making and relationship-building. I have had clients for my entire career and some of them I was there in the very beginning of the formation of their companies. The excitement I get from participating in the real estate industry, from forging bonds with clients like Savanna, Aria Partners, Vanbarton Group, Chatham Lodging Trust and World Wide Group, has not and will not wane. It's just too great of a practice.

One of the things I’m very proud of is starting the real estate practice in New York, where Hunton & Williams had not previously had a practice. I joined Hunton & Williams in 2012 with my colleague Carl Schwartz, and four years later, we now have one of New York’s premier commercial real estate practices, with more than 25 lawyers. We’ve worked hard to hand-pick a group of lawyers who are extremely talented and amazing to work with, and it’s been extremely wonderful and satisfying to start something and watch it grow and be successful.

What recent project or transaction are you most proud of?

This year, the thing that stands out to me the most is the volume of work I have been doing for my clients. Over the past 12 months, I’ve led 23 deals totaling over $3.282 billion. Business has been so exciting and busy and it’s really great to see the continuation of deal volume in New York City and beyond. One of the most exciting things that I’ve seen over the past year is my clients - who have traditionally been focused on Manhattan - move into the outer boroughs as well as into other markets in the United States, such as Raleigh, Los Angeles, Miami and DC.

My most significant deal this year involved advising ARC Hospitality Trust, one of the largest owners of select-service hotels in the country, on its $300 million acquisition of 13 hotels from Noble Investment Group. The transaction added 1,913 rooms to ARC’s portfolio in nine U.S. states. The hotels are franchises of major brands, including Hyatt Hotels, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, and Marriott International.

What have been some of the benefits of being a mentor or having a mentor?

I’m incredibly grateful to the women who have mentored me over the years in the real estate industry and excited at the possibilities for those just starting out. I love paying-it-forward and being a mentor to young women starting out in real estate. With a critical mass of women now involved in the industry, I see significant opportunity for women to play an ever-greater role in shaping real estate strategies and skylines in the generations ahead. It would be naïve to say that we have eliminated every institutional barrier that confronts us, but it’s clear that to a greater extent than ever before, it’s possible for women to work together to build relationships. I frequently am on calls and deals where the in-house counsel and business people are all women. Those are exciting situations for us all.