Busillo named partner at Eversheds Sutherland

New York, NY John Busillo has joined Eversheds Sutherland as a partner in the Real Estate Practice group. Busillo, a 30-year real estate veteran, joins Eversheds Sutherland from Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer.

“John is a well-respected figure in the real estate finance community whose background will greatly benefit the practice as it looks to expand its global footprint and deepen its bench,” said Mark Wasserman, Co-CEO of Eversheds Sutherland. “As we continue to grow our real estate practice, our clients in New York and around the globe will be well served by John’s experience.”

Busillo concentrates his practice on commercial real estate finance and the workout and disposition of distressed real estate. He advises major financial institutions, commercial and investment banks, insurance companies, public sector entities, real estate investment trusts and real estate developers in numerous sophisticated transactions. These transactions involve office buildings, regional shopping centers, hotels, resorts, multi-family residential complexes, mixed-use projects, healthcare-related projects, single-tenant retail sites, warehouse and industrial sites and commercial and residential condominium and cooperative projects.

“Given John’s three decades of experience and his keen understanding of real estate in New York and beyond, his arrival is another key step in the growth and diversification of our U.S. real Eestate practice,” said Victor Haley, co-head of global real estate and planning. “John’s finance work complements Eversheds Sutherland’s real estate capabilities, and his reputation and network in the loan origination space strengthens our real estate brand. His arrival also advances our goal of deepening our New York presence by expanding our institutional lender capabilities alongside our growing real estate equity practice.”

Busillo said, “Joining Eversheds Sutherland is a unique opportunity to help build a leading full-serve Real Estate practice. Expanding that practice in New York while tapping EvershedsSutherland’s vast global footprint advising foreign lenders and real estate equity investors looking to source deals in the US was extremely compelling – as were the people here, the strong cultural fit and the vision for the future.”

Busillo has also developed strong relationships with many life insurance company lenders, which will provide synergies with Eversheds Sutherland’s robust insurance practice in New York.

Following Busillo’s arrival, John Benson, an Eversheds Sutherland real estate partner who previously divided his time between the legal practices in the Atlanta and New York offices, is relocating his real estate structured finance practice full time to New York.

With more than 400 attorneys dedicated to real estate globally, the Eversheds Sutherland Real Estate group has developed a comprehensive understanding of the market, the economics of our clients’ industries and the legal issues that affect them. The team brings together transactional real estate and finance attorneys, which gives Eversheds Sutherland depth and speed to help clients identify opportunities, propose creative solutions and deal with complex issues when they arise. The attorneys have exceptional knowledge around tax and regulatory issues, and they comb through transaction details to make sure clients’ needs and concerns are addressed. The US-based team works in virtually every state and major real estate market, and international deals span the globe. EvershedsSutherland has the depth to manage many different types of deals, including niche areas such as timber acquisition, hospitality, complex real estate finance including multi-tranche mezzanine debt and data center development and leasing.