Privately held portfolio lender Mesa West Capital has hired Noah Bilenker as senior counsel and Philip Smith as originations analyst in its growing New York City office, announced principal Raphael Fishbach. Bilenker joins Mesa West Capital from the New York office of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, where he was an associate in the real estate department. Previously, Bilenker was VP and general counsel of Zamir Equities, where he oversaw acquisitions and dispositions, financing, leasing, and joint venture partnerships for the New York-based real estate investment firm. Bilenker started his real estate law career in the real estate department of Fried, Frank Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Bilenker earned a JD from The Columbia University School of Law where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and a MS in Real Estate Finance from the Schack Institute of Real Estate at NYU. Prior to joining Mesa West Capital, Smith was with Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. in the firm's Investment Management Division. He is a graduate of Connecticut College. Smith will be responsible for supporting the New York originations team with the underwriting of short-term first mortgage debt for the acquisition and recapitalization of transitional or non-stabilized commercial real estate assets in New York and gateway cities on the East Coast. "As the commercial real estate market continues to evolve, so has the demand for our solution-oriented debt which has now exceeded $3.5 billion across our entire platform," said Fishbach. "It is important that we continue to bring in talented and skilled professionals so that we can be responsive to our clients' financing needs."