Ankush R. Israni

Ankush Israni advises on a broad range of commercial real estate matters, including senior debt and mezzanine financing, joint ventures, purchase and sale, loan sale agreements, fintech issues and leases. He represents institutional and non-institutional investors, including private equity funds, real estate investment companies and real estate investment trusts, in all aspects of transactions and property management. 

Most recently, he served as a deputy general counsel for an award-winning investment platform focused on real estate debt.

Ankush was named as a Fellow of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity for 2020, participating in a landmark program to identify, train and advance the next generation of leaders in the legal profession. He has been recognized twice as an Associate to Watch by Chambers. 

“We've received a ton of praise from opposing counsel on how easy, efficient and responsive [Ankush] is,” Chambers USA reports.

• Acquisitions / Dispositions
• Alternative Property
• Commercial Leasing
• Corporate Real Estate
• Development and Construction
• Hospitality and Leisure
• Joint Ventures
• Lending / Distressed Real Estate
• Real Estate
• Real Estate Investment Management

Ankush’s transactions include:

• Represented a pension fund, as mezzanine lender, in connection with the origination of multiple mezzanine loans. 
• Represented a subsidiary of JPMorgan Asset Management in a $1.2 billion refinance transaction of Century Plaza Towers, a 2.4 million-square-foot office complex located in Los Angeles, California. The loan was financed by Deutsche Bank, Wells Fargo & Co. and Morgan Stanley Bank. 
• Represented a pension fund seller in its sale of two trophy office towers encompassing 724,000 square feet located in San Diego, California to American Assets Trust, Inc. The transaction was one of the largest office transactions in San Diego of 2019. 
• Represented a national banking association, as buyer, in connection with the origination of multiple repurchase facilities.
• Represented clients in various apartment acquisitions and related debt financings and joint ventures, from stand-alone projects to several portfolios.
• Represented the senior lender in a debt facility which included borrower mezzanine financing and negotiated the related intercreditor agreement.
• Represented a real estate financial technology startup in its $200 million forward flow loan sale agreement with a large public REIT.
• Represented a privately held commercial real estate company in the joint venture purchase, and related debt financing of a 24-property industrial, office and retail portfolio located in 12 states for $224 million.
• Represented a U.S. subsidiary of an international, family-owned business group on joint venture and acquisition transactions and subsequent financings of office complexes in Miami, Florida, Houston, Texas and Washington, D.C.
• Represented a large national mortgage lender in connection with a $120 million first mortgage financing secured by a 1.2 million-square-foot business park, which was also being financed by mezzanine debt. Negotiated the related intercreditor agreement between the senior lender and the mezzanine lender.
• Represented the borrower in its master repurchase loan agreement for $50 million from a large European bank.
• Represented the senior lender on its CMBS financings of office buildings in Los Angeles.

• Chambers USA, California: Southern: Real Estate - Associates to Watch
• Chambers California: Southern, Real Estate - Associates to Watch
• Fellow, Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, 2020

• Moderator, “Industry Insights Into Capital & Lending Resources,” GlobeSt. Multifamily Fall 2022, October 25, 2022
• Speaker, “Structuring Real Estate Mortgage Covenants, Event of Default Provisions, Representations and Warranties,” Strafford CLE Webinar, August 24, 2021
• Speaker, “E-Signatures and Electronic Loan Documentation in Real Estate Finance: ESIGN and UETA, Interplay With UCC,” Strafford CLE Webinar, February 13, 2020

California

J.D., Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, 2010; Dean's List, First Honors Award - Mergers & Acquisitions

B.A., cum laude, California State University, Fullerton, 2006

• Member, American Bar Association
• Los Angeles Office Representative, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan Associates' Committee