Kimberly Schlanger

Kimberly Schlanger joined Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s Houston office in 2019 as the first real estate partner beyond the firm’s New York and California hubs. Since then, she has played a key role in expanding the scope of the practice’s growing national footprint of transactional practitioners. After several years of representing primarily ground-up development projects across all asset classes, Schlanger has expanded her practice to represent investors and capital partners as well as developers on both development and acquisition transactions, with a particular emphasis on the senior housing and medical office sectors.

As result of her success in advising Welltower, a real estate investment trust and leader in the assisted living and skilled nursing facility sector, Schlanger has been tapped by other firms, such as New Senior Investment Group, to help them navigate challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. She has been particularly focused on helping large real estate holders mitigate risk through re-capitalization of existing assets with debt and equity in order to free up liquidity for new investments. As the demand and public opinion of skilled nursing and assisted living facilities are anticipated to rebound, Schlanger’s efforts place Welltower and other clients in a flexible position for strategic future growth.

Schlanger also helped her clients seize upon another area of growth throughout the pandemic: single-family rentals (SFRs). This asset class is predicted to grow substantially due to high demand from investors and demographic trends. Schlanger has represented both developers and investors who are expanding into this sector on new development projects and acquisitions throughout the country.

While many business operations faltered in the face of the COVID-19 crisis, Schlanger was able to improvise and act quickly in the moment to mitigate as much risk as possible for her clients. In the early months of the pandemic, she organized major deals to transfer risk away from clients while pivoting her practice to adapt to the situation. Her actions not only improved stability but also provided a platform for her clients to flourish and advance strategically, as demonstrated by Welltower’s advance into senior housing with little competition. Schlanger was able to transform her practice and demonstrate innovation under enormous pressure, an experience which proved her ability to reframe a challenging situation to create opportunity.

Most recently, Schlanger advised in the formation of a large joint venture between Monarch Alternative Capital and American House to develop a partnership to invest in senior housing properties. The newly formed portfolio totals seven properties with 1,047 units, positioning the joint venture in an advantageous spot with continued growth expected to emerge in this sector.

These are some of the reasons we named Schlanger to our Texas grouping of Lawyers in Real Estate. These are real estate attorneys who have distinguished themselves in both their practice and the larger community.