Shams Merchant
Senior Attorney
As an ex-BigLaw attorney at the largest law firm in Texas and one of the largest in the world, I believe access to sophisticated and responsive counsel should not cost a premium. Whether my client is a new or a seasoned player, I provide a cost-effective and value-added service, unparalleled in the industry.
Ensuring my rates are cost-effective, I service both large & institutional clients and new investment funds and local real estate entrepreneurs. Often lawyers get a bad rap of running the clock, but I work with my clients to reduce their legal spend. This has helped my clients increase their ROI on real estate projects and the overall profitability of their businesses. I proactively provide clients with new ways to track and quantify the value they receive on their legal spend, from using technology to improve service delivery to offering unique and bespoke alternative fee arrangements.
I am recognized as an industry-leading commercial real estate and private equity attorney, and I advise clients on a wide range of commercial real estate and business transactions ranging in value from $1 million to over $350 million, encompassing the purchase, sale, financing (interim, construction, permanent, mezzanine, CMBS, and life insurance), leasing, and construction & development of both commercial and residential properties including retail, shopping center & mixed-use projects, multi-family, office, industrial and warehouse, hotel, data center, sports & recreation facilities, telecommunications, hospitality, food and beverage, build-to-suite, self-storage, student housing, condominiums, and adaptive reuse & conversion projects. I also assist clients in their corporate structuring and establishing business entities (including LLCs, LPs, and corporations), joint-ventures, and private investment funds (including Rule 506(b) and 506(c) offerings) tailored to the needs of commercial real estate investment, development and ownership. My practice is Texas-based but national in scope. I have represented the largest real estate companies in the world, including well-known private equity firms, national, international and Texas-based investors and developers, deal sponsors, capital partners, private and public investment funds, regional and multi-national corporations, landlords, tenants and other real estate players. As a corporate attorney in my prior role, I also represent clients in the acquisition, disposition, and financing of businesses and companies, and negotiates asset purchase and stock purchase agreements, with particularly deep experience in the hospitality, restaurant and bar arena, working with some of the most well-known hospitality, bar and restaurant concepts in Texas and across the country.
Uniquely, I have a passion for experiential retail, mixed-use and adaptive reuse projects and have represented clients in the acquisition, disposition, development and leasing of numerous award-winning experiential retail, mixed-use and adaptive reuse projects in Texas—six (6) of which received the Development of Distinction Award by the Urban Land Institute and two (2) of which received the Landmark Award for Houston’s Top Real Estate Projects by the Houston Business Journal. I am frequently featured in national and regional publications including Law360, Houston Business Journal, Dallas Business Journal, Austin Business Journal, BisNow, The Real Deal, Traded: Texas, and other regional and national real estate publications for my work and market insights. I have been involved in more award-winning ULI projects than any other attorney under the age of 35 in Texas.
Clients appreciate my personal dedication to their matters, friendly personality and accessibility—no matter the day or time. My clients have included a 3-star Michelin chef, multiple real estate investment companies with billions of dollars of assets, one of the largest real estate developers in the world with over $16 billion in revenue, a leading private real estate investment firm in Houston with over 130 commercial properties, many emerging real estate players, solo and new real estate investors & entrepreneurs, national restaurant groups and QSR brands, celebrities and a billionaire. In addition to my industry-leading real estate transactional practice, I have extensive experience representing landlords and tenants in complex commercial lease disputes, buy-outs and terminations. I also handle complex disputes involving business and real estate matters, including disputes between partners and shareholders, claims for breach of real estate contracts, real estate fraud, disputes regarding restrictive covenants, and title and boundary disputes.
Recognition and Accolades
Development of Distinction Award 2023, Urban Land Institute (2 projects; 1 finalist; 1 winner)
Development of Distinction Award 2022, Urban Land Institute (2 projects; 2 winners)
Development of Distinction Award 2019, Urban Land Institute, Winner
Development of Distinction Award 2016, Urban Land Institute, Winner (leasing)
Landmark Award 2022, Top Real Estate Projects in Houston, Houston Business Journal (2 projects; 1 finalist; 1 winner)
Landmark Award 2021, Top Real Estate Projects in Houston, Houston Business Journal (2 projects; 1 finalist)
Landmark Award 2018, Top Real Estate Projects in Houston, Houston Business Journal, Finalist (leasing)
Attorney News
https://therealdeal.com/texas/dallas/2024/01/11/what-does-2024-hold-for-dfw-multifamily-real-estate/
https://therealdeal.com/texas/houston/2023/08/08/office-distress-mounting-in-houston/
https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/commercial-real-estate/property-preservation-cpa1-121351
Publications and Speeches
Author; Law360; How Pro Bono Work Can Strengthen a Law Firm:
https://www.law360.com/articles/1815533/how-pro-bono-work-can-strengthen-a-law-firm
Moderator, Creating the Winning Formula in 2023 and Beyond: How to Capitalize on the Experiential Retail and Retailtainment in A Post-Covid Era, BisNow Experiential Retail and Mixed-Use Event – Dallas-Fort Worth, 2023:
Notable Representation
Represented REIT in the sale of a corporate campus and the North American headquarters of a large public company for approximately $200 million.
Represent private equity firm in $150 million data center development.
Represent buyer in approx. $45 million acquisition of MOB.
Represent buyer in approx. $23 million acquisition of warehouse buildings.
Represent private investment firm based in Houston, TX that has acquired and developed over 90 retail, office and industrial projects worth over $600 million.
Represent the largest homebuilder in the United States in their real estate transactions nationwide.
Represent largest commercial real estate development firm in the United States, which has delivered more than 48 million square feet of development projects and currently has more than 73 million square feet worth of new projects under construction.
Represent private investment firm, which has developed or acquired nearly 2,900 buildings valued at $75 billion, and currently has $15.4 billion of projects in process and $14.5 billion in its pipeline.
Represent REIT in approximately $100 million acquisition of medical office building in Sugar Land, Texas.
Represent private investment firm in approximately $100 million ground-up mixed-use development in Houston, Texas.
Represent private investment firm in sale of approximately $150 million mixed-use development.
Represent private investment firm in the acquisition of portfolio of office buildings for approximately $100 million.
Represent private investment firm with $8 billion in real estate transactions and more than 29M sq. ft. of real estate development and acquisitions.
Represent private investment firm with over $8 billion in real estate transactions and more than 21 million sq. ft. of assets under management.
Represent publicly traded real estate investment trust with over $7 billion in assets under management.
Represent industrial and mixed-use real estate developer with over $1 billion in gross asset value in all of their real estate matters.
Represent one of the largest real estate developers in the world with over $16 billion in revenue in their real estate matters in Houston, Texas.
Represent private real estate investment and development firm with over $14 billion of assets acquired, developed or sold.
Represent private real estate investment and development firm with over $4 billion in assets.
Represent multi-family/apartment private equity firm with over $500 million under management and more than $300 million in targeted acquisitions.