Akerman is a sponsor of the 2021 Lending Forward virtual conference presented by the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (CREFC).  Beau Baker serves on the Planning Committee for this year’s conference, which will focus on High-Yield, Distressed Assets & Servicing opportunities in the commercial real estate debt market. This program will bring recognized industry leaders together to address relevant topics facing the industry, with sessions focused on Investment Pipeline, Distressed Retail, Government and Policy Update, and more.

Carol Faber will speak on a panel titled "Retail: It Was The Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times," which will discuss the following topics:

• The Ongoing Impact of Eviction Moratoriums on Tenants, Workouts and the Residual Effects
• The Mall Dilemma: Tenancy, Repurposing and Are There Bulletproof Malls?
• Who is Lending and Investing in Retail and What Are The Differentiating Factors?
• Assumptions: The Challenge to Keeping Debt in Place