National law firm Akerman is pleased to announce that three of its partners have been selected among Connect CRE’s Women in Real Estate 2023 award winners. The award honors successful and inspiring women who have reached respected positions of leadership and act as mentors for others in commercial real estate.
The Akerman lawyers and the regions in which they were selected are:
Anne Marie Garavaglia, Atlanta & Southeast Region
With nearly 30 years of experience in commercial real estate finance and capital markets, Garavaglia's focus is on helping her clients—including traditional institutional lenders, private equity funds, and non-traditional lenders—achieve their real estate finance goals. She advises on a range of CRE issues involving all asset classes, including real estate capital markets, securitizations, financial services, structured and commercial finance, loan portfolio management and servicing, loan originations, and financial workouts and restructuring.
Garavaglia's foundation in the world of commercial real estate derives from a background in finance. She previously served as Vice President of the JPMorgan Chase Bank Commercial Real Estate Finance and Capital Markets Group (where she managed the closing of more than $10 billion in fundings for more than 600 CRE loans), and has in-house experience at several CRE companies, including as corporate counsel for the Overseas Partners' foreign and domestic companies (both of which are spin-off companies of United Parcel Service of America). This gave her a deep understanding of business from the inside out.
Meg George, Chicago & Midwest Region
George is a veteran lawyer advising municipalities, developers, small businesses, and Fortune 500 companies on real estate and municipal law matters, including the acquisition, sale and development of real estate, land use and zoning, licensing, permitting, subdivision, and other matters. She is also a U.S. Green Building Council LEED® Accredited Professional to better serve the needs of her clients.
In addition to her thriving practice that has made a tremendous impact along the Chicago skyline, George has significant achievements in various community leadership roles. She is a member of Akerman’s Executive Committee and serves as chair of Akerman Strong, the firm’s wellness initiative, and she previously served as the firm's Chicago office managing partner. In May 2023, George was selected as part of the transition team for newly elected Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. As part of her involvement on the Chicago Sustainability Task Force, she also assisted in drafting the city’s sustainability matrix.
Allison Nelson, Phoenix & Southwest Region
Nelson serves as co-deputy chair of Akerman's Real Estate Practice Group, which is comprised of more than 160 attorneys and real estate professionals across 24 U.S. offices. Her nationally focused practice has made her a leader in representing healthcare systems in complex real estate transactions and mergers and acquisitions. She regularly negotiates compliant sales and acquisitions, joint venture developments, leases, and subleases. She partners with clients to build and improve systems to manage real estate portfolios, ensuring compliance with federal and state healthcare regulatory laws. She is also experienced in guiding clients through real estate compliance investigations by the U.S. Office of Inspector General (OIG).
As outside real estate counsel, Nelson represents one of the largest healthcare companies in the nation, as well as one of the top dialysis providers in the country. She also represents regional and smaller medical practice groups in the acquisition, development, and leasing of medical properties. She recently closed several transactions involving the ground-up development of medical office buildings, each exceeding $100 million in construction costs. Her team works on more than 300 transactions per year, ranging from leases to mergers and acquisitions, as well as real estate development projects.
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About Akerman
Akerman LLP is a top 100 U.S. law firm recognized among the most forward-thinking firms in the industry by Financial Times. Its more than 700 lawyers and business professionals collaborate with the world’s most successful enterprises and entrepreneurs to navigate change, seize opportunities, and help drive innovation and growth.