OVERVIEW

Salvador P. LaViña

Partner

Los Angeles

2029 Century Park East
Suite 300
Los Angeles, CA 90067

F 310-284-3894

Business lawyer and trusted adviser Sal LaViña, the firm's Real Estate department chair, closes complex transactions and provides strategic advice to his many successful clients. With more than three decades of experience, Sal serves as a battle-tested leader who listens attentively and executes swiftly client objectives, whether closing a multistate marquee deal or a fixing a local problem.

OVERVIEW
EXPERIENCE
EXPERIENCE
Presentations
INSIGHTS & EVENTS

OVERVIEW

Clients turn to Sal for guidance with their deal ventures and he has closed or supervised transactions totaling nearly $15 billion dollars over the past decade. He is a skilled negotiator and communicator, and has deep experience in virtually all areas of real estate, including acquisitions and sales, joint ventures, multifamily transactions, 1031 exchanges, real estate fund formation, development and construction, public-private and multistate matters.

In the corporate realm, Sal focuses on capital raising, fund formation, syndications and private placements, infrastructure, mid-market mergers and acquisitions, and stock and asset transactions. Sal also counsels clients on workouts, crisis management, business “divorces” and negotiations, and investor and LLC disputes. He is an invited guest speaker throughout the business community on real estate, finance, forecasting and business development topics.

Prior to joining Barnes & Thornburg, Sal led law firms and businesses alike. After law school, he spent several years at O’Melveny & Myers, followed by serving as managing partner in a business law firm, as well as general counsel and a partner in a real estate development company. He is a licensed California broker and works on his own deals. Sal knows, from first-hand experience, the pressures clients face running a business and brings this sensitivity to his practice at every turn.

Prior to the law, Sal worked as a reporter for the Los Angeles Daily Journal. This experience taught him early on to be concise, and writing headlines back then taught him to articulate bottom lines today for clients. Sal remains dedicated to meeting even the tightest deadlines while processing complicated information under pressure.

Sal is dedicated to giving back to the communities where he lives and works. He walks the walk, and exemplifies his belief that service is at the heart of being a well-rounded lawyer.

Professional and Community Involvement

Former board member and general counsel, UCLA Alumni Association

Board member, UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate, a joint center of UCLA Anderson Business School and UCLA School of Law

Member, UCLA Real Estate Alumni Group

Member, Wooden Athletic Fund Coaches Roundtable Member, UCLA Foundation Campaign of Champions Participant, Interview With a Bruin and Alumni Mentor, UCLA

Lecturer/educator, UCLA Extension courses on business and real estate law

Member, Columbia University Alumni Association

Lifetime member, American Mensa

Member, Latino Leaders Network

Board member, The Village Family Services Former board member, Para Los Niños

Serves on additional nonprofit boards that focus on helping underserved children in the communities where he grew up

Community redevelopment, representing several cities in South Los Angeles

Former chief of staff, Operation Hope, which focused on rebuilding businesses in South Central Los Angeles

Honors

L.A. Times Los Angeles & Orange Counties Business Commercial Real Estate Magazine Commercial Real Estate Visionaries: Professional Services Advisors, 2021

Los Angeles Business Journal Influential Minority Attorneys, 2019

Southern California Super Lawyers, 2017-2019

EDUCATION

Columbia Law School, J.D.

University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., magna cum laude, first in his department

Bar Admissions

California

Languages

English
Practices

Construction

Corporate

Emerging Companies and Venture Capital

Multifamily Real Estate

Private Funds and Asset Management

Private Funds and Asset Management

Real Estate

Securities and Capital Markets

Industries

Motorsports

EXPERIENCE

Represented a family office investment company in over 100 transactions across the U.S., including acquisitions, sales, 1031 exchanges, refinancing and re-caps, syndication, and fund formation
Represented a private real estate investment company forming several funds and syndications, including a $100 million closed-ended, co-investment fund formed to acquire multifamily real estate in the western U.S.
Represented a major tax credit syndicator and developer in multifamily, preservation, and opportunity zone funds and transactions
Represented a Denver-based real estate private equity company in several joint venture equity funds, investing with best-in-class real estate sponsors in industrial, hospitality, land, development, and other asset classes product types nationwide
Represented a publicly traded Texas-based energy company in negotiations for a large project involving a significant battery energy storage system, and the demolition of a closed power plant
Represented a family office in sale of several blocks of Manhattan real estate, with subsequent redemptions, reverse and forward 1031 exchanges for properties in Washington, California, and Arizona
Represented a real estate investment company in acquisition of nearly 100 multifamily properties in 20 states over an 18-month period, with multiple layers of financing, subsequent REIT roll-up
Represented a pension fund adviser in acquisitions of over $200 million of shopping centers in seven states
Represented a family office in the negotiations and settlement regarding investment in largest chain of cannabis retail stores
Assisted a fund client with a joint venture investment in a 13-property, four-state acquisition
Represented a major rocket company in negotiations concerning new headquarters in Washington
Advised an infrastructure development company in acquisitions, negotiations with major retailers for EV charging stations
Represented several family trusts in the $70 million sale of high-profile Beverly Hills auto dealership property
Assisted a publicly traded client with a $400 million acquisition of a California-based consumer products company and on the real estate assets and the sale leaseback of 17 properties
Represented a major shoe company building distribution centers and warehouses in China, Europe, and California
Represented several celebrities, ultra-high net worth clients, and athletes in major residential real estate purchases and sales, including privacy trusts, ranging from $10 million to over $100 million
Represented a San Diego-based family office in developing multifamily properties in South San Diego County, and in the sale of holdings to a developer
Represented a founding partner in a freeze and buyout from a multifamily real estate investment company with $1.5 billion in assets under management
Represented an LLC member in dispute with other members, dissolution, broker best and final process, resulting in sale of multifamily assets at three times the original appraised price
Represented a hospitality development company in dispute with investor members who wrongfully took over a 600-acre New York development project
Represented an electronic dance music promoter in major crisis management concerning the LA Coliseum, public agencies, and media exposure
Represented a major real estate foreclosure and workout advisory company in crisis management dealing with state agencies, media coverage, and receivers
Advised on real estate aspects for San Diego-based healthcare and hospital system litigation against home builder regarding properties across the county

Presentations

"What’s Next in the Evolution of the Multifamily Sector?” 20th Annual IMN Winter Forum On Real Estate Opportunity & Private Fund Investing, (Jan. 19, 2024)
“What’s Next in the Evolution of the Multifamily Sector?” 19th Annual IMN Winter Forum On Real Estate Opportunity & Private Fund Investing (Jan. 19, 2023)
“Real Estate Track: Choose Wisely: Own vs. Lease,” IWLA Convention and Expo, La Cantera Resort, San Antonio TX (Nov. 2, 2021)
“Real Estate Opportunity Zones,” Moderator, Family Chateaux Summit, 4th Annual Family Chateaux Summit, Four Seasons Westlake, CA (April 25, 2019)
“Real Estate: Changing Times Create Opportunistic Investing Strategies” 4th Annual Family Chateaux Summit, Four Seasons Westlake, CA (April 25, 2019)
“Fireside Chat: Real Estate, The Future - Technology, Tokenization, Real World Assets” Moderator, 4th Annual Family Chateaux Summit, Four Seasons Westlake, CA (April 25, 2019)
“It’s All About Structuring: Strategies to Create Optimal Results Prior to Selling a Company or Assets, or Expecting a Windfall,” Family Chateaux Family Office Summit, Sherwood Country Club (Sept. 13, 2017)
“The Multifamily Crystal Ball: The Current Market and Forecasts of How Demographic Changes and Affordable Housing Demands Will Reshape the Multifamily Sector Over the Next Ten Years,” USC Gould Real Estate Law and Business Forum, Los Angeles Jonathan Club (March 9, 2017)
“State of the Market: Construction, Design Development-Changing Demands,” Bisnow LA State of the Market Event, Century Plaza Hotel (Feb. 14, 2017)
“Future of Multifamily: The Impact of Emerging Markets on the Multifamily Market,” The Future of SoCal Super Regional Event, Millenium Biltmore Los Angeles (Nov. 11, 2016)*
“Real Estate Investment Panel for Family Offices,” Family Chateaux Summit, Sherwood Country Club (July 21, 2016)*
“Trends and Developments in California's Multifamily and Mixed-Use Market,” Los Angeles Multifamily and Mixed-Use Forum, Montage Beverly Hills (Feb. 24, 2016)
“IRC Section 1031 Legal Updates,” Beverly Hills Bar Association (May 13, 2015)*
“Anatomy of a Deal: Script for a Modern Day Soap Opera – A Case Study and Analysis of Complex Issues involving a Company Looking to Create Shareholder Liquidity,” Provisors M&A Group (April 8, 2015)*
“Rainmaking: Getting and Giving Valuable Referrals,” Provisors Century City (Jan. 23, 2015)*
“Rainmaking: Getting and Giving Valuable Referrals,” Provisors M&A Group (Nov. 25, 2014)*
“Distressed Commercial Real Estate Opportunities – Legal Experts Panel” Real Estate Investment Conference, Century City (Oct. 2010)*
“From the Frontlines: Syndicators Prospering After the Real Estate Downturn,” Provisors Real Estate Investment Group (Sept. 2010)*
“Where’s the Tsunami? Recent Trends in CMBS Defaults,” SSW Real Estate Workout Forum, downtown Los Angeles (Sept. 2009)*