Avi J. Sommer, Of Counsel

Avi J. Sommer is a skilled attorney who uses his unique professional background to work closely with his clients to provide favorable outcomes in the commercial real estate, hospitality, general business, and education practice areas and industries.

He has extensive experience representing clients in a broad range of commercial real estate transactions, including the purchase, sale, leasing, and financing of retail, office, hospitality, and industrial properties, for clients large and small. He has advised borrower clients with regards to complex financing arrangements including numerous hotel construction projects, commercial mortgage-backed securities loans, loan assumptions out of receivership, as well as private equity bridge loans.

Mr. Sommer assists Real Estate clients in the following areas:

• Acquisition and sale of hotel properties and the accompanying businesses, shopping centers, office, retail, warehousing, and other commercial properties.
• Acquisition and sale of undeveloped land.
• Landlord and Tenant leasing in retail, office, and industrial space.
• 1031 Exchange transactions including reverse and construction exchanges.
• Financing and refinancing with relation to acquisition and continued operation/ownership at all levels.
• Outside general counsel to hospitality businesses and real estate joint-ventures.

Mr. Sommer’s practice extends to higher education as he previously served as in-house counsel to Morgan State University. In his higher education practice, he represents students facing disciplinary action by their educational institutions, including Title IX matters, academic misconduct, student code-of-conduct violations, removal from athletics, suspension, and expulsion. He also advises schools on their disciplinary and Title IX policies and procedures. His practice includes but is not limited to:

• Representing students appealing academic misconduct charges to avoid permanent notations on their transcripts, suspension, and/or expulsion.
• Representing and advising undergraduate and graduate students facing Title IX investigations and violations.
• Representing students facing dismissal from graduate programs for academic and non-academic reasons.
• Representing students whose programs have lost accreditation.
• Advising local higher education institutions regarding sexual misconduct, Title IX, and general student affairs policies, procedures, and outcomes.

Drawing on his experience with the Baltimore Orioles, National Football League, the San Antonio Spurs, Boston Red Sox, and Under Armour, Mr. Sommer’s practice also reaches clients across the sports industry. Mr. Sommer previously wrote and edited for The Sports Esquires, a sports law blog that analyzed and commentated on the sports world with a legal twist. He has represented clients in the sport industry in regards to commercial contracts, branding, and intellectual property licensing and has also served in player operations capacities in Major League Baseball and NBA. Prior to attending Tulane Law School, Mr. Sommer served on the legislative staffs in the British House of Commons, United States Senate, and the Maryland House of Delegates.

Mr. Sommer has been recognized since 2021 by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America.