Attorneys > Jonathan L. Mechanic

Jonathan L. Mechanic

Partner
Real Estate

Jonathan L. Mechanic is chairman of Fried Frank's Real Estate Department. He first joined the Firm in 1978. He became a partner in 1987, when he rejoined the Firm after having acted for five years as general counsel and a managing director of HRO International Ltd., a real estate development organization responsible for the development of more than 2.5 million square feet of office space in Manhattan.

Click here to view video of remarks made by Larry A. Silverstein, Chairman of Silverstein Properties, Inc., about Mr. Mechanic.

Mr. Mechanic routinely counsels developers, owners, investors, REITs and lenders in all aspects of commercial real estate transactions, including the acquisition, disposition and development of office, retail, hotel and mixed-use properties; commercial mortgage, mezzanine and construction financing; acquisition and sale of distressed debt; and joint ventures and restructurings. He also represents both landlords and tenants in commercial leasing and ground lease transactions.
Mr. Mechanic has taught the real estate transactions course at Harvard Law School for seven of the last nine years. He also lectures regularly for NYU Law School, the Real Estate Board of New York and the Practising Law Institute, and is a co-author of The Commercial Office Lease Handbook published by the American Bar Association.

Honors & Awards

Fried Frank's Real Estate Department was awarded the Chambers USA Award for Excellence 2009 for Real Estate, an award which honors outstanding lawyers and law firms across the USA. In 2007 Mr. Mechanic was named a "Dealmaker of the Year" by The American Lawyer and in 2006 he was the recipient of the Chambers USA Award for Excellence for Best Real Estate Lawyer. For nearly a decade, Mr. Mechanic has been consistently recognized by Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, as a "Star Individual" in real estate, a ranking given to attorneys with exceptional recommendations in their field. He is consistently recognized as a leading lawyer by Legal 500 in Real Estate. He appeared on the cover and was featured in the 2007 edition of New York Super Lawyers. In March 2011, Mr. Mechanic was named one of the "Most Influential Lawyers" by The National Law Journal. He was also named "MVP Lawyer of the Year" by Law360 in 2011 and 2013, and is consistently included on The Commercial Observer's "Power 100" list of the most powerful people in New York real estate as well as The Commercial Observer's "The Lawyers You Call" list. Notably, upon his recent inclusion in the 2015 "Power 100" (the only practicing attorney to make the list), the Commercial Observer highlighted Mr. Mechanic's involvement in such notable developments as the World Trade Center, Hudson Yards, Atlantic Yards (Pacific Park) and the new 200,000-square-foot Whitney Museum. Mr. Mechanic was also recently awarded the 2016 Distinguished Alumnus Award for New York University and the 2016 Chambers USA Outstanding Contribution to the Legal Profession Award.

In addition, Real Estate Weekly recognized Mr. Mechanic in its 2008 All Stars edition, which honors real estate industry leaders. He was also honored with the Kenneth R. Gerrety Humanitarian Award at the Real Estate Board of New York's 112th annual banquet and received the National Jewish Health Humanitarian Award in 2009. In December 2011, Mr. Mechanic was awarded the Judge Joseph M. Proskauer Award by UJA-Federation of New York. In 2013, Mr. Mechanic was honored by Big Brothers Big Sisters and for his work on behalf of the Eldridge Street Synagogue. Over the years, he has also been honored for his philanthropic activities by National Jewish Hospital, Israel Bonds, the Modell Foundation, ORT, The Association for the Help of Retarded Children, Albert Einstein Medical College, the Police Athletic League and The Salvadori Center.

Professional Associations

Member, Executive Committee, Board of Governors, Real Estate Board of New York
Member, American Bar Association
Member, Association of the Bar of the City of New York
Member, National Realty Committee
Member, Executive Committee, Real Property Law Section, New York State Bar Association
Advisory Board, NYU Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy
Chairman, Advisory Board, NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate
Advisory Board, Columbia University Center for Urban Real Estate (CURE)
Member, Real Estate Roundtable
Member, American College of Real Estate Lawyers
Member, YMWREA
Board Member, New York University Law School
Board Member, The Eldridge Street Synagogue
Board Member, YMCA
Board Member, The Jeffrey Modell Foundation
Board Member, Realty Foundation
Board Member, National Jewish Hospital

Bar Admissions/Licensed Jurisdictions

New York