Janice Mac Avoy

Janice Mac Avoy is a member of the Real Estate Department and the Litigation Department, co-head of the Real Estate Litigation Practice and a member of the firm's Pro Bono Committee. 

Janice concentrates her practice in complex real estate-related transactions and disputes, commercial litigation and arbitration, complex commercial landlord tenant disputes and commercial fair market rent arbitrations.  She also has extensive experience in creditor's rights, including complex commercial real estate mortgage foreclosures and UCC foreclosures, workouts and restructuring of real estate secured debt. Janice works with the firm's Real Estate Department on transactions in order to resolve issues without resorting to litigation.

Work Highlights

• Westbrook Partners and its affiliates in the successful dismissal of a lawsuit alleging the breach of their Ground Lease with the Battery Park City Authority.
• Kathrin Werner, a general partner of the property owner, as well as GreenOak Real Estate Advisors, an investor in the property, in connection with their approximately $900 million sale of The Terminal Warehouse, a former freight warehouse in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, to a joint venture of L&L Holding Co. and Normandy Real Estate Partners.
• Hospital for Special Surgery in the successful dismissal of a lawsuit challenging its efforts to expand its main campus on the Upper East Side.
• HFZ Capital and Fortress Investment Group in the successful defense of a lawsuit brought against several Shore Club LLCs owned by HFZ Capital and Fortress.
• Forest City Realty in the successful defense of a suit against New York City to compel arbitration.
• Normandy Real Estate Partners in its sale and acquisition of 575 Lexington Avenue.
• Richard Cohen of Capital Properties in the successful defense of a claim by a lender under a non-recourse carve-out guaranty.
• Princeton Holdings LLC in the successful arbitration of a dispute regarding the acquisition of a 50% tenant-in-common interest in the Ring Portfolio -- 14 Manhattan properties, valued in excess of $450 million at the time of the agreement and currently worth significantly more.
• RBC in its foreclosure action and subsequent restructuring of debt on the iconic Lipstick Building in New York City.

Janice's clients include commercial landlords and tenants, lenders and investors, broker-dealers and multinational corporations as well as individuals involved in commercial disputes.  A significant amount of Janice's practice includes advising clients on complex securitized debt in which the underlying assets are real estate, including the enforcement of lender's rights, acquisition and divestitures of real estate secured debt and the restructuring of real estate secured debt.  She also advises clients in complex partnership and joint venture disputes.

Janice has created seminars and CLE presentations on, among other things, the basics of real estate restructuring and workouts, mezzanine loan foreclosures under the UCC and the parameters of the attorney-client privilege in the corporate context. Janice has also published articles on lender liability claims, developments in the law of attorney-client privilege, electronic discovery and the appropriate use of email.

Janice is ranked by Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business for Real Estate Litigation, which describes her as “the best real estate litigator in New York.”

Janice received the “Courage Award” from The Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles for her exceptional dedication and commitment in the fight to protect women’s reproductive freedom. She received the "Commitment to Justice Award" for her extensive work on and long-term commitment to family law cases referred to her by Her Justice (formerly inMotion). In addition, she was honored with the 2018 Zero Tolerance Award by Sanctuary for Families at the annual Zero Tolerance gala for her lifelong commitment to the protection and empowerment of women. In 2019, Janice was admitted as a member to the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL), a premier organization of US real estate lawyers.
 
Janice is regularly named among Crain's New York Business' list of Notable Women in Law, a feature honoring achievements of the brightest and boldest legal minds with both distinguished careers and exceptional civic and philanthropic activities. In 2019, Globe St. Real Estate Forum named Janice to its Women of Influence feature, which recognizes remarkable commercial real estate professionals. Janice also was inducted into Real Estate Forum’s “Women of Influence” Hall of Fame, and has been named by Super Lawyers as one of the Top 50 Women in New York.