Overview
International law firm McDermott Will & Emery welcomes Darren Rogers and Devina Rana as partners in its Transactions Practice Group in London.
“Growing our real estate practice in London has been a long-standing goal for us,” said Harris Siskind, global head of McDermott’s Transactions Practice Group. “We are thrilled that Darren and Devina are joining the team as they complement and enhance our global real estate offering and will support our strategic outlook.”
Darren advises a broad range of clients on a full spectrum of real estate transactions, with a focus on equity-related investment matters. Specifically, he has significant experience in high value real estate capital markets transactions, major London leasing joint ventures and mixed-use development projects. His clients consist of real estate firms, investment managers, and international real estate sovereign wealth and private equity investors.
Devina has a background advising institutional investors, developers, retail tenants and large corporate landlords on a wide range of complex real estate matters, both in the corporate and commercial real estate sectors. Alongside her experience in handling high-value investment transactions for UK, US and broader global clients, she also has extensive experience in real estate finance, representing both lenders and borrowers, including advising a prominent UK retail bank whilst on secondment.
“Darren and Devina’s arrival is a great boost to the Firm’s global real estate practice as they will help us establish a more visible, cohesive offering in London and across Europe,” says Jens Ortmanns, global head of McDermott’s Real Estate Practice Group. “There are also great synergies between Darren’s clients and the Firm’s existing real estate clients across Europe and the United States.”
“McDermott’s entrepreneurial drive and emphasis on expansion in London and the wider global real estate sector offers me a great opportunity to establish a strong and sustainable real estate practice in London,” said Darren. “At a time of huge opportunity in the sector, I am excited to develop and further enhance McDermott’s already strong international real estate platform alongside colleagues in the EU and the US.”
Darren was acknowledged by Legal 500 UK in the Commercial Property: Investment section and was described as “smart, commercial, quickly understands issues and acts on them.” He is also ranked in Chambers UK in the Real Estate: £150 Million and Above category, as well as in Expert Guides as a prominent figure in Construction and Real Estate in the United Kingdom.
Devina is recognized in the Commercial Property: Investment category by Legal 500 UK. She is praised for being technically strong, personable, knowledgeable, and for offering clear and concise advice.
“Darren and Devina are excellent real estate lawyers and will further enhance our real estate capabilities in London and beyond, dovetailing neatly with our wider global practice to offer our clients a solution across-geographies,” said Aymen Mahmoud, the London office managing partner. “These appointments are yet another example of our cross-border growth strategy and reflects what our clients are asking for. We have recently welcomed Chris Kandel, Michal Berkner, Graham White and Fatema Orjela. We are just getting started and are very excited about the future.”
