German law firm Schalast has launched its new interdisciplinary real estate practice group, headed up by two real estate experts Mahren Williams and Dr Marc-Alexander Lüth. The duo, who join as partners, have advised on real estate transactions and portfolios both in Germany and abroad for banks, real estate developers and investors.

Management platform

Dr Marc-Alexander Lüth joins Schalast from the real estate investor Aroundtown, for which he established a management platform for commercial real estate investments. Prior to this, he worked for Aroundtown’s Luxembourg holding, Grand City Properties, as well as Patron Capital Partners, Dundee International (Dream Global), Hudson Advisors, Lovells and ECE. At Hudson Advisors he handled non-performing, mostly real-estate backed loans (NPL) and the servicing of the Lone Star fund in Luxembourg. 

Hamburg

Mahren Williams has, for 12 years, run a specialised commercial real estate law firm in Hamburg. She advised clients on real estate and contract law in connection with all real estate project development phases of shopping centres and commercial properties (including hotels, office buildings, medical centres, mixed-use properties, port building conversions). Prior to this, she established the commercial real estate practice group at the boutique real estate law firm Gappmayer & Partner in Hamburg.

Multilaw

Schalast, which is headquartered in Frankfurt am Main,  also has offices in Berlin and Hamburg. It predominantly advises small and medium-sized enterprises from Germany and around the world and is a member of law firm network Multilaw. Commenting on the hires, Christoph Schalast said: 'We have, with Marc-Alexander Lüth and Mahren Williams, gained another two real estate experts with excellent reputations. Hence, we are increasing the visibility of our law firm in a targeted fashion. Together with Barbara Busch, Alexander May, and our colleagues from the notary’s office, we have an excellent team capable of initiating and advising on complex international real estate issues such as transactions, project development and financing. We are also expanding our Hamburg office, for which further projects are in the pipeline.'