Practice Expertise

  • Business Tax-in development
  • Capital Markets and Securities
  • Hospitality
  • Asset-Backed Securitization

Areas of Practice

  • Asset-Backed Securitization
  • Business Tax-in development
  • Capital Markets and Securities
  • Hospitality
  • International Tax
  • Private Investment Funds
  • Real Estate Capital Markets
  • Real Estate, Development and Finance
  • Structured Finance and Securitization
  • Tax
  • View More

Profile

George is nationally recognized for his in-depth experience in the formation, structuring and financing of REITs and with respect to REMICs and other securitization transactions.

George is chair emeritus of the firm’s executive committee, and former head of its Tax and ERISA practice. He assists clients with the tax aspects of REITs, REMICs, securitizations, master limited partnerships, private investment funds, and complex financial products. George also deals extensively with the tax aspects of private investment funds, derivatives and other complex financial products.

He is a frequent speaker at seminars and conferences on REITs, securitization and other financial products.

Relevant Experience

  • Serves as tax counsel to a large number of REITs, with particular concentration on mortgage, hotel, health care, and other specialty REITs.
  • Structured and provided tax opinions on a large number of REIT capital markets and merger and acquisition transactions.
  • Represents a number of publicly traded specialty finance companies and private investment funds that invest―directly and through derivatives―in real estate, mortgage loans, mortgage-backed securities, corporate loans and other fixed-income investments.
  • Structured and provided tax opinions on over $100 billion of REMIC and other securitization transactions.
  • Particular experience in representing buyers and sellers of REMIC residual interests and other complex mortgage-backed securities and derivatives.
  • Represents REITs, REMIC sponsors, and private investment funds in IRS audits.

Bar Admissions

  • New York
  • Virginia

Education
AB, Princeton University, magna cum laude, 1978

Areas of Practice

  • Asset-Backed Securitization
  • Business Tax-in development
  • Capital Markets and Securities
  • Hospitality
  • International Tax
  • Private Investment Funds
  • Real Estate Capital Markets
  • Real Estate, Development and Finance
  • Structured Finance and Securitization
  • Tax

Professional Career

Significant Accomplishments
  • Serves as tax counsel to a large number of REITs, with particular concentration on mortgage, hotel, health care, and other specialty REITs.
  • Structured and provided tax opinions on a large number of REIT capital markets and merger and acquisition transactions.
  • Represents a number of publicly traded specialty finance companies and private investment funds that invest, directly and through derivatives, in real estate, mortgage loans, mortgage-backed securities, corporate loans and other fixed-income investments.
  • Structured and provided tax opinions on over $100 billion of REMIC and other securitization transactions.
  • Particular experience in representing buyers and sellers of REMIC residual interests and other complex mortgage-backed securities and derivatives.
  • Represents REITs, REMIC sponsors, and private investment funds in IRS audits.


Professional Associations
  • Fellow, Virginia Law Foundation, Class of 2018 
  • Former Chair, American Bar Association (ABA) Tax Section
  • Former Chair, American College of Tax Counsel
  • Former Vice Chair (Communications), ABA Tax Section
  • Former Chair, Tax Shelter Committee, ABA Tax Section
  • Former Chair, Committee on Financial Transactions, ABA Tax Section
  • Former Chair, Asset Securitization Subcommittee and REMIC Task Force, ABA Tax Section

Professional Activities and Experience
  • Recognized as an Eminent Practitioner (2016) and Leader in REIT, National, Band 1, Chambers USA, 2007-2017
  • Leading Lawyer in REITs, Legal 500 USA, 2016-2017


Articles

  • Proposed Treasury Regulations May Recharacterize Taxable REIT Subsidiary Debt, Real Estate Finance Journal
  • Real Estate Capital Markets – 2015 Year in Review
  • Midstream Energy REITs: A New Structure
  • Commercial Mortgage REITs: Tax Considerations When Dealing with Distressed Mortgage Loans, Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law
  • Real Estate Capital Markets – 2022 Year in Review
  • Real Estate Capital Markets – 2021 Year in Review

Meet our Firms and Professionals

WSG’s member firms include legal, investment banking and accounting experts across industries and on a global scale. We invite you to meet our member firms and professionals.