Equity Partner
hlewis@haber.lawHarold (Hal) Lewis is Chair of the firm’s Real Estate and Transaction Departments. He is a deal maker not a deal breaker with more than thirty five years of practice experience. He is a thoughtful, pragmatic and discreet adviser to his diverse client base and is well-recognized for his work in the legal profession, including an AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, Super Lawyers, Top Lawyers, Legal Elite and Best Lawyers in America.
Mr. Lewis practices in multiple areas with particular emphasis on transactional real estate and corporate matters including real estate and asset based financing, acquisition and development, leasing, condominium and the design and implementation of ownership structures including partnerships and limited liability companies. He handles legal work in all asset classes including industrial, office, multi-family, hotel, retail and residential and commercial condominiums. He has run point on multiple large “from the ground up” projects, including ground leases, reciprocal easements and operating agreements, land assemblage, and leasing to local and national tenants. He writes on several nationally recognized title insurance companies.
Mr. Lewis has extensive experience in complex financing structures and represents lenders, borrowers and investors in routine loan transactions as well as more sophisticated matters such as warehouse lines, CMBS financing, mezzanine financing and investment of preferred equity. He has represented borrowers and lenders in workouts and restructuring including several large and complex CMBS workouts.
Mr. Lewis lectures extensively to the South Florida business, lending and legal communities on multiple topics including real estate lending structures, guarantees, lease drafting and remedies, loan workouts and foreclosures, green building, drafting of purchase and sale agreements, and broker remedies. He was previously awarded Educator of the Year honors by the Miami Association of Realtors and served several times as a guest lecturer at International Council of Shopping Centers University in New York.
Mr. Lewis is an experienced real estate, corporate, and transactional lawyer, whose areas of practice include:
The Real Deal article, “Macklowe, Related partnering on waterfront North Bay Village redevelopment" - November 6, 2023
Daily Business Review article, “As South Florida’s Real Estate Market Remains Hot, Lawyers Contemplate Looming Challenges” - June 29, 2023
Commercial Observer article, “Champlain Towers South, Two Years On” - June 26, 2023
"Avoid Surprises, Be a Stickler about Performing Due Diligence," Daily Business Review
"Relocation Boom or Housing Crisis," South Florida CEO Magazine
"Green Building a Priority to Keep Treasure Coast a Treasure," Treasure Coast Business Journal
Frequently quoted in various publications, such as:
"Euro Down, But 'They're Still Going to Bring Their Money Here,'" Miami Today
"The End of the Short-Term Rental Stick," Super Lawyers special insert in Miami Herald
"The Deadwood is Gone from Banks’ Real Estate Portfolios," Miami Today
"Private Equity Fills South Florida Financing Gaps," Daily Business Review