Ervin Cohen & Jessup's Joan Velazquez Named Among Top 100 Lawyers In Los Angeles

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP announced that Partner and Chair of the Real Estate Department Joan Velazquez has been recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of the “Top 100 Lawyers of Los Angeles for 2024.” The award honors attorneys who “have demonstrated exceptional legal skill and achievements across the full spectrum of responsibility, exemplary leadership and contribution to the Los Angeles community at large,” states the publisher.

“Velazquez is a creative problem solver and proven deal maker who never loses sight of her clients' business goals. She mitigates her client’s legal risks while helping them realize the business opportunity in every deal,” states the publisher. “She regularly structures, documents, and closes more than one billion dollars of financing transactions in any given year.”

Named a Commercial Real Estate "Visionary” by the Los Angeles Times in 2023 and an honoree of the 2023 Los Angeles Business Journal's "Women of Influence: Attorneys" list, Joan represents real estate owners, developers, investors, lenders, family offices, contractors and asset managers in connection with a wide range of projects, including the acquisition, financing, development, leasing, management and sale of office buildings, industrial parks, mixed use projects, and hotel/resort projects.

Joan is experienced in the formation of partnerships, joint ventures, limited liability companies and arranging complex capital structures, including highly leveraged mezzanine financing, subordinated lending arrangements and other creative solutions. She guides clients with distressed properties to successfully restructure existing debt. Velazquez’s tax background gives her a competitive advantage when structuring deals so she can increase the net return to her clients.