Foreign companies looking to establish a presence in the U.S. face many of the same issues as existing domestic companies: how to identify the best location, acquire a site and construct a building for operations or lease an existing building, annexation, zoning, permits and licenses for both construction and operation, financing, taxation, and much, much more. Baker Donelson's Real Estate and Finance attorneys offer extensive experience and sophisticated legal counsel across this wide spectrum of real estate and economic development transactions.
Among our clients are large and small industry participants who develop and finance a wide variety of real estate projects, including manufacturing, retail, health care, office, multifamily, industrial, hospitality, mixed-use developments, urban renewal projects, and natural resources. Our skill in this area led to the Firm's Real Estate practice being listed as a top national practice by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms."
Baker Donelson's multidisciplinary economic development group is comprised of experienced real estate, public finance, corporate, tax, and incentives practitioners as well as other experienced counsel who provide inbound companies with on-the-ground strategic counsel. We capitalize on our long-standing relationships and experience with state and local government entities, economic and community development groups, foreign consulates, chambers of commerce, industrial development boards, and utility providers. We collaborate with industrial development agencies and departments of economic and community development, revenue, transportation, environment, and conservation to secure economic incentives for our clients, including Payment in Lieu of Tax (PILOT) agreements, tax increment financing (TIF) arrangements, and tax-sharing agreements.
Our U.S. clients planning expansions into markets outside the U.S. work with our U.S. cross-border corporate transactions attorneys to access our network of law firms and services providers around the world. Our attorneys help guide U.S. clients, along with the best-fit professionals who have local knowledge, relationships, and experience in a specific market. By partnering with these skilled local professionals, we provide similar services to U.S. businesses looking to do business in other countries.