About Daniel
Dan Ansell is Co-Chair of the US Real Estate Litigation Practice and the Founder and National Chair of the Real Estate Operations Group ("REOPS"). Dan represents real estate owners, managers, tenants, lenders, and borrowers nationally in a wide variety of matters including real estate litigation, commercial lease disputes, loan workouts and litigation, office, retail and industrial leasing, bankruptcy proceedings, class actions, construction and ADA issues, lending transactions and disputes, and high stakes State and Federal Court litigation.In the year 2000, Dan created REOPS to better serve the day-to-day needs of the real estate industry. This department incorporates and cross-trains attorneys in several legal disciplines critical to the ownership and operation of real estate including leasing, lease litigation and real estate bankruptcy. REOPs provides an integrated approach to legal issues in property ownership and management and has grown to more than 50 attorneys in offices across the United States. The department handles matters nationwide and is capable of handling multi-faceted issues without redundant involvement from other departments.Throughout his career, Dan has represented clients in major real estate transactions and litigations. For example, in 2006 he represented Metropolitan Life Insurance Company ("MetLife") in the sale of Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town ("PCV/ST") for $5.4 billion - reported to be one of the largest real estate sales in U.S. history. Subsequent to the sale, Dan represented MetLife in Roberts v. Tishman Speyer Properties, L.P., et al., a highly publicized case that was ultimately argued at the New York State Court of Appeals and settled successfully. In 2020, Dan represented a Fortune 100 company in the closure of more than 80 retail locations. In 2021, Dan was lead counsel for the owner in HWA 555 Owners, LLC v. RGN-San Francisco XXIV, LLC in San Francisco Superior Court. After trial, the Court issued a declaratory judgment in the owner’s favor holding that the tenant’s purported termination of a $120 million lease obligation was invalid. In 2023, the California Court of Appeal affirmed trial court decision.ConcentrationsReal estate litigation and arbitrationCommercial loan disputes, workouts, and litigationConstruction litigationOffice, retail, and industrial leasingReal estate bankruptcy issues and litigationReal estate brokerage commission disputesComplex commercial litigationAppellate practiceLetters of credit and suretyship issuesHotel and resort litigationInsurance disputesEnvironmental disputesBuilding security issuesAmericans with Disabilities Act (ADA)Real estate transaction due diligenceCatastrophe planning and response
Dan Ansell is Co-Chair of the US Real Estate Litigation Practice and the Founder and National Chair of the Real Estate Operations Group ("REOPS"). Dan represents real estate owners, managers, tenants, lenders, and borrowers nationally in a wide variety of matters including real estate litigation, commercial lease disputes, loan workouts and litigation, office, retail and industrial leasing, bankruptcy proceedings, class actions, construction and ADA issues, lending transactions and disputes, and high stakes State and Federal Court litigation.
In the year 2000, Dan created REOPS to better serve the day-to-day needs of the real estate industry. This department incorporates and cross-trains attorneys in several legal disciplines critical to the ownership and operation of real estate including leasing, lease litigation and real estate bankruptcy. REOPs provides an integrated approach to legal issues in property ownership and management and has grown to more than 50 attorneys in offices across the United States. The department handles matters nationwide and is capable of handling multi-faceted issues without redundant involvement from other departments.
Throughout his career, Dan has represented clients in major real estate transactions and litigations. For example, in 2006 he represented Metropolitan Life Insurance Company ("MetLife") in the sale of Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town ("PCV/ST") for $5.4 billion - reported to be one of the largest real estate sales in U.S. history. Subsequent to the sale, Dan represented MetLife in Roberts v. Tishman Speyer Properties, L.P., et al., a highly publicized case that was ultimately argued at the New York State Court of Appeals and settled successfully. In 2020, Dan represented a Fortune 100 company in the closure of more than 80 retail locations. In 2021, Dan was lead counsel for the owner in HWA 555 Owners, LLC v. RGN-San Francisco XXIV, LLC in San Francisco Superior Court. After trial, the Court issued a declaratory judgment in the owner’s favor holding that the tenant’s purported termination of a $120 million lease obligation was invalid. In 2023, the California Court of Appeal affirmed trial court decision.