While helping clients realize their real property goals during the past three decades, Dennis Ellman has consistently maximized his clients’ opportunities in all economic cycles.

Mr. Ellman advises and represents real estate developers, brokers, investors and affiliated construction and architecture professionals in financing and loan workouts, lease negotiations, construction contracts, project agreements, and all aspects of real property acquisitions and dispositions.  

Client Counsel
Known for his practical dealmaking, his skillful parsing of a transaction’s critical terms, and an innate sense of his clients’ risk thresholds and how to protect their interests, Mr. Ellman has counseled generations of real estate developers. He is well-attuned to the entrepreneurial perspective of his developer clients and provides them with the legal context to take advantage of high-value opportunities while managing -financial commitments.

He has structured and advised on sales and leasings of major industrial properties, shopping centers, commercial buildings and residential developments throughout Southern California, Nevada and Texas. These include Buena Park Mall, the Universal Music Group Building in Santa Monica, and the Beverly Center.

The building of ultra high-end custom homes, and the myriad legal agreements and decisions connected with the successful construction of these residences, is another practice focus of Mr. Ellman.  His lifelong passion for architecture informs his comprehensive counsel to individual homeowners in this area. His role is often akin to a “legal” general contractor-overseer.  Mr. Ellman’s representation covers all phases of construction – from dirt to doorbell – and ranges from land acquisition and entitlements, to contractor and architect agreements, right through to project completion.  

Leadership
Mr. Ellman is a leader in our Firm and the community.  He is a past president of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Los Angeles Chapter and currently serves on its advisory board.  He also is a senior referee for American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) in matches across Southern California.  Mr. Ellman was the former head of Greenberg Glusker’s real estate practice and sat on the firm’s Management and Recruiting Committees for many years.

• Represented the developer of MacDonald Ranch, a master planned community of approximately 2,200 acres in Henderson, Nevada including sales to Del Webb Communities, Toll Brothers and Christopher Homes
• Represented the owner of Buena Park Mall, a regional Shopping Mall and Buena Park Place, a neighboring “power center,” in the negotiation of leases to Kohl’s Department Stores, Inc., PetsMart, Union Bank, Michaels, Foot Locker, K-B Toys, Payless ShoeSource, Portillo’s, Panda Express, Chili’s, Cold Stone Creamery and similar national tenants; also represented this developer in the negotiation of construction contracts for the remodeling of the shopping center
• Represented the developer of the Universal Music Group Building, a Class-A office building in Santa Monica, California, including the negotiation of the construction contract, the leasing of the building to Universal Music Group and the ultimate sale of the building to an institutional investor
• Represented the developer of a 224-unit high-rise condominium project in Marina del Rey, California in connection with the sale of the partially built project and negotiation of a “turnkey” building agreement for the completion of the project
• Designed and implemented the auction process for the owner of an approximately 30-acre warehouse facility in San Fernando, California; as a result of this auction, the client was able to achieve a sale price which was 23 percent in excess of the original listing price
• Represented the developer of an approximately 120-acre site outside of Las Vegas in negotiating a joint venture for the development of a regional shopping mall including the negotiation of project management, leasing, asset management and property management agreements; also represented the developer in the consummation of a buy/sell agreement with its joint venture partner
• Represented the owner of an approximately 900,000 square foot regional shopping mall in West Los Angeles in connection with the leasing of in excess of 200,000 square feet to in-line national tenants including The Gap, California Pizza Kitchen, Boulmiche, Lady Footlocker, P.J. Clark, Ultimode, Express, Ltd., Paris, Bruno Magli, Banana Republic, Kenneth J. Lane
• Represented the developer of a 588-unit apartment complex in West Los Angeles in connection with the sale of the project to a large pension fund
• Represented a real estate developer in connection with the acquisition of a deeply discounted note and the subsequent deed in lieu of foreclosure for a 217-unit residential commercial project in downtown Los Angeles
• Represented two corporations owned by feuding members of a family in connection with the disposition of real properties having a value in excess of $80,000,000 in and around the metropolitan Los Angeles area including a property with significant environmental contamination

Mr. Ellman is a frequent panelist and lecturer on commercial leasing and other areas of real estate law.  Most recently, he was a panelist at the Real Estate Conference in Los Angeles.

• Member, Board of Directors, Los Angeles Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 2001-2007
• Past President, Los Angeles Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 2005-2007
• Chairman, Major Gifts, Los Angeles Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 2007-present
• Member, Advisory Board, Los Angeles Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 2007-present
• Board of Directors AYSO Region 33, 2004-present
• Referee Administrator AYSO Region 33, 2006-2007

• Awarded, "Best Lawyer - Real Estate Law," Best Lawyers, 2013
• Awarded, 2009 Caregiver Award, from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, May 2009
• Rated, "AV Preeminent 5.0 out of 5," Martindale Hubbell