Holland & Knight hires Stearns as partner and Makenko as senior counsel

Frank Stearns, Holland & Knight

Boston, MA According to Holland & Knight, real estate lawyers Frank Stearns and Nadya Makenko have joined the firm’s office as partner and senior counsel respectively. They previously were with K&L Gates.

Stearns has almost 30 years of experience advising a broad range of clients in commercial real estate developments and managing the permitting, financing and development of office, residential and other commercial development projects. He also manages national leasing assignments for technology companies.

His clients include developers, institutional investors, buyers, sellers, financial institutions, hospitals, landlords, tenants and others involved in real estate and business transactions. He has worked extensively with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on environmental permitting and liability issues, and has managed large-scale brownfield developments.

Makenko focuses her practice on real estate development, finance and leasing. She represents owners, developers and lenders in the development and financing of commercial and residential projects. Both she and Stearns are LEED Accredited Professionals, having demonstrated a thorough understanding of green building practices and principles, as well as the LEED rating system.

“Frank and Nadya are excellent lawyers with deep relationships within the local real estate community,” said Joe Guay, the leader of Holland & Knight’s real estate section. “They are welcome additions to our team and will play an important role as we continue to grow the practice in Boston and nationally.”

“Holland & Knight has one of the premier real estate practices in the country, with a significant presence in Boston and other major U.S. markets from coast to coast,” said Stearns. “This strong national platform will be of great benefit to our clients with real estate interests beyond Massachusetts.”

Since the beginning of this year, Holland & Knight has added 15 real estate attorneys in eight offices.

With more than 240 lawyers and professionals nationally, Holland & Knight’s real estate section is one of the largest of any U.S. law firm. The U.S. News-Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” 2015 guide selected the firm’s Real Estate and Land Use and Zoning Law practice groups for national first-tier rankings.

Holland & Knight is a global law firm with more than 1,100 lawyers and other professionals in 21 U.S. offices, as well as Bogotá and Mexico City.