Advancing transparency, development and trust in alternative investments

Jodi Schwimmer
HFA ROLE
  • HFA Regional Director At Large
BUSINESS TITLE/FIRM
  • Partner, Reed Smith

Jodi serves as global co-lead of Reed Smith’s Financial Industry Group. She began her career in 2001 and has spent the last 23 years representing investment banks, specialty lenders, special strategy debt funds, real estate investors and participants in the secondary debt market. She is well-known in the industry for “closing the deal”, and has personally closed hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of commercial mortgaged-backed securities (CMBS) and similar debt securities. Jodi has extensive and broad structured finance skills across a variety of underlying debt obligations.

Specifically, Jodi focuses on CMBS, real estate finance, asset-based finance (including cannabis financing, “income share agreements,” and other niche lending markets) and structured finance, concentrating on esoteric structures, debt issuances, preferred equity raises, privately placed pre-packed securities, repurchase/warehouse facilities, and bridge-to securitization structures. In connection with these structures, Jodi often counsels specialty lenders and special strategy debt funds on new lending platforms, and has the ability to negotiate highly complex partnership and joint venture relationships in connection with the same. Jodi has developed expertise in grantor trusts, REMICs and also organizes private REITs. Jodi structuring experience extends to public and private commercial mortgage securitizations, including SFR and NPL assets, the re-packaging of securities in re- securitizations, CRE CLOs and other structured transactions.

Jodi also focuses on federal securities law issues relevant to these types of securitizations, including Regulation AB, Regulation AB II, Risk Retention and Dodd Frank, and advises on related securities compliance matters.

Additionally, Jodi has broad-based knowledge experience in structuring real estate related junior notes/participation interests and mezzanine loans, and regularly represents clients in the purchase and sale of commercial and multifamily mortgage loans, mezzanine debt, subordinate debt and structured real estate debt instruments. She also has represented lenders in the workout, forbearance, modification and restructuring of debt that is held in secondary market transaction special purpose vehicles.

Jodi has been praised for “knowing how to get deals done” and “overcoming roadblocks with other parties” by her clients.