Brian A. Watson
Brian is a co-owner of ST Title and also a managing partner of Watson Sloane PLLC, with a focus on corporate, finance and real estate matters. He regularly serves as outside general counsel for various companies and routinely works with corporate in-house general counsel on various legal matters for their businesses.
His experience consists of representing issuers, financial institutions, underwriters and investors in connection with the public and private offering of municipal and corporate securities. He regularly serves as Bond Counsel, Borrower’s Counsel, Bank Counsel and Underwriter’s Counsel in connection with various bond offerings including CDD special assessment bonds, Build American Bonds, taxable bonds, water and sewer revenue bonds, solid waste disposal facility bonds, bonds issued to finance airport facilities and other exempt facilities, qualified 501(c)(3) bonds, bonds issued to finance residential rental facilities, senior living facilities and CCRCs, bonds issued to finance private K-12 schools and charter school bonds, as well as bonds issued to finance qualified small issue bonds to finance manufacturing facilities. He also counsels lenders and investors in the sale and workout of defaulted bonds and has represented a variety of clients in matters relating to interest rate swap transactions. Brian’s experience extends to dealing in disclosure due diligence and preparation of securities disclosure documents for numerous bond transactions. Brian also works with non-profit organizations in the formation and financing of non-profits and their capital projects. He has been featured in the Bond Buyer’s Red Book for his work in the area of public finance.
In addition, Brian works with clients on securities matters in the areas of private offerings and debt and equity securities, as well as mergers and acquisitions, including buy-side and sell-side representation for stock sales and asset sales.
Brian represents a wide range of banks and financial institutions, including community, regional and national banks, investment banks, savings and loan associations, domestic and foreign investors, asset-based lenders, and leasing companies. He has extensive experience with a variety of commercial lending transactions, including secured and unsecured, first-lien, second-lien and mezzanine financings, revolving credit facilities, term loans, syndicated loans, letters of credit, fixed and floating loans with interest rates tied to LIBOR and SOFR, treasury bills, prime rate and other reference bases, and related ISDA agreements. Years of focus on the representation of banks enables Brian to provide sophisticated legal services that are custom-tailored to the specific needs of each client. Additionally, Brian’s length of experience encompassing a broad range of financings allows him to be proactive and responsive to changes in the state and federal laws and regulations that govern the banking and financial industry.
Brian’s Real Estate Practice includes the representation of real estate developers, investors, financial institutions and businesses in a wide range of commercial transactions, real estate and land use matters. His real estate experience includes representing commercial and residential developers through all phases of the development process. He has represented clients in the acquisition, leasing, development and sale of retail shopping centers and NNN properties involving national tenants. Additionally, he has represented national and local homebuilders, condominium developers and apartment developers in the acquisition, development and sale of residential and multifamily properties, and has represented institutional and private lenders in commercial and private loans secured by real and intangible property.
He frequently provides representation and advice regarding complex real estate acquisitions, dispositions, and sophisticated commercial development issues in the areas of retail, multifamily, office, industrial, hospitality, vacant and raw land. He has extensive experience with master planned, mixed-use communities, and has knowledge of municipal requirements for platting and subdividing, entitlements, complex title matters, permits, zoning and land use. He provides guidance on the review and analysis on all aspects of real property due diligence, as well as experience selling operating assets to institutional investors.
Brian has experience in the full spectrum of land use and development matters, including acquisitions, land assemblage, project and public finance, land use entitlements, development incentives, future land use map amendments, zoning, concurrency, and code enforcement and permitting issues. He has worked with developers and local governments to obtain the approvals necessary for the development of large-scale residential and commercial projects and also draft, review and negotiate all the necessary development agreements, easements, declarations of covenants and restrictions and related documents.
