News
Forest Fire Regrowth
April 29, 2010
| Key execs from dying companies are joining forces, forming capital, and looking for opportunities. It's why Munsch Hardt attorney Chip Cavanaugh Jr. likens the CRE bust to the effects of a forest fire. | |||
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| Chip, right, with firm leaders Richard Kopf, Michael Krywucki, and Glenn Callison, says a lot of players emerged from the ashes last downturn, and he anticipates a similar event this time. As one of the largest real estate firms in the state, Chip says workouts, extensions, and foreclosures are at the forefront, but people are starting to deploy capital again. Part of Munsch Hardt's work has been resolving problems, he adds, and the other is assisting clients in taking advantage of other people's problems. | |||
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| We snapped the firm's home, Lincoln Plaza. Representing several investment funds, Michael says assignments are picking up even as projects have slowed because of an influx of start-ups providing asset management and other consulting to lenders and servicers. Involved early in the wave of portfolio acquisitions from the RTC, Chip says that the late '80s downturn was beneficial for the firm's real estate practice. Alternately, the latest bust has been a challenge. “We are moving to where the food is. We want to help our clients be positioned to thrive on the backside. Fortunes are lost in real estate downturns like this, and because of that, fortunes are made." | |||
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| Steven Harr and Richard, two firm founders. Instead of downsizing, Glenn says resources are shifted to move with the market. Balance has historically been a hallmark of the firm, Glenn says, because “they're called cycles for a reason.†You can't hitch your wagon to one horse or be a one-trick pony,†Michael adds. Speaking of four-legged creatures, he and his wife foster dogs through Animal Rescue of Texas. Chip may have thought he was handling animals, recently returning from taking three high school boys to Club Med Cancun. | |||
