Barry F. Levin

Barry provides outside general counsel to public and privately owned companies in complex transactions involving a variety of contracts that can reshape their ownership structure, finances, real estate interests and relationship with employees.  Barry's corporate experience includes handling the legal details of deals that involve many of these issues simultaneously and unfold in a way that requires a rapid response in a variety of venues, including courts, mediation and other negotiating sessions and administrative hearings.

• Served as lead counsel for the buyer of a beer distributor in an acquisition that involved another potential buyer who had already signed a letter of intent to purchase the distribution rights. The multi-million-dollar deal included negotiations to avoid litigation, financings, franchising contracts, and securing approval from state alcoholic beverage regulators.
• Served as lead counsel for six regional franchisors in the direct mail and internet advertising industry in their acquisition by a national franchisor. The multi-million-dollar franchising deals included complex due diligence and regulatory issues, as well as negotiating a multitude of complex contracts and employment agreements.
• Served as lead counsel for a family owned funeral related business in its third generation of ownership in a franchising deal to expand its overall operations by acquiring a similar business in another state. The deal included the acquisition of an operating business, the sale and lease back of real estate and a complex financing transaction.

Barry has deep experience in complex real estate matters that involve acquisitions, sales, leases, financings, contract reviews and turn-arounds for struggling businesses.  He brings not only his perspective as outside general counsel for parties involved in these deals, but also his past experience as in-house counsel for a real estate company.

• Served as lead counsel for three developers of multiple assisted living communities who decided to dissolve their numerous partnerships. The deals included: transitioning partners out of the businesses; revising partnership agreements; working through multiple turn-around scenarios, loan workouts, and the sale of several facilities and related real estate; and securing regulatory approvals.
• Served as lead counsel for a multi-million-dollar sale of a recycling facility. The real estate portion of the deal involved negotiations related to property leased from a county government. The transaction also involved the resolution of environmental issues with a state regulatory agency, the sale of business assets and the execution of an employment agreement for the facility's senior executive.

Barry applies the same acumen he uses to shepherd corporations through complex legal issues as he does to family businesses in need of outside general counsel.  His experience includes untangling disputes that result in litigation, handling real estate transactions and acquiring, merging and reorganizing businesses in transitions for a variety of reasons, including deaths and family disagreements.

• Served as lead counsel in the sale, purchase and reorganization of a national retailer on behalf of one of the second-generation owners seeking to transition the third generation into ownership of the close family business. The deal included financings, acquisitions, the purchase and sale of multiple business operations, business assets and real estate. Barry also led the estate and insurance planning for two generations of owners.
• Served as lead counsel in litigation involving control of a partnership connected to a family's real estate holdings in the landfill industry and a 2,000-plus acre operating farm following the death of the family patriarch. Barry represented nine members of the second generation in probate litigation against another member of the same generation who had wrested control of the family business holdings. The resulting deal gave all 10 members of the second generation equal shares of the holdings, while resolving complex federal and state estate tax matters, which could have otherwise impacted the overall value of the estate.