Susan Fowler McNally | Attorney

Susan Fowler McNally is a partner in Gilchrist & Rutter PC and a member of the firm's Real Estate and Sustainability practice groups. Her practice focuses primarily on real estate transactions, including purchases and sales, office, retail and industrial leasing, secured and unsecured financings, insurance, telecommunications licenses, TV and movie access licenses, asset management contracts, and construction, design professional and consultant contracts, as well as sustainable and green issues in design, construction, leasing and asset management contracts.

Ms. McNally is the author of "Letters of Credit in Lease Transactions, Part II: Drafting Tips", Probate & Property, November/December, 2002 and "Letters of Credit in Lease Transactions, Part I: Advantages to Landlord and Landlord's Lender", Probate & Property, July/August, 2002; and "Why Standby Letters of Credit Reign Supreme as Credit Enhancements" and "Letters of Intent: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ", Lease Negotiation Handbook (2003).

In addition to being quoted in many articles on real estate issues in the Wall Street Journal, American Bar Association Journal, Commercial Lease Law Insider, Real Estate Southern California and Lawyer's Weekly U.S.A., Ms. McNally's articles on various aspects of commercial leases, transactions and letters of credit have been widely published in professional journals and business publications. She is a sought-after speaker on her areas of expertise for professional groups, conferences and national conventions.

Ms. McNally spearheaded a partnership between the Los Angeles Chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women-Los Angeles (CREW-LA) and the Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA to raise $100,000 for the CREW-LA/Chris Adams Scholarship Endowment Fund which will award fellowships to UCLA graduate students pursuing careers in commercial real estate.

Ms. McNally's clients have included Century National Properties, Inc.; CommonWealth Partners; LDW Resort & Hotel Development, LLC; Maguire Investments; The Archon Group, L.P.; Thomas Properties Group; and the United California Realty Corp.

Ms. McNally earned her J.D. degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, where she participated in the UCLA Moot Court Honors Program. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in Urban Planning/Sociology from the University of the Pacific, Raymond-Callison College, Stockton, California.

Representative Experience

Negotiated and documented design and construction contracts for 1,470,000 square foot mixed-use development above the Universal Metro red line subway station.

Negotiated and documented sale-leaseback of campus on 2.97 acres in the heart of Hollywood, California.

Negotiated and documented the construction agreements for CAA's headquarters building in Century City, California. The Gensler-designed complex replaced the former ABC Center.

Negotiated, documented (for landlords) and reviewed (for tenants) numerous space leases and lease amendments in high-rise office projects, as well as in suburban office and retail projects, in California, Texas, Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Indiana, including leases with Fortune 500 companies, national law firms, national healthcare providers, restaurants and multi-state retail chains.

Negotiated and documented development and construction agreements, including architectural and engineering agreements, consultant contracts, project management and contractor agreements with respect to high-rise and low-rise mixed-use projects, resort hotels and time shares.

Negotiated financing for real estate projects, including revolving credit-based loans, construction loans and rate swap agreements.

Negotiated and prepared purchase and sale agreements, and documented tax-deferred, like-kind exchanges.

Negotiated and documented owner participation agreement with the Community Development Commission with respect to a large office, hotel and retail complex in Pasadena, California.

Negotiated and documented strategic alliance, joint venture, license and employment agreements for emerging growth company.

Articles & Publications

"Securing Lease Obligations - Lease Guaranties, Letters of Credit and Other Credit Enhancements" , ICSC 2008 U.S. Shopping Center Law Conference Materials, October, 2008

"Get Guaranty When Renting Space to Limited Liability Entity" , Commercial Lease Law Insider, July, 2008

"Leasing to Federal Agencies: Is the Red Tape Worth the Green Backs?" , Commercial Lease Law Insider, June, 2008

"Use Work Letter Agreements to Ensure Renovations Run Smoothly", Commercial Lease Law Insider, November, 2007

"Pass Through Your Building's Insurance Deductibles - But Set Limits" , Commercial Lease Law Insider, November, 2007

"Limit Tenant's Special Rights", Commercial Lease Law Insider, September, 2007

"Protect Yourself When Temporarily Filling Retail Space with Nonprofits", Commercial Lease Law Insider, September, 2007

"Ignoring Disaster Preparedness Akin to Gambling", California Executive, September, 2007

"Set Reasonable Charge For After - Hours HVAC Service" , Commercial Lease Law Insider, February, 2007

"Don't Let Tenant's Rent Abatement Apply to Additional TIA", Commercial Lease Law Insider, November, 2006

"Negotiate Building Services Up-front to Avoid Potential Overcharges, Disputes" , Commercial Tenant's Lease Insider, October, 2006

"Follow Five Tips to Make Your Center's Emergency/Disaster Plan More Effective" , Shopping Center Management Insider, September, 2006

"Predispute Jury Trial Waivers in Leases Now Unenforceable in California" , The Commercial Lease Law Insider, November 2005, Shopping Center Management Insider, February 2006, and Professional Office Building Management, March, 2006

"How to Cut Risks When Letting Production Company Film at Your Center" , Shopping Center Management Insider, February, 2006

"If Disaster Strikes How Ready Are You?" , Southern California Real Estate Conference Materials, June 11, 2004

"The Process Begins - Tying Up the Property", Real Estate Purchase and Sale Transactions - How to Do Them Right!, April 28, 2004

"Letters of Credit in Lease Transactions: Drafting Tips" , Annual Survey of Letter of Credit Law & Practice, Inst. of International Banking Law & Practice Inc., 2004

"Why Standby Letters of Credit Reign Supreme as Credit Enhancements" and "Letters of Intent: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly", Lease Negotiation Handbook, 2003

"Starring Your Building" , Commercial Investment Real Estate Journal, July/August, 2003

"Letters of Credit in Lease Transactions: Advantages and Drafting Tips, Part II: Drafting Tips" , Probate & Property, November/December, 2002

"Letters of Credit in Lease Transactions, Part I: Advantages to Landlord and Landlord's Lender" , Probate & Property, July/August, 2002

"The Subtleties of Sublease Deals" , Real Estate Southern California, October, 2002

"Don't Require Named Person's Signature to Draw on Letter of Credit", Commercial Lease Law Insider, July, 2002

"Bankruptcy Protection - Unlike Cash Deposits, Letters of Credit Pay Off Even If a Tenant Files For Chapter 11" , California Real Estate Journal, March 18, 2002

"How to Structure a Lease to Protect Against the Risk of a Bankruptcy of the Tenant" , 2002 Annual Survey of Letter of Credit Law & Practice, Inst. of International Banking Law & Practice, Inc. and Real Estate Issues, Fall 2001

"How to Reduce Impact of Tenant Bankruptcies" , Commercial Lease Law Insider, May, 2001

"Insider Checklist: How to Cut Risks When Renting to Movie or TV Studio" , Commercial Lease Law Insider, April, 2001

"Disaster-Proofing Commercial Leases", Shopping Center Business, January, 2001

"Protect Yourself If Your E-Commerce Tenant Goes Bankrupt" , Commercial Lease Law Insider, September, 2000