Greenberg Traurig Expands into Portland with Leading Restaurant Industry Team

Coming off the most successful revenue year in the firm's history, global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP continues its strategic growth with the opening of a Portland, Oregon office, including a team of attorneys who represent some of the nation's most well-known restaurant brands, investors, and culinary talent.

PORTLAND, Ore. (PRWEB) February 01, 2022

Coming off the most successful revenue year in the firm's history, global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP continues its strategic growth with the opening of a Portland, Oregon office, including a team of attorneys who represent some of the nation's most well-known restaurant brands, investors, and culinary talent.

Shareholder Riley Lagesen, who will serve as chair of Greenberg Traurig's newly formed global Restaurant Industry Group, joins from Davis Wright Tremaine LLP where he founded and chaired the firm's restaurant industry practice. Joining Lagesen at Greenberg Traurig are Shareholder Landes Taylor and Associates Kelsey Lam and Kellen Luey.

The firm's Portland expansion follows the January opening of two new offices in Long Island, N.Y., and the 2020 opening in Salt Lake City, Utah. Greenberg Traurig now has 42 office locations in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

"We remain highly-focused on changing market and client demands to ensure we have the locations and top talent to provide best-in-class services across industries," said Brian Duffy, Greenberg Traurig's Chief Executive Officer. "Riley and his team are a perfect fit for Greenberg Traurig's client-focused culture. They will add another dimension to our already strong practices in the areas of food and beverage, hospitality, and real estate. We also expect there will be tremendous synergies with the services we can provide restaurant clients through our global platform."

Lagesen's team focuses on restaurant finance and mergers and acquisitions, representing both brands and investors. The team has handled some of the industry's most high-profile transactions over the past decade. Lagesen personally serves as lead outside counsel to a number of growth-oriented brands and investors, advising on finance, and development strategies. He also advises celebrities on their restaurant and food and beverage endeavors.

"Joining Greenberg Traurig is a dream scenario for our clients, our team, and our ability to advocate on behalf of the restaurant industry," Lagesen said. "The firm is uniquely qualified with its experience, size, and geographic footprint to assist clients, from private to public, with all transactional needs. In addition, with its strong global employment, real estate, intellectual property, regulatory, and litigation practices we can support clients' operational needs essentially everywhere. With its robust government affairs practice, we can advocate for sensible business policies that help make good food and good jobs accessible to all."

Lagesen's passion for the restaurant industry comes from his many years as a restaurant employee and, later, an owner, in Los Angeles. When he decided to change careers, he saw an opportunity for law firms to better serve restaurant industry clients and has focused his practice in this area for nearly 20 years.

"It's about focusing on what you know and love," Lagesen said. "My experience working in restaurants taught me more about what matters in work and life than anything I learned in school. Our team loves this industry. Working with the great people in and around the restaurant world is as good as it gets."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lagesen, who also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Culinary Institute of America, led multiple efforts to help the restaurant industry weather the most challenging time in history. With his long-time client, television personality and chef Guy Fieri, he co-founded the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund (RERF), which raised approximately $23 million and provided over 40,000 grants to impacted restaurant employees and included producing the "Nacho Average Showdown" with Fieri, Bill Murray, Carla Hall, Shaquille O'Neal, and Terry Crews. He and his team also assisted behind the scenes on federal, state, and local restaurant relief legislation, which culminated in the establishment of the $29.6 billion Restaurant Relief Fund (RRF). In recognition of this work, Lagesen was selected by the National Law Journal as a 2020 Crisis Leadership Trailblazer for his advocacy for the restaurant industry during the pandemic.

Shareholder Landes Taylor represents restaurant businesses, private equity investors, emerging growth companies, and venture capital firms in complex transactions, including debt and equity financings, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and private tender offers. He regularly acts as outside counsel to privately held companies in the restaurant, food, beverage, consumer, and technology sectors.

Associate Kelsey Lam brings experience as an investment banker and a co-founder of a retail-tech wellness startup to her corporate practice. She focuses on advising companies in the restaurant, food and beverage, and consumer goods industries in connection with financing and mergers and acquisitions.

Associate Kellen Luey utilizes his background in private and public accounting to advise companies and individuals in the restaurant and food and beverage industries on a variety of corporate and financial matters, including corporate governance issues, equity financings, and mergers and acquisitions.

About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has approximately 2,400 attorneys in 42 locations in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, diversity, and innovation, and is consistently among the largest firms in the U.S. on the Law360 400 and among the Top 25 on the Am Law Global 100. The firm is net carbon neutral with respect to its office energy usage and Mansfield Rule 4.0 Plus Certified. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com

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