Sharona Toobian
Sharona advises clients, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to startups and commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) special servicers to families, on a wide range of real estate transactions.
Sharona Toobian regularly advises on leasing, acquisition, and financing of real estate matters. Drawing from her experience representing all sides of a transaction, such as landlords and tenants, buyers and sellers, and borrowers and lenders, she offers keen insights to her clients.
Sharona is directly involved in the negotiation of primary deal agreements, as well as advising on title, survey, and other due diligence matters for retail, office, hotel, and residential properties. On any given day, she is advising on a variety of deal types and sizes, including the management of real estate aspects of large corporate deals, the negotiation of small office leases for startups or large anchor tenant retail leases, and the disposition or acquisition of residential property for families. Clients comment that she is thoughtful in her responses and skillfully negotiates deals to their completion, ensuring that all details are handled and all parties fulfill their obligations.
Sharona's commitment to pro bono has been as diverse as it has been substantial. She has represented a nonprofit community center on real estate property tax matters, a survivor in a complex domestic violence matter, a family in an adoption case, and a nonprofit that collaborated with another nonprofit to acquire and operate a home in Los Angeles for affordable housing. Sharona also participates in the Bet Tzedek Small Business Development Project and the Self-Help Conservatorship Clinic. In 2022, she represented a nonprofit, which helps women and children facing homelessness, in acquiring a property that will be used to develop a low-income housing community.
Areas of focus
Education & Credentials
Education
- UCLA School of Law, J.D., Business Law and Policy specialization, 2010
- Brandeis University, B.A., magna cum laude, 2005
Bar and Court Admissions
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California
Related Employment
- Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Associate, 2011-2013
- Office of County Counsel, Los Angeles, CA, Property Division Law Clerk, 2008
Additional Languages
- Farsi
Professional Recognition
Recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Real Estate Law, 2023-2024
Named a “Rising Star” by Georgetown Law Advanced Commercial Leasing Institute, 2018
Impact
Professional Leadership
- Perkins Coie Real Estate & Land Use Retreat Planning Committee, Chair, 2022
Community Involvement
- The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
Community Leadership Institute, Participant, 2015-2016; Track Co-chair, 2017-2018; Advisory Board, 2019-present
Caring for Jews in Need, Committee Member, 2019
Real Estate & Construction (REC) Network, Cabinet Member, 2020-2021
- UCLA School of Law, Transactional Law Competition Course Mentor, Fall 2017
- Anti-Defamation League, Glass Leadership Institute, 2015-2016
Insights
News
Professional Experience
Leasing
- Represented landlords and tenants in the negotiation of hundreds of leases and lease amendments for retail (including anchor tenants, gyms, and restaurants), office, and industrial spaces across the United States.
Purchase/Sale
- Represented a national restaurant chain in the sale/leaseback of 150 restaurants with a combined portfolio value of more than $550 million with three different purchasers. Representation included transfer tax analysis in several jurisdictions.
- Represented a buyer/lessor in the sale/leaseback of two office buildings in San Francisco.
- Represented a buyer/borrower in the acquisition/financing of a downtown Salt Lake City hotel and a downtown Minneapolis hotel.
Financing
- Represented a purchaser/borrower in the acquisition/financing of a $25 million senior home in Los Angeles.
- Represented a lender in originating a $13 million acquisition loan for a boutique hotel in Los Angeles.
- Represented a lender in originating a $6 million acquisition loan for a hotel in Las Vegas.
Energy Projects
- Represented renewable energy developers in landmark projects on real estate, general corporate, project finance, and mergers and acquisitions issues. Deals included representation of developers in $2 billion financing of a wind project in Oregon, the largest wind project in the world in 2010; $2 billion financing of a solar thermal project in Nevada, the largest solar-thermal project in the world in 2011; and $2 billion sale of two solar projects in California, the largest solar project in the world in 2013.*
*Prior experience