Michael A. Lee
Staff Attorney
- J.D., University of California at Berkeley School of Law, Order of the Coif; member, California Law Review
- M.A., University of California, Los Angeles
- B.A., University of California, Los Angeles
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Tax Court
- District of Columbia
- Maryland
Related Services
Michael represents real estate developers and investors, other businesses, nonprofit organizations, and public institutions on a wide range of subjects, including tax, real estate, project financing, and transaction-related issues. He has more than 35 years of experience in economic development, tax-exempt bond financing, affordable workforce housing, and the formation and taxation of exempt organizations.
Michael has a very active practice in new markets tax credits and other federal tax incentives for economic development targeted primarily to low-income communities. In this capacity, Michael has represented primarily borrowers and also financial institutions in various roles, and at every stage of transactions. He helps structure the transaction, addresses complex tax issues, and negotiates and documents the specifics of each deal.
Earlier in his career, Michael advised clients on a broad range of bond financings and related transactional, tax, and project-planning and development issues with regard to multifamily, student, and affordable housing; research, educational, and healthcare facilities; headquarters facilities; and other major infrastructure projects.
- Advised in the financing of the construction or renovation of three public charter schools in Washington, DC, with new markets tax credit financing
- Advised in the financing of a mixed-use development near the campus of Jackson State University in Mississippi with two rounds of new markets tax credit financing
- Assisted in the new markets tax credit financing of a mixed-use residential/retail development in Washington, DC
- Assisted in the financing of the renovation of a mixed-use office/retail building in Jackson, Mississippi, using federal and state new markets tax credits and federal and state historic tax credits
- Assisted in the new markets tax credit financing of ground floor community space in a rental housing project in Washington, DC, that used low-income housing tax credits for the residential space
- Assisted in the new markets tax credit financing of several for-sale housing developments for low-income buyers in Washington, DC
- Advised a publicly traded real estate investment trust on the acquisition of a hotel in Phoenix, Arizona, that was encumbered by pre-existing new markets tax credit financing
- Advised in the acquisition of a portfolio of new markets tax credit assets from the receiver for an insolvent bank in New Orleans
- Assisted in the new markets tax credit financing of two manufacturing facilities, a restaurant rehabilitation, construction of a retail outlet mall, and construction of a rural hospital in Mississippi
- Assisted in a new markets tax credit financing of a homeless shelter and service facility in Mobile, Alabama
- Advised in a new markets tax credit financing of the renovation of a museum in south Florida