Olesya Bakar

Partner

Practices

Olesya Bakar

+1.202.469.5220

Overview

Olesya Bakar is a corporate attorney in Holland & Knight's Washington, D.C., office and is the head of the firm's Real Estate Fund Formation practice. Ms. Bakar has more than 24 years of experience advising and representing global emerging and mature private and public companies in an array of complex commercial transactions within a variety of industries covering all corners of the globe.

The core of Ms. Bakar's practice is in representing and advising fund sponsors on the structuring, formation, capital raising and operation of private investment funds, with a particular focus on the real estate industry. She provides advice to help her clients succeed, whether it be in a high-profile, multibillion-dollar transaction or to first-time fund managers.

Ms. Bakar has represented many leading fund sponsors in establishing closed-end and open-ended funds, programmatic joint ventures, strategic alliances, separately managed accounts and other investment vehicles. She also represents institutional investors and family offices with respect to their investments. Ms. Bakar's experience advising fund sponsors, as well as institutional and high-net-worth investors, provides her with a holistic perspective of the market and its latest trends, awareness of the unique sensitivities of the parties and the ability to find positive solutions for clients.

A significant part of Ms. Bakar’s practice is representation of clients in joint venture transactions in a wide range of industries, including real estate, defense, automotive, aviation and aerospace, manufacturing, clean energy, technology, life sciences, financial technology (FinTech) and finance. Clients rely on Ms. Bakar to be a trusted adviser in some of their most challenging transactions and to help them think outside the box when creating joint venture arrangements.

On the regulatory side, Ms. Bakar advises clients on aspects of compliance with the Investment Company Act, Investment Advisers Act and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Bakar served as co-lead of the Real Estate Funds practice for a global law firm working with sponsors and investors in the real estate sector.

Representative Experience

Represented FCP (formerly Federal Capital Partners), a privately held real estate investment sponsor focused on residential and commercial assets throughout the United States, in the successful formation of its investment vehicles, including:
- Fund I, which closed with $240 million in capital commitments in 2008
- Fund II, which closed with more than $529 million in capital commitments in 2012
- Fund III, which closed with more than $510 million in capital commitments in 2016
- Fund IV, which closed with $755 million in capital commitments in 2018
- Fund V, which closed with $1.188 billion in capital commitments in 2021
- Fund V Co-Invest, which closed with approximately $360 million in capital commitments in 2021
- Fund VI, which closed with more than $1.1 billion in capital commitments in 2024
JBG SMITH (NYSE: JBGS), a leading owner and developer of high-quality, mixed-use properties in the Washington, D.C., market, in connection with a variety of matters, including:
- the formation of its nine private equity real estate opportunity funds and corresponding vehicles prior to its going public transaction
- a recapitalization transaction into a programmatic joint venture prior to its going public transaction
- a roll-up transaction in connection with taking JBG SMITH public
- the formation of The Impact Pool (Washington Housing Initiative Impact Pool), an investment vehicle that provides financing for the acquisition or development of affordable workforce housing and the creation or stabilization of inclusive communities
Represented Horizon Land Co., a real estate fund sponsor focused on creating and maintaining affordable land-leased neighborhoods, in the successful formation of its investment vehicles as well as other corporate matters, including:
- Fund I, which closed with $106 million in capital commitments in 2015
- Fund II, which closed with approximately $200 million in capital commitments in 2018
- Fund II Co-Invest vehicle, which closed with more than $250 million in equity in 2021
Represented a leading U.S. multifamily asset manager in the formation of an $800 million real estate investment platform with institutional partners that targeted multifamily apartment housing
Represented an investment firm focused on multifamily real estate in creating a management platform and internal organizational restructuring and related matters
Represented a Texas-based private equity real estate manager pursuing a value-added strategy in the formation of private real estate investment trusts (REITs)
Represented a real estate sponsor in the formation of its first general partner (GP) fund targeting capital commitments of $35 million

Represented RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., a developer and manufacturer of unique, world-renowned systems such as Iron Dome, the TROPHY APS and David's Sling, in its joint venture with Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. (Nasdaq: KTOS), a leader in hypersonic or advanced systems, strategic systems, ballistic missile targets, sub-orbital research vehicles, sounding rockets and solid rocket motors, to form Prometheus Energetics, a U.S.-based merchant supplier of solid rocket motors (SRMs) and other energetics
Represented a hospitality management subsidiary of a Spanish company on the formation of various hospitality-related joint ventures and the acquisition of various hotels and resorts in North America
Represented a large-cap public company in multiple joint venture transactions, and co-authored a joint venture investment and negotiation guide for use by various departments within the company
Represented a federally owned transportation company in a joint venture with a leading engineering and construction company
Represented multiple non-U.S. airlines in their strategic alliances with a major U.S. airline
Represented a U.S. real estate institutional investor in its $22 million preferred equity investment in a retail center development

Credentials

Education

University of Georgia School of Law, J.D., cum laude
University of Georgia, B.B.A., summa cum laude

Bar Admissions/Licenses

District of Columbia
Georgia

Memberships

American Bar Association

Honors & Awards

Chambers Global – The World's Leading Lawyers for Business guide, USA: Private Equity: Fund Formation, 2025
Chambers USA – America's Leading Business Lawyers guide, Private Equity: Fund Formation, 2024
The Legal 500 USA, Investment Funds: Private Equity Funds (including Venture Capital), 2020