William Matthew O'Connor
Partner
Overview
Bill O'Connor, co-chair of Holland & Knight's Real Estate Capital Markets Practice Group, is a New York and New Jersey real estate capital markets attorney who focuses on the special servicing of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) and related aspects of loan workouts. He concentrates his practice on creditors' rights litigation, loan workouts, loan portfolio sales and acquisitions, rescue financing, bankruptcies, restructurings, International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitrations, international documentary credits, multinational insolvencies and restructurings and Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act (FSIA) cases. He also has an active international practice involving infrastructure and project finance.
Mr. O'Connor represents leading financial institutions, special servicers, hedge funds, private equity and real estate opportunity funds. He is a founding member and past chairman of the High Yield Distressed Realty Assets (HYDRA) Forum of Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (CREFC), the leading industry trade association for the commercial real estate finance industry.
Credentials
- Fordham University School of Law, J.D.
- Fordham University, B.S.
- New Jersey
- New York
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut
- U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York
- Westchester Bar Journal, Editor-in-Chief, 1983-1988
- American Bar Association (ABA) Advisory Panel
- Town of Pelham Board, Deputy Supervisor, 1995-2012
- New York Abbey Theatre Association, Ireland's National Theatre, President
- New York State Bar Association, Commercial and Federal Litigation Section, Creditors' Rights Committee
- Westchester Bar Association, Professional Ethics Committee, 1981-1986
- Federal Bar Council
- Commercial Real Estate (CRE) Finance Council
- Mortgage Bankers Association
- Galway University Foundation, Board Member
- St. Patrick's Day Foundation, Board Member
- Fordham International Law Journal Alumni Association, Associate Board Member
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated
- New York Metro Super Lawyers magazine, Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights: Business, Banking, Securities & Corporate Finance, 2006, 2011-2024
- The Legal 500 USA, Recognized Attorney, Real Estate and Construction: Real Estate, 2015, 2017-2020; Real Estate – Finance, 2023
- Holland & Knight Pro Bono All-Star, 2021
- Empire State Counsel, New York State Bar Association, 2014-2018, 2020-2022
- Irish Voice, Irish Legal 100, 2011-2022