Amelia (Amy) H. Huskins, FACREL

Partner

  • Amelia (Amy) H. Huskins, FACREL
  • Phone: +1 404 253 6930
    Cell: +1 404 786 8874

    Amelia (Amy) H. Huskins, FACREL - LinkedIn Import to Address Book

  • Duane Morris LLP
    1075 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 1700
    Atlanta, GA 30309-3929
    USA

Amy Huskins, a Fellow in the prestigious American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL), practices in the areas of commercial real estate of many types, such as foreclosures, real estate purchases and sales of multiple projects in multiple states under one master transaction, land use, real estate divestitures, public and project finance bond transactions, lender representation, including those involving debentures and private equity funds as well as those involving securitized loans in forbearance, leases, including those in the U.S. and internationally, lease terminations and settlements, serving as title clearance partner to transactions, rezoning, permitting and land use, and many other matters. She serves as one of the Firm’s national experts on CFIUS regulations that affect state law regulations.

Ms. Huskins currently serves as an inaugural member of the Georgia Commercial Real Estate Coalition, a political action committee based in Atlanta, which includes commercial real estate attorneys in the largest Atlanta-based law firms and commercial real estate companies.

Ms. Huskins currently serves as the Firm’s voting member for Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (CREFC), based in New York and Washington, D.C., for which she works directly with CREFC lobbyists on national legislation, and for which Ms. Huskins is asked to travel to Capitol Hill and to speak with members of the U.S. Congress and their staff on matters involving commercial real estate. She is a member of the CREFC Advocacy and Legal Advisory Committees and is a member of the CREFC PAC. Ms. Huskins is an active member of the Atlanta Chapter of Women in Public Finance, a national organization having members who are issuers, bond traders and placement officers, lawyers, bankers and other parties who work on funding sources, rating agency officials, and governmental officials with a focus on public and project finance transactions in Georgia and throughout the nation.

She previously served as Co-Chair of the Legislative Subcommittee for the State Bar of Georgia Real Estate Section, working with the State Bar of Georgia regarding all proposed legislation of the State of Georgia relating to real property matters, including the leasing, owning and operating of real property, as well of the lending upon and occupancy of real property. In connection with her affiliations with CREFC and with the Georgia Commercial Real Estate Coalition, she speaks at events regarding Georgia legislation and other commercial real estate matters. She previously served on the State Bar of Georgia Real Estate Section Subcommittee on Title Standards.

Ms. Huskins is a past president of Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (CREF-C) Women of Atlanta-CREW, the first attorney to be elected as president of the Atlanta chapter, and served as Atlanta co-chair of the 1997 National Network CREW convention, working with her staff of 123 volunteers over a three-year span. She was the inaugural co-recipient of the CREW-Atlanta Member of the Year Award. She has been featured by and authored articles for the Atlanta Business Chronicle, was author of "RTC Title Standards" for the State Bar of Georgia Title Standards and was previously appointed to the Advisory Board of Dorey's real estate publications.

She served as an elected member of the University of Tennessee National Alumni Association Board of Governors of the University of Tennessee system-wide in a three-year position in the early 1990’s representing three Southeastern States, as well as serving as a long-standing member of the University of Tennessee College of Law Dean’s Circle Advisory Council. Ms. Huskins was also elected as President of the University of Tennessee Atlanta Alumni Association in the late 1980’s. Ms. Huskins is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, where she was elected to the editorial board of the Tennessee Law Review and is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Tennessee, where she was elected as Panhellenic President, was appointed as a Neyland Scholar and was inducted into Mortar Board and Omicron Delta Kappa.

In connection with Ms. Huskins’ expertise on CFIUS and State laws affecting CFIUS, she writes articles for publication and speaking events for the State Bar of Georgia Real Property Law Section and for other publications regarding recent state-level laws restricting foreign ownership of real estate. She also advises clients of the Firm on foreign ownership of real estate laws affecting ownership and leasing of commercial real estate.

Among her clients, Ms. Huskins represents one of the world's largest publicly-traded telecommunications companies, serving as one of the Firm’s key partner contacts for the company's worldwide leasing needs, including headquarters leasing and subleasing, as well as office leases for its employees in the U.S. and worldwide. Leases for this client often address construction and permitting issues.

Ms. Huskins also represents a technology and integrated risk management company with offices in Atlanta as well as throughout the nation, on real estate matters. Ms. Huskins advises this client on real property leasing and business permitting in London, Northern Ireland, and also Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago and other locations in the U.S.

Ms. Huskins represents a client with real estate retail centers in various western States in connection with the purchase and leasing of retail tenants, as well as negotiated settlements arising from tenant breaches.

She has served as a member of the Firm's team representing an operator of convenience stores with hundreds of locations throughout the nation in the periodic acquisition and transfer of stores, which representation has involved FTC divestiture and other governmental compliance issues.

Ms. Huskins served on a firm team of partners representing the world's largest operator of marinas, whose legal matters include real estate leasing, operations, survey and zoning issues, as well as unusual permitting issues regarding ownership and leasing of structures located in navigable waters of the U.S. Leasing matters for this client include industrial boat repair facilities leases and also yacht slip leases, riparian dock and pier leases with federal and state governments, and life-estate leases with initial boat owners.

Ms. Huskins also represents financial institutions in connection with public and project finance transactions, matters involving CMBS transactions, lenders in connection with condemnation, foreclosure, restructuring, reorganization, loan sale, receivership and commercial real estate matters, owners/developers in the acquisition, holding and disposition of commercial real estate; secured creditors in loan workouts, foreclosures, economic development, leasing, land use and other business matters.

Ms. Huskins is a member of the Firm's finance group and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) group and represents underwriters, issuers and banks in connection with public and private activity, taxable and tax-exempt bond transactions, as well as assists clients in preparing requests for proposal for PPP transactions. Ms. Huskins also has experience in project finance and credit enhancement transactions. She has experience in loan pool sales, sale/leasebacks, securitization/structured finance of government credit-lease projects, and the financing of alternative energy projects, including waste-to-energy and solar projects.

Representative Matters

  • Represents a leading distributor and retailer of motor fuels in the sale of its assets, including more than 1,400 wholesale fuel locations and 70 retail convenience stores, to a large U.S. operator of gas stations/convenience stores in a transaction valued at over $350 million.

  • Represents a public employees’ retirement system pension fund in connection with its ownership of a large real estate project near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

  • Represented a private equity fund in a series of loan transactions including the issuance of debentures totaling $525 million secured, inter alia, by green energy facilities in Georgia and that are the subject of a PILOT program.

  • Represents a national company that operates a real estate project in Georgia that is the subject of a PILOT program, together with a series of loans of over $110 million with money-center banks and funds secured by the Georgia real estate project.

  • Served on a Firm team representing a consumer services company in connection with the $385 million financing of more than 290 locations in 31 states, including the continental US and Puerto Rico.

  • Served on a Firm team representing a consumer retail company in connection with the acquisition, and separately a series of sales, of real property locations in more than 10 states, including master leases for more than 70 locations.

  • Represented one of the nation’s money center banks in a $55 million loan to a casino in Natchez, MS, which included leases and zoning issues.

  • Represented one of the nation's largest-poultry processors and suppliers on its real estate leasing, finance, environmental, and real-estate related matters, including 30-plus parcels located in Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Leasing matters included permitting and environmental remediation issues arising from the vertically-integrated businesses of this client.

  • Represented a NYSE-traded real estate investment trust (REIT), in a merger transaction valued at $3.1 billion to acquire a "non-traded" REIT. The combined company as a result of the merger had a pro forma enterprise value of over $10 billion and was the largest REIT in the triple net lease sector at the time of this transaction.

  • Represented a client in winning an auction in connection with an $80 million sale under section 363 of the bankruptcy code, obtaining bankruptcy court approval of the sale and entering into an asset purchase agreement.

  • Acted as bank counsel (real estate) for a $49.75 million bond transaction involving a Georgia hospital system.

  • Represented major European banking institution as underwriter's and/or bank counsel in connection with several public and/or private activity bond transactions having Certificates of Participation/Public Purposes Project Revenue Bonds regarding facilities leased to the State of Georgia and other county instrumentalities.

  • Represented a national bank as underwriter's counsel in connection with due diligence on a series of three waste-to-energy projects in Georgia, each in the amount of $250 million, having an international issuer.

  • Represented a national bank as underwriter's counsel in connection with due diligence on a series of waste-to-energy landfill projects located in Georgia, Virginia and North Carolina totaling $30 million.

  • Represented a nationally-recognized autism center in the defeasance of $17.5 million in bonds through the sale of its Georgia headquarters to a large Atlanta-based children's hospital.

  • Represented a national lender/placement agent in connection with credit-lease loan transactions secured by federal government leases throughout the country, including, without limitation, $16.2 million financing of federal courthouse in Canton, Ohio; $4.65 million financing of U.S. Forest Service headquarters in Northern California; $28 million financing of Veteran's Administration facility in Eastern North Carolina.

  • Represented an international Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) chain in connection with U.S. real estate holdings, including leases, sale/leasebacks, together with franchise, media and intellectual property matters, involving store locations throughout the nation.

  • Acted as Georgia real estate counsel for a real estate investment company in connection with due diligence for a proposed $300 million mixed-used development in metropolitan Atlanta.

  • Acted as lead counsel for large national bank in $13.15 million acquisition and development loan in Savannah, Georgia, for master mixed-use, multiphase planned community, including, commercial streetscapes with office and retail, multifamily, senior assisted-living, residential single-family and townhomes, park space and amenity areas located on historic plantation lands.

  • Acted as real estate counsel for Canadian seller in connection with the $32 million sale of a shopping center in metropolitan Atlanta to a Canadian buyer.

  • Acted as Georgia lead real estate counsel for the purchaser in the multistate acquisition of lumber and timber facilities, including multi-tranche financing, totaling $19 million.

  • Acted as lead real estate counsel for $20 million debt financing on behalf of NASDAQ-traded public company with holdings in 25-plus international locations.

  • Acted as real estate counsel to trustee of $34.5 million in bondholder debt secured by religious facilities and a national television ministry.

Areas of Practice

  • Leasing
  • Capital Markets

  • Public, Project and Structured Finance Including Those Involving Debentures and Divestitures and PILOT (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) Programs

  • Land Use and Zoning

Admissions

  • Georgia
  • Supreme Court of Georgia

Education

  • University of Tennessee College of Law, J.D.

Experience

  • Duane Morris LLP
    - Partner, 2004-present

  • Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice (now Womble Bond Dickinson)
    - Prior Partner

  • Parker, Johnson, Cook & Dunlevie (merged into Womble Carlyle)
    - Prior Partner and Associate

  • Smith, Gambrell & Russell
    - Prior Associate

Honors and Awards

  • 2023: State Bar of Georgia Section of the Year Award, Real Property Law Section (accepted the award at the State Bar of Georgia Annual Meeting on behalf of the Real Property Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia).
  • 2023: At the invitation of Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Ms. Huskins, together with three members of the team of State Bar Legislative Committee Chairs, attended a bill-signing ceremony at the Georgia State Capitol for a bill signed by Governor Kemp that the four individuals were instrumental in drafting and testifying on behalf of such bill for the State Bar of Georgia.
  • 1997: CREW Atlanta Inaugural Member of the Year Award.

Professional Activities

  • Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers
  • Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (CREFC) Member of the Advocacy and Legal Advisory Committees and a Member of the CREFC PAC
  • Inaugural Member of the Georgia Commercial Real Estate Coalition
  • Past President Commercial Real Estate Women of Atlanta
  • Member Atlanta Women in Public Finance

  • State Bar of Georgia
    - Prior Executive Committee State Bar of Georgia Real Property Law
    - Prior Co-Chair of the Legislative Committee of the Real Property Law Section
    - Prior Subcommittee Member of the Title Standards Committee

  • Inducted into Lawyers Club of Atlanta
  • Member, Atlanta Bar Association
  • Prior Member, REGA, Real Estate Group of Atlanta
  • Prior Member, Election Protection We The Action, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
  • Prior Member, Everybody Wins, Bethune Elementary School, Atlanta

  • Speaker for Bar Seminars on legislation, LIBOR transition, CFIUS, and commercial real estate

Selected Publications

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • State Bar of Georgia Real Property Law Section on Georgia CFIUS laws, May 2024.
  • Speaker to Georgia Real Estate group on Georgia Senate Bill 90, July 2023, together with speech to State Bar of Georgia Real Property Law Section conference, May 2023.
  • Speaker to State Bar of Georgia Real Property Law Section on changes to LIBOR November 2020 and additional speeches in November 2019.
  • Presenter, "COVID-19: From Sea to Shining Sea: A Quick Update of U.S. and International COVID-Related Restrictions," Duane Morris LLP, Webinar, December 11, 2020.