Lawyers / Professionals

Mr. Shils concentrates his practice in the areas of commercial real estate and finance. His representations include capital markets lenders, asset managers, special servicers and real estate developers.

He has served on commercial mortgage securitization task forces for the Mortgage Bankers Association, the Commercial Mortgage Securities Association (CMSA) and the Real Estate Capital Recovery Association and is a frequent speaker on commercial mortgage special asset servicing issues at industry and bar association meetings including the American Law Institute - American Bar Association and the Mortgage Bankers' Association. Elected a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL), Mr. Shils served as chair of ACREL's Capital Markets Committee from 2002-2005, was a member of ACREL's Board of Governors' Executive Committee in 2008 and 2010, continues as a member of ACREL's Board of Governors and currently is Vice-President of that organization. He was elected to membership in the Anglo-American Real Property Institute in 2008.

From 1996-2005, he served on the Board of Governors of CMSA, including service on its Executive Committee. He chaired CMSA's Standards and Practices Committee from 1996-1999, and was the co-chair of CMSA's Investor Conference in 2000.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Shils worked as a project manager for Gerald D. Hines Interests, Houston, Texas. He was a Robert F. Kennedy Fellow from 1969-1971 in Alabama. He subsequently worked in county government in Greene County, Alabama, as well as served on the staff of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial in Washington, D.C. He previously was employed as a staff reporter in the Atlanta bureau of The Wall Street Journal.