Hilary McDowell

Hilary McDowell is a Partner, Head of the CEE Real Estate practice group and Co-Head of the CMS Real Estate and Construction sector group.

Hilary is ranked in band 1 in Chambers 2008 Real Estate lawyers in the Czech Republic and described in the publication as a 'Top-notch lawyer' with her strength lying in her ability to 'contextualize a transaction and think through the whole process'. Hilary is also ranked in tier one in Legal 500, 2008 for Real Estate lawyers in the Czech Republic and described in that publication as 'absolutely fantastic' and praised for her 'control of the entire business when it comes to understanding real estate'.

Relevant experience includes advising:

• Carpathian Properties Holding Sarl on sale of Variada Shopping Centre to a fund managed by Invesco  
• A fund managed by Pramerica Real Estate Investors on the acquisition of office and retail complex A7 Arena Prague from ING Real Estate Development   
• A fund managed by Standard Life Investments Ltd in its joint venture with a developer in respect of various development sites in the Czech Republic and Poland   
• Orco Property Group in relation to the construction of the new headquarters for Radio Free Europe in Prague  
• The owners of Pinnacle Real Estate, Merrill Lynch (through its Global Principal Investments group) and the Pinnacle founders on the sale of Pinnacle Real Estate to Arcapita, a Bahrain-based investment fund. The deal included 230,000 sqm of leased warehouses and a land bank of almost 1.5 million sqm for future development. The transaction involved acquisitions in four CEE countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Bulgaria) and Luxembourg, and English and local law documentation

Education:

BA Jt Hons Leicester University, College of Law, Chester, Common Professional Examination (Commendation), College of Law, Chester, Law Society Final Examinations (First class honours), Member of the Czech Chamber of Advocates.