future-focused

Practices

Assistant

Lillianne Stanton

504.556.4020

“The negotiating and contracting process can itself create or destroy value. My nearly 20 years as a business lawyer combined with my experience running my own businesses have taught me the importance of adding value by building upon the personal and business relationships between opposing parties and employing consensus problem solving that facilitate the successful closing of a business transaction.”

Overview

Paul Kitziger is a nationally recognized business lawyer who regularly assists clients with various business transactions, including real estate transactions, construction projects, business entity structuring and formation, mergers and acquisitions, and financing transactions. Paul is a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, the premier organization of U.S. real estate attorneys, and is recognized by The Best Lawyers America for his real estate practice.

Paul represents both local and international clients from the energy, petrochemical, manufacturing, hospitality, industrial, and financial sectors. 

He regularly advises clients in:

  • Negotiation and documentation of real estate transactions, including commercial leasing, acquisitions and divestitures, land development and construction agreements
  • The development and improvement of real estate, including the development of distribution facilities and utility scale solar projects
  • Mergers and acquisitions, including those in the hospitality, energy, and chemical industries
  • Corporate and general business matters
  • Secured financing transactions, often including those secured by real property 
  • Corporate governance advice and the creation, acquisition and sale of small to medium-sized business entities and assets in a variety of industries, such as real estate, construction and oil and gas

A good deal of Paul’s recent work has involved both energy and non-energy-related real estate transactions in Louisiana for clients throughout the nation and abroad. This includes title work and the lease, sale, purchase and development of hospitality facilities, industrial facilities, office buildings, warehouses, and other commercial and industrial properties. 

Paul has also represented several professional athletes in various business and investment matters.

Prior to becoming a lawyer, Paul worked in a variety of industries, including working on the docks of the Mississippi River and in the engine rooms of Louisiana river boats. He also managed a machine shop for one of Louisiana’s largest privately held manufacturing corporations, and eventually owned and operated several businesses, including a real estate holding company. “My previous professional experiences, including being a business owner, enables me to effectively communicate and focus on critical path items and key issues from the client’s point of view,” he explains. “I help clients work through the decision-making process and get things done, especially when time is of the essence.” Paul also understands the importance of interpersonal relationships and consensus problem solving. He cautions, “When transactional lawyers fail to recognize the importance of strong relationships between contracting parties or the value in collaborative problem solving, they can miss opportunities to add value to their client’s transactions.”  

Talks about

#realestate #construction #businesstransactions #solar #industrialdevelopment

Highlights

Client Comment

“We always enjoy working with Paul Kitziger and the folks at Liskow & Lewis. They’ve got an impressive team with an incredible amount of experience. Every legal question we’ve come across in Louisiana has been promptly answered by Paul or one of his associates. They’ve helped bring a few transactions over the finish line, and we look forward to more dealings in the future.” – Best Lawyers Client Comment, Real Estate Law, 2022

Recognition

Paul is a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (“ACREL”), the premier organization of U.S. real estate attorneys.

Notable Experience

Renewables

  • Local counsel to developers and operators in acquisition and development of utility scale solar projects
  • Representation of landowners with leasing agreements related to utility scale solar projects
  • Representation of midstream energy company in acquisitions of Louisiana properties for operations, including hydrocarbon storage caverns
  • Representation of developer and operator of utility scale wind energy project

Construction

  • Representation of a national home builder in the acquisition and development of residential subdivisions
  • Representation of industrial project owner in negotiating and drafting $700MM EPC contract, including addressing certain prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements
  • Representation of local hospitality company in drafting and negotiating architect, construction and equipment supply agreements
  • Representation of automotive sales group in drafting and negotiating architect and construction agreements for dealerships

Real Estate

  • Local counsel representation of privately held REIT in due diligence and negotiation and documentation of purchase agreement related to the acquisition of thousands of acres of Louisiana farmland
  • As Louisiana real estate counsel in response to the 2010 oil spill, he helped guide the client in arranging access to the response area, in providing housing for and feeding thousands of workers and volunteers, in leasing private property in support of clean-up efforts, such as storing and staging clean-up materials and in many other post-spill needs
  • Negotiation and documentation of office, healthcare, hospitality industry, and industrial leases

Energy

  • Representation of pipeline company in negotiating and acquiring pipeline rights of way and servitudes
  • Representation of international oil corporation in its $500 million offshore asset divestiture
  • Paul has handled commercial real estate transactions from the owners’ side and has helped with procurement and industrial construction, and engineering contracts for the development of everything from chemical plants to large-scale residential subdivisions.Local Counsel representation of South Louisiana Methanol LP in land acquisition and the preparation of an EPC agreement for what will be one of the largest methanol plants once constructed
  • Representation of midstream energy company in the acquisition of a South Louisiana oil storage and transportation terminal
  • Representation of landowners with Wetland Mitigation Banking efforts, including consultancy agreements related thereto
  • Representation of international energy company in the sale of tenant-occupied office building and future development site
  • Local counsel representation of NOVA Chemicals Corporation in due diligence, negotiations, and purchase agreement documentation, and preparation of real property agreements related to the acquisition of an olefins plant in Louisiana
  • Representation of shareholders of oilfield service company in a sale of equity interests to a strategic purchaser structured for tax purposes as an IRC 336(e) qualified stock disposition
  • Louisiana real estate counsel in response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident, the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry

Sports

  • Representation of the majority owner in the divestiture of the New Orleans NBA franchise
  • Representation of professional athletes negotiate and evaluate various business opportunities

Miscellaneous

  • Local counsel to hospitality company in the acquisition of hotel operations and facilities in New Orleans
  • Representation of local landowners in the ground leasing of properties for shopping center and hotel development
  • Representation of healthcare organization as sponsor and borrower in a New Market Tax Credit transaction
  • Representation of Louisiana non-profits, such as The National World War II Museum, where he assists with corporate and real estate matters and in the acquisitions of exhibits
  • Representation of international fashion company in the design and construction of Louisiana manufacturing related facilities
  • Representation of national bulk liquids handling and storage company in its corporate restructuring efforts
  • Representation of newspaper publisher in the acquisition of Louisiana’s largest daily newspaper
  • Representation of international energy and industrial manufacturing companies in restructuring of real estate holdings SPEs

Involvement

Professional

  • American College of Real Estate Lawyers, Fellow
  • New Orleans, Louisiana, Federal and American Bar Associations
  • Liskow Diversity Committee, Member
  • Liskow Board of Directors, Former Member
  • Liskow Recruiting Committee, Former Chair
  • Liskow Associate Committee, Former Chair

Community

  • Solar Energy Industries Association, Member
  • International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
  • New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute, Class of 2008
  • Chamber Southwest Louisiana, Member - Business Development & Inclusion Task Force Committee, Environmental Affairs Committee, Small Business Task Force Committee

Recognition

Credentials

Education

  • Loyola University New Orleans College of Law (J.D., cum laude, 2004)
    • Loyola Law Review, Member, 2003-2004
  • Loyola University (B.A., 1993)

Bar Admissions

  • Louisiana, 2004

Presentations

  • "Acquiring Land Rights for Renewable Energy Projects," HAPL 55th Annual Technical Workshop, April 23, 2024
  • “Louisiana’s Renewable Energy Lease Law,” Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants, February 2024 Conference
  • “Preparing Your Client for an M&A Transaction,” Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants, February 2024 Conference
  • “How to Prepare Your Client for Due Diligence: M&A Checklist and Discussion” Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accounts 2022 Tax Conference
  • "Wetland and Coastal Use Mitigation Banking: An Overview of the Louisiana and Federal Programs CLE – New Orleans Bar Association," November 5, 2021
  • Discussed the Louisiana Contractor Licensing process in light of the hurricane recovery efforts and other issues related to post-IDA construction and reconstruction issues to the ACREL Construction Law Committee, October 2021
  • "Commercial Title Endorsements: What you Really Need," ABA RPTE 2020 Spring Conference Webinar, May 2020
  • "Handling Real Estate Closings From Start to Finish," NBI Seminar,  September 2019
  • "Title and Use Issues in the Acquisition and Ownership of Industrial Plants," ABA RPTE Commercial Transactions Group, March 2018
  • "Understanding Title Commitments and Insurance in Real Estate Secured Lending," in-house presentation to commercial lending officers, November 2016
  • "Title Workshop: From Examination to Commitment – Conducting the Title Search and Examination; What to Look for in Surveys, Descriptions and Plats; Drafting and Issuing a Title Commitment," National Business Institute seminar, November 2016
  • "Sponsorship – The New Normal in the Legal Profession," LSBA 7th Annual Conclave on Diversity in the Legal Profession, March 2014
  • "Legal Matters for the Entrepreneur," SCORE Small Business Management Seminar, June 2005
  • "Understanding Louisiana Business Entities," Entrepreneurship in Engineering, Tulane University School of Engineering, April 2005

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