Real estate lenders, investors, and special servicers have relied on Joseph Philip Forte for his innovative approaches to real estate finance through seven real estate cycles.

As a leader in the real estate finance industry, Joe helped develop the secondary and securitization markets for residential, multifamily, and commercial mortgages as well as create the first and other early commercial mortgage loan conduits and flow purchase programs and their related loan documentation.

Joe has substantial experience in real estate and capital market-related financing, particularly in the origination, structuring, workout, and enforcement of commercial mortgage loans. This experience includes handling a wide range of financings from permanent, bridge and construction mortgage lending to mezzanine financing to loan sales and purchase transactions. He advises lenders and investors on market and regulatory issues affecting the mortgage and secondary mortgage markets and capital market-related financings and on such issues as environmental risk management, usury laws, and federal preemption and investment authority.

Joe represents traditional portfolio lenders as well as securitized lenders and special servicers in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) transactions, whether as stand-alone transactions or in complicated capital stacks involving senior mortgage debt, subordinate B-notes, or mezzanine debt with intercreditor, participation, and co-lender arrangements. His workout experience includes helping lenders and investors navigate loan workouts and enforcement proceedings during several market upswing and downturn cycles.

A frequent speaker and author on real estate finance topics, Joe served for several years as the co-chair of the annual “CMBS & The Real Estate Lawyer” program for the Practising Law Institute. He was the founder and publisher of CRE Finance World and continues to serve as publisher of CREFC’s CRE and Multifamily Finance in the Spotlight. From 2013-2019, he served as a contributing editor of Lexology’s annual Getting the Deal Through and was author of that publication’s USA Chapter and its annual Global Overview. He has also been the recipient of several “Best Article” awards from legal and industry publications. He has served as chair/vice chair of several bar and industry association committees, including for the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, the American College of Mortgage Attorneys, and the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Joe has been recognized as a leading real estate finance practitioner in national and international surveys, including Chambers, Legal 500, SuperLawyers, and Best Lawyers. Chambers USA noted that Joe is “a highly experienced and respected real estate finance specialist. He has notable expertise on the structuring, origination and workout of commercial mortgage loans.”

Joe has been recognized annually by The International Who’s Who of Real Estate Lawyers as one of the top 10 most highly regarded lawyers, and from 2010-2013 and 2017-2018 as “Global Real Estate Lawyer of the Year.” In 2019, he received the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award as “a pioneering figure in real estate financing.”