Umar A. Sheikh

PRACTICE FOCUS
Umar is a Department Chair and a member of Offit Kurman's Real Estate Law and Transactions Group.

As Department Chair, Umar is responsible for the day-to-day management of five different practice groups consisting of over seventy-five lawyers located across the entire Offit Kurman platform. Department Chairs work through the Office of Managing Principal and focus on practice group management and performance, timekeeper performance and morale, cross referrals, quality assurance/quality control, marketing, and organic growth.

In his legal practice, Umar concentrates on all aspects of real estate law – purchases, sales, financing, development, leasing, evictions, foreclosures, management – and those areas of law that are related to real estate – corporate, tax, asset protection, estate planning and litigation. He regularly represents parties in the purchase, sale and financing of multifamily, mixed-use, commercial and retail properties. Umar also represents family offices, private lenders, private equity firms and borrowers in CMBS transactions.

Additionally, Umar provides outside general counsel services to small and mid-size companies, as well as foreign investors and entities doing business, real estate or otherwise, in the United States.

Umar is well-versed in the principles of Islamic (Shariah-compliant) finance, including the finance of real estate through permitted structures. He has closed numerous transactions under Shariah-permitted structures. Umar has assisted finance companies in building Shariah-compliant transaction documents for use in numerous states for financing both commercial and residential real estate.

Umar currently serves on the Board of Directors for both the New Jersey Muslim Lawyers Association and Muslims for Peace, Inc. He has previously served on the Board of Directors for the Asian American Bar Association of New York. Umar is a member of the American Bar Association, the New Jersey Muslim Lawyers Association and the Asian American Bar Association of New York. He was named a 2022 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Champion for Justice by the New Jersey State Governor’s Jefferson Awards. The New Jersey State Governor’s Jefferson Awards’ honorees achieve measurable impact and represent outstanding acts of public service without the expectation of recognition or compensations. In 2022, Umar was named a Notable Diverse Leader in Law by Crain’s New York Business. Crain’s New York Business identified top law professionals from underrepresented groups who have made an impact in New York in the types of cases handled, clients won and/or pro bono work.

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCES
Lead counsel in representing a borrower in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loan transaction in the principal sum of $19.2 million secured by a multifamily property in Lansing, MI; the transaction involved a simultaneous loan defeasance in the principal sum of $10.2 million
After a trial court order found the opposing party was entitled to pierce the corporate veil of the client’s entity and such order was unanimously upheld by the Appellate Division, successfully argued before the NY Court of Appeals and obtained a reversal of that finding leading to a successful resolution of the dispute
Represented borrower in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) transaction in the principal sum of $25.0 million secured by a hotel property in Long Island City, NY
Represented Seller in the sale of a mixed-use property in Jersey City, NJ, and upon Buyer’s default, retained contract deposit for Seller without litigation
Successfully represented the landlord of a commercial retail space in dispute with a tenant over construction issues
Represented Purchaser in the purchase of a shopping center near Pittsburgh, PA.
Successfully represented minority owners in the recovery of funds due from the majority partner following the sale of the building
RECOGNITIONS
Named Notable Diverse Leader in Law by Crain’s New York Business, 2022
2022 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Champion for Justice by the New Jersey State Governor’s Jefferson Awards
Super Lawyer, New York