Attorneys
Specializing
in…
Jim Butler entered the EB-5 industry five years ago. At that
time, financing for hotel development had not recovered as
quickly as in other sectors, and Jim recognized the promise of
EB-5 capital. A pioneer in bringing EB-5 money to the hotel
industry, he specializes in representing high-end, top-flight owners
and developers at the intersection of hotels and value creation.
Jim first entered the hospitality industry in much the same
way as he became involved in EB-5; while working as a banking
and real estate finance lawyer for more than 25 years, he noticed
a shortage of lawyers specializing in hospitality and capitalized
upon the opportunity. He is now a partner at Jeffer Mangels
Butler & Mitchell in Los Angeles and the chairman of the firm’s
global hospitality group. Under Jim’s leadership, the global
hospitality group has completed more than $68 billion in hotel
transactions, involving more than 1,500 hotels all over the world.
In his five years of involvement in EB-5, Jim and his team
have represented over 60 clients in EB-5 projects across the
United States and have witnessed EB-5 capital become a critical
and mainstream vehicle for hotel financing. Indeed, for Jim,
one of the most exciting aspects of working in EB-5 is helping
hotel developers find financing when they otherwise could not
obtain it.
On the other hand, Jim finds that many of the EB-5
program’s regulatory components prevent it from reaching its
full potential. He feels that the program needs to be made more
Jim Butler
[ HOTEL DEVELOPMENT ]
viable overall, from
solving the visa cap issue,
to having USCIS work
more expeditiously on the
application backlog.
Jim’s expertise has been cited in
publications such as The Wall Street
Journal and The New York Times. He is a
member of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants
and the founder and seminar chair of the Hospitality Industry
Forum. When he is not helping clients understand the
complexities of EB-5 hotel financing, he and his team provide
a wealth of free information on the hotel industry through an
online portal.
WWW.EB5INVESTORS.COM
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