Mitchell Nelson

Mitchell J. Nelson has more than 50 years of experience specializing in real estate related matters as an attorney, a trustee, an advisor and an investor.

Mr. Nelson started practicing real estate law at Wien, Malkin & Bettex in 1973, became a partner in 1979, and handled hundreds of real estate transactions and supervised management of numerous properties and syndicates created by the firm and outside clients until 1992. While with WM&B, he served on the Executive Committee and Management Committee of the firm. In 1992, he became counsel to Proskauer Rose and also formed a separate, unaffiliated partnership to do outside bankruptcy consulting work relating to real estate. In 1994, Mr. Nelson started two private investment funds specializing in real estate securities and became counsel to Christy & Viener. He became a senior officer of FX Real Estate & Entertainment, Inc., a location-based entertainment company, and its affiliate Flag Luxury Properties, LLC, a hotel developer in 2006. Over the next ten years he supervised diversified business and legal programs for FX, Flag and affiliated companies across multiple business lines, including real estate transactions, public and private offerings, mergers and acquisitions, project development, construction, employment, litigation oversight, structuring of joint venture, limited liability company and partnership agreements, hotel management, intellectual property and securities and general corporate work.

Mr. Nelson has been affiliated with Columbia University for many years, primarily as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Architecture, Preservation and Planning in the Master of Real Estate Development program, teaching courses in Commercial Leasing and Legal Principles Critical for Real Estate. He has spoken regarding investing in US real estate securities to conferences organized by The Bank Credit Analyst and TASS, has taught real estate contracts law at Cardozo Law School, and has also lectured on real estate related topics at the New York State Bar Association and at Columbia Business School.

Mitchell Nelson served as a director of The Merchants Bank of New York and as a member of the Advisory Board of its successor, Valley National Bank. He has also been a member of the Advisory Boards of the New York Real Estate Law Reporter and Security Title and Guaranty Company, and a member of the Real Estate Board of New York. Mr. Nelson has served on several not-for–profit boards, including currently as a director of 92NY, and previously as a trustee of Collegiate School, a member of the Visiting Committee of the University of Chicago Law School, a member of the Board of Overseers of Brandeis University’s Wien International Scholarship Program, and a member of Board of Directors of the Citizens Housing and Planning Council.

Mr. Nelson received a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 1973 and a B.A. from Brandeis University in 1970, magna cum laude with honors in philosophy. At Brandeis, he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and named a Louis Brandeis Scholar.