Jim Butler, founding partner, Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP, and founder and chairman of the firm’s Global Hospitality Group, will receive the California Lodging Investment Conference [CLIC] lifetime achievement award at the upcoming event being held March 6-7 at the Westin South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA.
“I am exhilarated and humbled, at the same time,” said Butler, who is also the organizer of the Meet the Money National Hotel Finance & Investment Conference. “It’s such an honor to have my peers in the industry recognize my efforts over the years. The support and friendship mean so much to me, especially given the people responsible—in particular, Craig Sullivan and the industry leaders involved in his California Lodging Investment Conference.”
Sullivan, founder/president, [CLIC], added, “Jim was the obvious and unanimous choice to receive the award. Not only did he cofound one of the leading hospitality law firms, but he also has worked on thousands of acquisitions, sales, developments, brandings, repositionings and financings throughout his career. He has graciously taken the time to mentor new hospitality professionals, helping to make the industry a better place. For this and so many more reasons, he is the perfect recipient.”
Butler devotes 100% of his practice to hospitality, and he and his team represent lenders, owners, developers, independent management companies and capital providers on their hotel projects worldwide. The group has more than 30 years of hotel experience with more than 4,700 hospitality properties located around the world valued at more than $125 billion. The company has worked on more than 2,700 hotel management and franchise agreements and more than 100 hotel enhanced mixed-use developments.
“I think people appreciate the passion I bring to my Global Hospitality Group team in representing our clients,” he said. “We never fail to get the deals our clients really want done. Even in tough battles, there’s always professional respect between adverse parties. We put clients first and try to help our friends in the industry get deals done.”
Butler’s career in hospitality started when he was making pizza and washing dishes at Blue Hills Pizzeria in Saratoga, CA. “But my career as an attorney in the hospitality industry began in the late 1980s,” he said. “I had started out as a corporate finance, banking and real estate attorney. In the late 1980s, we suddenly found the major international lenders we represented drowning in distressed debt that was largely tied to hotel assets in California, Hawaii and New York. That was an unexpected ‘left turn’ into hotel real estate and finance, starting with workouts, bankruptcies and receiverships. I’ve never looked back.”
Throughout his career, he received advice and mentorship from many others, and has done the same for others. “I believe it’s important to give back in full measure some of what I have received,” he said. “This is a wonderful industry with some of the most inspiring thought leaders and mentors who have opened many doors for me and others over the years. In like fashion, we have chosen to share what we’ve learned through our experience in more than 30 years of our annual hotel finance conference, executive briefings, participation in industry events and the Hotel Law Blog (which has over 1,000 articles). And our Resource Center is available to anyone in the industry.”
He added, “I’m truly grateful for this recognition. I love the hospitality industry and the opportunities it has given me to build both my career and long-lasting relationships.”
