Four DLA Piper lawyers receive 2025 Next Generation awards from Connect CRE

DLA Piper is pleased to announce that Hawwi Edao, Chrisdo Fan, Dominique Gonzales, and Maria Ojeda were recognized by Connect CRE as part of its 2025 Next Generation Awards honoring young leaders in the commercial real estate industry.

Edao, who was recognized in the Washington, DC & Mid-Atlantic award category, focuses her practice on land use and zoning matters involving all aspects of the development approval process, including rezoning applications and special exceptions. She represents major developers and national, regional and local companies in a variety of land use matters, including transit-oriented, mixed-use projects and residential, office, retail, industrial, and large data center projects.

Fan, who was recognized in the California category, represents developers, private equity funds, REITS, and other institutional clients in all aspects of commercial real estate transactions. Her practice includes the acquisition, disposition, ground leasing, development, financing, joint venture, and leasing of commercial real properties across a range of asset classes, including data centers, life science buildings, student housing, multifamily, medical offices, industrial, retail, and condominium properties.

Gonzales, who was recognized in the Chicago & Midwest category, concentrates her real estate practice on acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, financing, and development. She has experience in single-asset and portfolio transactions across a range of asset classes, including hospitality, self-storage and medical office facilities, and student and senior housing projects, and she represents real estate funds, developers, private equity companies, and joint venture partners.

Ojeda, who was recognized in the Florida & Gulf Coast category, focuses on the acquisition, leasing, financing and sale of commercial and residential real estate. Her experience includes transactions involving mixed-use projects, retail properties, multi-family developments, hotels, and restaurants. She has counseled US and international clients on drafting and negotiating hotel management agreements, purchase agreements, leases and related closing documents, as well as complex title, survey and due diligence review.

With over 200 lawyers focused on real estate, real estate capital markets, REITs and real estate funds, DLA Piper has one of the world’s leading real estate practices, representing many of the most sophisticated real estate investors, advisers, asset managers, fund sponsors, lenders, developers, owners, and operators in their most important matters with an integrated, innovative, and highly responsive global team.