Craig Lawrence
Chief Operating Officer & General Counsel
Spectra Capital
Panel: Finding Riches in the Niches: Unlocking Market Opportunities
Mr. Lawrence is the co-founder, COO, and General Counsel for Spectra Capital, an opportunistic, special situation real estate debt fund that specializes in providing capital for commercial mortgages to borrowers in the most challenging and complex situations. Prior to founding Spectra, Mr. Lawrence was a corporate and real estate attorney at several prominent southeastern firms, including Adams and Reese (Partner), Balch & Bingham (Partner), and Morris, Manning & Martin LLP (Of Counsel). Representative prior transactions include (i) borrower representation on Forty-Five Million Dollars ($45,000,000) hotel portfolio credit facility, (ii) ground-up multifamily acquisition and borrower representation on Seventy-Five Million Dollars ($75,000,000) transaction, (iii) representation of Telo in sale to Neustar (ultimately acquired by TransUnion (NYSE: TRU)), (iv) lender representation on conventional and hard money loans, (v) representation of investors and sponsors in fund formation and real estate syndication investment vehicles, and (vi) tenant representation in ground lease drive-through outparcel retail bank construction projects. Mr. Lawrence is recipient of the 2021 Mid-South Super Lawyers Rising Stars designation and BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA® Ones to Watch for years 2021 and 2022. Prior to private practice, Mr. Lawrence was an Assistant Vice President at Cadence Bank, where he worked closely with Cadence Bank’s private equity team at Sageview Capital. Mr. Lawrence holds J.D. and MBA from Samford University.