Jean Yin Crews

Counsel
Crews Jean Yin

Jean Crews focuses her practice on commercial real estate finance, acquisition, disposition, development, and leasing. Jean drafts and reviews contracts of all types, including leasing and loan documents. She has experience in General Service Administration (GSA) leases and is skilled at shepherding deals, irrespective of complexity, from start to finish. Her attention to detail, practicality, judgment, and thorough understanding of the real estate industry are invaluable assets to her clients. Jean has represented commercial developers, institutional lenders, individuals, landlords, tenants, and owners and operators of real property in a variety of transactions spanning office, retail, multi-family, industrial, and mixed-use properties.

During law school, Jean worked as a teaching assistant for a real estate law class at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to law school, Jean worked as an investment banking analyst in mergers and acquisitions.

Experience

Representative Matters

  • Represented Marriott International as tenant in the development and leasing of a new headquarters site in downtown Bethesda, Maryland, including an office building and flagship hotel. Served as a key member of a team, leading negotiations and drafting deal documents in all aspects of the transaction, including construction, development, and leasing
  • Represented Fannie Mae as a tenant in the development and leasing of a new headquarters building in downtown Washington, DC, totaling over 700,000 square feet. Served as a key member of a team that led negotiations and drafted deal documents for Fannie Mae, in all aspects of the transaction, including construction, development, and leasing. This transaction was a finalist for the Washington Business Journal's "Best Real Estate Deal of the Year" in 2015
  • Represented Fannie Mae as tenant in the development and leasing of a new office location in Plano, Texas, consolidating three Dallas-area offices into a roughly 330,000 square foot property developed to meet Fannie Mae's specifications. This transaction was named "Best Office Lease" of 2015 by D Magazine, a Dallas news and lifestyle magazine
  • Represented a developer in the redevelopment of a multi-block property in Washington, DC into a mixed-use building with underground parking, street-front retail, and residential units. Served as a key member of a team that created a condominium regime for the development, and negotiated and secured construction financing and additional private investment
  • Represented an individual with significant holdings in ground-leased properties across Maryland and Virginia, handling purchases (in some cases utilizing like-kind exchanges), sales, financings, and tenant matters
  • Represented an investment management group in the purchase and financing of a retail shopping plaza in Fairfax County, Virginia, involving a land condominium regime
  • Represented a private investment group in the purchase of an office building in Washington, DC, secured by senior and mezzanine financing

Insights

Credentials
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Education

  • J.D. University of Pennsylvania Law School 2012
    • Certificate in Business and Public Policy, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, 2012
    • Senior editor, University of Pennsylvania Journal of Business Law
    • Communications editor, RegBlog
  • A.B. Economics Princeton University 2007

Bar Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • Virginia

Professional Memberships and Activities

  • Member, Venable Recruiting and Hiring Program
  • Former coordinator, Venable Summer Associate Program
  • Member, Women Attorneys at Venable (WAVe)
  • Participant, 2017 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Pathfinder Program

Recognition
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  • The Best Lawyers in America, Ones to Watch, 2021 – 2025

Community
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Volunteerism

  • Alumni class officer, Class of 2007, Princeton University
  • Alumni interviewer, Office of Admissions, Princeton University