Irvin W. Sandman
Practice Emphasis
BAR ADMISSIONS
Washington, 1980
______________________________________________________________________Irv chairs Graham & Dunn’s Hospitality Industry Group. He and his team counsel hospitality companies about acquiring, financing, managing, and franchising properties; all aspects of condo hotels; developing and protecting technology, brands, e-commerce solutions, and other intellectual property; real estate associated with hotels and resorts; negotiating and drafting system license agreements, management agreements, strategic partnerships, and other relationships; managing employment and diversity matters; restructuring troubled properties; and litigating disputes. Irv has led the Hospitality Industry Group since its formation in 1993.
Irv is the 2008 recipient of the national Anthony G. Marshall Award. Bestowed annually by the Board of the Hospitality Law Conference in Houston, Texas, the Marshall Award is awarded to an individual who has made pioneering and lasting contributions to the field of hospitality law.
Over the last twenty years, Irv has served as lead counsel in hotel transactions worldwide representing asset values totaling in excess of $1 Billion. Irv is a frequent national speaker on hotel topics, having made recent presentations, for example, at the Lodging Conference in Phoenix (“Condo Hotel Development”), the Hospitality Law Conference in Houston (“Condo Hotels, Three Years Into the Concept”), and the Condo Hotel Summit in Miami (“Sidestepping SEC Trouble, Complying with Securities Laws”).
Irv utilizes an extensive background of business and lodging industry experience accumulated in over 25 years as a Graham & Dunn lawyer. Irv litigated business cases from 1980 to 1983. From 1983 to 1993 he established a recognized corporate recovery and turnaround practice, in which he assisted hotel companies to successfully address a wide range of corporate, financial, business, transactional, and courtroom challenges. Since 1993, as leader of the Hospitality Industry Group, Irv has focused exclusively on helping hotel companies succeed, from structuring and consummating hotel deals of all kinds, to handling operational challenges, to strategically guiding disputes to resolution.
Irv is Chair of the American Bar Association's Hospitality Industry Liaison Subcommittee, is a charter member of the Academy of Hospitality Attorneys, is a founding member of The Lodging Roundtable, and is an executive board member of Seattle-King County Convention & Visitors Bureau. Irv also recently assisted in the formation and development of the National Association of Condo Hotel Owners (NACHO), an association formed to enhance the long-term success of the condo hotel segment.
Presentations and Publications
Irv is a frequent author and presenter on topics of interest to the hospitality industry. Following is a short list of Irv’s most recent articles and speaking engagements. A complete list is available upon request.
Author, “Troubled Condo Hotel Workouts - The Time Has Arrived,” Cyber-Graham (July 25, 2008).
Moderator, "Hospitality Real Estate Transactions Workshop," Hospitality Law Conference (February 11, 2008).
Moderator, "Condo Hotel Financing and Legal Issues" (September 27, 2007).
Author, “What’s New in Condo Hotels?” Cyber-Graham (May 24, 2007).
Author, “Condo Hotels, Three Years into the Concept” (May 24, 2007).
Author, “What is a Condo Hotel, Why does it Work, and Why is it Challenging?” (May 24, 2007).
Presenter, “Condo Hotels, Three Years into the Concept,” Hospitality Law Conference (February 8, 2007).
Panelist, “Sidestepping SEC Trouble: Complying with Securities Laws,” NACHO Condo Hotel Summit (November 30, 2006).
Panelist, “Condo Hotels from a Legal and Financial Perspective,” The Lodging Conference, (September 20, 2006).
Moderator, “Condo Hotel Development,” The Lodging Conference (September 20, 2006).
Co-Author, “National Association of Condo Hotel Owners Enters the Equation,” Cyber-Graham (May 2, 2006).
Panelist and Moderator, “Condo Hotels – The Product and the Plumbing,” Hospitality Law Conference (February 2, 2006).
Co-Author, “Condo Hotels: How Developers and Owners’ Associations can Avert a Hotel Implosion” (January, 2006).
Panelist, “Condo Hotels,” The Lodging Conference (September 30, 2005).
Moderator, “Mixed-Use Review,” The Lodging Conference (September 29, 2005).
Moderator and Panelist, “Hotel Revolution - Are we Becoming a Condo Nation,” American Bar Association Joint Fall CLE Meeting (September 15, 2005).
Moderator, “Acquisition, Development and Financing Issues: Focus on Condominium Hotels,” The Hospitality Law Conference (February 4, 2005).
Moderator, “Mixed-Use/Hotel Condominium Development,” The Lodging Conference (September 20, 2004).
Panelist, “Internet Issues of Interest to Hospitality Client,” Academy of Hospitality Industry Attorneys (May 14, 2004).
Co-chair, “The Legal Strategy Behind a Successful Mixed-Use Project: The Implication of Use Restrictions and Zoning,” American Bar Association Spring Symposium (May 14, 2004).
Panelist, “Hotel Mixed-Use Development Projects,” The Hospitality Law Conference (January 22, 2004).
PROFESSIONAL & COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Chair, American Bar Association Hospitality Industry Liaison Subcommittee
Charter Member, Academy of Hospitality Attorneys
Founding Member, The Lodging Roundtable, Seattle
Founding Member, Rotary Hospitality Industry Circle, Seattle Rotary #4
Board Member, Seattle-King County Convention and Visitors Bureau
Former Co-Chair, American Bar Association Hotels, Resorts and Tourism Committee
Former Chair, Washington State Bar Association Creditor/Debtor Section
Former Editor, The Creditor/Debtor Newsletter, Washington State Bar Association Creditor/Debtor Section
EDUCATION
J.D., UCLA School of Law, 1980; member, UCLA Law Review
B.A., summa cum laude, University of Washington, 1976
