Womble Bond Dickinson has added Robert J. Bello as a partner in its Real Estate practice in Houston, continuing the law firm’s expansion in the market.
Bello will also work from Womble Bond Dickinson’s San Diego office. He brings nearly two decades of legal experience advising owners, investors, landlords, and tenants across the full lifecycle of commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions, financing, development, leasing, and dispositions.
His practice also encompasses renewable energy, oil and gas, and data center transactions.
On leasing matters, Bello represents both landlords and tenants across mixed-use, office, industrial, retail, manufacturing, and multifamily properties. He also advises owners and investors on acquisitions and dispositions involving those asset classes and handles select mergers and acquisitions and corporate matters.
Bello has significant experience drafting and negotiating leases, purchase and sale agreements, subordination, non-disturbance and attornment agreements, estoppel certificates, development agreements, easements, and covenants, conditions, and restrictions.
His background includes both law firm and in-house experience. Before joining Womble Bond Dickinson, Bello was with Porter Hedges. He previously served as general counsel of a global corporate real estate advisory company, experience the firm said gives him additional perspective on commercial objectives, transaction structuring, and risk management.
Bello is licensed to practice in Texas, California, and Illinois and also advises clients throughout the Midwest. He has held real estate brokerage licenses in California, Georgia, Illinois, and Utah.
During his in-house career, Bello was named General Counsel of the Year by the San Diego Business Journal and was a multiyear finalist for the same recognition from the Orange County Business Journal.
He earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from Thomas Jefferson School of Law and simultaneously earned an MBA from San Diego State University. He previously earned a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University, where he played varsity baseball.
Bello’s arrival extends a period of significant hiring for Womble Bond Dickinson’s Houston office. The firm has added 12 attorneys over the past 12 months, including partners Tyler Bridegan, Eric Munoz, Kat Smith, and David Tallman, as well as of counsel Amy Castell and Louis Rossitto.
Womble Bond Dickinson has 34 U.S. offices and more than 1,300 attorneys across the United States and the United Kingdom.
KEY QUOTES:
“Our investment in Houston is driven by the sectors in which our clients are growing and what they need from us. Real estate is a significant part of that equation. Rob Bello brings a broad transactional practice and a distinctive business perspective from his experience as general counsel of a global corporate real estate advisory company. His arrival expands what we can deliver in Houston and advances the firm’s continued investment in its national real estate practice.”
Karthika Perumal, Houston Office Managing Partner At Womble Bond Dickinson
“Houston is home, but I spent a large part of my career in Southern California and Illinois, and I have longstanding relationships and clients in those markets and across the country. Those clients and relationships remain central to my practice. With 34 U.S. offices and more than 1,300 attorneys on both sides of the Atlantic, Womble gives me the platform to serve them from Houston and the capacity to grow throughout Texas and beyond. I look forward to showing clients what Womble can do for their next transaction.”
Robert J. Bello, Partner At Womble Bond Dickinson
