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355 South Grand Avenue
100
Los Angeles, CA, 90071
United States
Phone: 213- 891-8355
Meghan Cocci
Global Co-Chair Hospitality, Gaming & Leisure
Latham & Watkins LLP
Industry Specialty
legal advice
management contract negotiation
food & beverage operations
acquisition / disposition / brokerage
Sectors
boutique hotels
casinos
condo hotels
convention hotels
destination casino resorts
destination resorts
full service hotels
golf
independent hotels
limited / select service hotels
marinas
resort mixed use developments
restaurants (full, quick and limited service)
spas
urban mixed use development
Speaker Topics
global hotel industry trends
legal considerations for the hospitality industry
management contracts
real estate
spa design management and marketing
Geographic Areas
United States, Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, Jamaica, Anguilla, Belize, England, Portugal, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Switzerland, Israel, U.A.E., Qatar, Egypt, Nigeria, Jordan, China
Speaking Engagements
■ Panel Moderator, “Leaders’ Perspective: Current Cycle Realities: Transactions and Money,” 41st Annual New York University International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, New York, June 2019 ■ Panel moderator, “Putting TI Risk to Bed: A Practical Guide to Avoid Liability for Tortious Interference in Hotel Transactions,” 7th Annual Hotel and Lodging Legal Summit, Georgetown University Law Center, October 2018 ■ Panel moderator, “Treading Water, Leaping into the Deep End or Staying out of the Sun Altogether?,” Main Ballroom C--Suite Hotel Executives Panel, 40th Annual New York University International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, New York, June 2018 ■ Panel moderator, “Buffett, Kardashian, and Zuckerberg: How Boomers, Gen-Xers, and Millennials are Shaping the Landscape of Luxury,” 39th Annual New York University International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, New York, June 2017 ■ “Know When to Hold ’Em, Know When to Fold ’Em: What Some of the Industry’s Leading Owners/ Investors Are Doing and Why,” Main Ballroom C--Suite Hotel Executives Panel, 39th Annual New York University International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, New York, NY, June 2017 ■ “Buffet, Kardashian and Zuckerberg – How Boomers, Gen-Xers and Millennials are Shaping the Landscape of Luxury,” 38th Annual New York University International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, New York, June 2016 ■ Panel moderator, “Industry Differentiated and Experiential Luxury,” 38th Annual New York University International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, New York, June 2016 ■ Panel moderator, “Luxury, Luxury, Luxury…Demographic Shifts…From Millennials to Baby Boomers: A Sought After Lifestyle of Five Star Service and Upscale Accommodations,” 37th Annual New York University International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, New York, June 2015 ■ Panel moderator, “The Hospitality Marketplace: Those ‘In the Know’ Share Insider Perspectives on the Latest Transactions,” 36th Annual New York University International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, New York, June 2014 ■ Panel moderator, “Where Are the Deals and How Are They Getting Done? Acquisition, Development and/or Repositioning Opportunities in the Marketplace,” 35th Annual New York University International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, New York, June 2013 ■ Featured speaker, “Counseling Deal Clients,” Phoenix College of Law, Phoenix, May 2013 ■ Panel moderator, “Legal Perspectives, Hospitality in a Changing World,” ISHC Annual Conference, Istanbul, October 2011 ■ Keynote speaker, “Hospitality Law Practice Insights,” University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law, September 2011 ■ Panelist, “Conversions—Reinventing Existing Properties into New Products,” International Hotel and Investment Forum, Berlin, March 2010
Expertise
Meghan Cocci is an advisor to top hotel and resort owners, investors and operators around the globe, she works hand-in-hand with her clients to help them successfully negotiate transactions involving the management, acquisition and development of hotels, resorts, spas, restaurants, golf courses and mixed-use projects in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Her clients rely on her because she understands the key role that business, operations and legal issues play in long-term management and license agreements for hotel and leisure projects, especially in the upscale and luxury sectors of the industry. With hotel projects in the upper-upscale, luxury and ultra-luxury sectors becoming more complex each and every day, having a legal advisor who truly understands the industry is a must for any transaction. Meghan has guided her clients through the unique aspects of the hotel industry and the special legal challenges of owning a hotel, whether the client is a lender who has stepped into the shoes of a hotel owner for the first time or a new investor making an initial foray into the hotel world. Meghan regularly handles transactions that involve specialty areas of hotels and resorts, such as golf, spa, and food and beverage management and licensing arrangements. These leisure facilities have an added complexity, because they must work seamlessly with the hotel operations. Meghan understands how all the pieces and parts fit together—whether a matter involves a celebrity chef licensing his name for use on a single restaurant in a luxury hotel or involves a master mixed-use resort project with responsibility divided among multiple niche operators—and is able to help guide her clients through the details to ensure the legal structure achieves their business objectives. She also works with clients and their local lawyers around the world to provide hotel industry proficiency in connection with structuring complex mixed-use projects with hotels, resorts, branded residential and other leisure components. The legal structures for these projects differ from country to country, and often there is no legal precedent for the type of project contemplated. Meghan's experience dealing with vastly diverse and complex projects enables her to provide creative ideas to address her clients' business objectives while taking into account the applicable legal framework.
Education
University of Arizona, 1998, JD University of Texas at Austin, 1995, BBA
Professional Memberships
•Meghan holds a Band 1 ranking for Nationwide (USA) - Leisure and Hospitality in the prestigious Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business. Every year since 2007, Meghan has been selected by her peers and clients as one of the top Hospitality and Leisure lawyers in the United States. •In May 2015, Meghan was named to National Law Journal's list of Outstanding Women Lawyers. •In February 2014, Meghan was named to Law360's Hospitality Editorial Advisory Board. •In 2013, 2014, and 2019 Meghan was named a Law360 MVP in Hospitality. •Meghan was awarded the Distinguished Alumna of the Year from the James E. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona in May of 2012. •For three consecutive years from 2012 through 2014, Meghan was recognized as a Rising Star by Southwest Superlawyers. •In October 2010, the Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Network recognized Meghan as a Top 20 Under 40, an emerging woman leader in the field of commercial real estate