Jonathan Mechanic

Jonathan L. Mechanic is chairman of Fried Frank's Real Estate Department. He first joined the Firm in 1978. He became a partner in 1987, when he rejoined the Firm after serving for five years as general counsel and a managing director of HRO International Ltd., a real estate development organization responsible for the development of more than 2.5 million square feet of office space in Manhattan.

Mr. Mechanic routinely counsels developers, owners, investors, REITs, and lenders in all aspects of commercial real estate transactions. Notably, he represents JP Morgan in connection with its redevelopment of 270 Park Avenue into a new 2.5-million-square-foot headquarters building; Maefield Development in its approximately US$1.6 billion acquisition of 20 Times Square (aka 701 Seventh Avenue); and CWCapital Asset Management in its sale of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village to Blackstone Group and Ivanhoé Cambridge. He also represents landlords and tenants in commercial leasing and ground lease transactions, including his recent representations of 21st Century Fox and News Corp. on their headquarters leases at 1211 Avenue of Americas; Citigroup in its long-term lease of its global headquarters at 388-390 Greenwich Street and the exercise of its option to purchase the building; Coach in the sale-leaseback of its global headquarters at 10 Hudson Yards; Ernst & Young in its more than 600,000-square-foot lease for its new headquarters at One Manhattan West; Shiseido in its 225,000-square foot lease at 390 Madison Avenue for its US headquarters; and JP Morgan in its 437,000-square-foot-lease at 390 Madison Avenue.

Mr. Mechanic has taught the real estate transactions course at Harvard Law School for more than ten years. He also lectures regularly for NYU Law School, the Real Estate Board of New York and the Practising Law Institute, and is a co-author of The Commercial Office Lease Handbook published by the American Bar Association.

Honors & Awards

In 2016, Mr. Mechanic was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award from New York University and the 2016 Chambers USA Outstanding Contribution to the Legal Profession Award, which highlighted his work on tens of billions of dollars in property deals and praised his support of the ongoing development of the real estate market. For a decade, Mr. Mechanic has been recognized by Chambers USA as a "Star Individual" in real estate. He is consistently included on Commercial Observer's “Power 100” list of the most powerful people in New York real estate and was the only practicing attorney to make the list in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. In 2019, Jon was joined by land use partner Melanie Meyers as the only two practicing attorneys on the list and in 2020 he was one of three practicing attorneys recognized. In 2021 and 2022, Mr. Mechanic was recognized by City & State New York in its “Real Estate Power 100” list and its “Law Power 100” list. In addition, he was named "MVP Lawyer of the Year" by Law360 in 2019, 2013, and 2011. Fried Frank's Real Estate Department has been recognized as Law360’s Real Estate Group of the Year and was recognized by Chambers USA as the 2019 Real Estate Law Firm of the Year and was awarded the 2018 Real Estate Client Service Award and the 2009 Award for Excellence in Real Estate.

In March 2011, Mr. Mechanic was named one of the "Most Influential Lawyers" by The National Law Journal. In addition, Real Estate Weekly recognized Mr. Mechanic in its 2008 All Stars edition, which honors real estate industry leaders. In 2007 Mr. Mechanic was named a "Dealmaker of the Year" by The American Lawyer and in 2006 he was the recipient of the Chambers USA Award for Excellence for Best Real Estate Lawyer.

Over the years, Mr. Mechanic has been honored for his numerous philanthropic activities. In 2019, Mr. Mechanic was honored at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 24th Annual Real Estate Council Benefit, which raises funds annually to support the Museum's educational programs. In 2018, Mr. Mechanic was honored at the American Friends of Rabin Medical Center 2018 Annual Gala, announcing the addition of The Jonathan Mechanic Urology and Prostate Cancer Ultrasound Systems at Israel’s Rabin Medical Center. In 2017, Mr. Mechanic was honored at the Sephardic Community Center’s 3rd Annual Golf Outing and he and his longtime friend and colleague, Stephen Lefkowitz, were awarded the Lewis Rudin Award by Coro New York Leadership Center. In 2013, Mr. Mechanic was honored by Big Brothers Big Sisters and for his work on behalf of the Eldridge Street Synagogue. In December 2011, Mr. Mechanic was awarded the Judge Joseph M. Proskauer Award by UJA-Federation of New York. He was also honored with the Kenneth R. Gerrety Humanitarian Award at the Real Estate Board of New York's 112th annual banquet and received the National Jewish Health Humanitarian Award in 2009. He has also been honored by UJA, Israel Bonds, the Modell Foundation, ORT, AHRC, Albert Einstein Medical College, the Police Athletic League, and The Salvadori Center.