Marilyn Z. Kutler

Marilyn Kutler is a partner in the Business Services Department, a member of the Firm’s Real Estate Group and Higher Education Committee. She concentrates her practice in real estate development, public-private partnerships, government contracting, grants and loans and public procurement.

Ms. Kutler’s practice centers on real estate and related government contracts, with an emphasis on complex public, private and institutional projects, particularly including transactions involving a mix of governmental units and for-profit and nonprofit entities. She has substantial experience in planning and implementing developments that require the coordination and satisfaction of both public and private goals and requirements, such as sports and entertainment areas and convention centers, new construction requiring substantial public infrastructure, and heavy industrial and energy facilities. Her practice also includes the drafting and analysis of legislation, and she has worked extensively with federal, state, and local government grant and loan programs.

Ms. Kutler represents private developers, owners and lenders in structuring and implementing new projects from acquisition of property, zoning and land use planning, financing, leasing, construction and operation. She has extensive experience in obtaining governmental approvals, both legislative and regulatory, and in reconciling the legal requirements of governmental grant and loan programs with the demands of private sector financing. Ms. Kutler also represents a substantial number of local and state agencies in achieving economic development and other transactional goals. She has participated in numerous significant projects from the early planning stages through completion, coordinating the legal efforts of public and private sector counsel to reach successful conclusions. Varying from year to year, her practice is generally divided between public and private sector clients with a primary emphasis in real estate and with related work in legislation, public procurement and contracts, loans and grants, and regulatory affairs.

A three term past member of Schnader’s Executive Committee, and past-chair of Schnader’s Business Services Department, Ms. Kutler has been deeply involved in working with the Firm’s transactional practice groups to enhance service to clients in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Also a past chair of Schnader’s Real Estate Practice Group, Ms. Kutler was the founding chair of the Firm’s Women’s Initiative. She most recently served as chair of the Higher Education Practice Group.

Before entering private practice, Ms. Kutler served for over ten years in the Law Department of the City of Philadelphia, where she was responsible for a wide variety of real estate, business, and economic development transactions. She served as City Solicitor, the chief legal officer for Philadelphia.

Ms. Kutler is a member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and is listed in Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business for real estate law, 2003 – present. Ms. Kutler is an Adjunct Professor at the Law School of the University of Pennsylvania where she currently teaches Community and Economic Development: Law and Policy Perspectives.

News & Publications

Community & Pro Bono

Community Activities

Committee of Seventy, Vice Chair and member of the Executive Committee
Barrack Hebrew Academy, past President and Trustee
Jewish Learning Venture, Trustee and past chair of Jewish Education and Leadership Development Committee
Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, past co-chair, Lawyers Committee; past board member, Foundation for Jewish Day Schools

Pro Bono Matters

Represented non-profit organizations in connection with obtaining capital and operating government grants.
Represented religious groups and civic organizations in real estate matters, including office leasing, sales and cemetery management.

Education

University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D., cum laude, Moot Court Board, 1974
University of Pennsylvania, B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1971

Bar Admissions

Pennsylvania, 1974

Court Admissions

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Professional Affiliations

Philadelphia Bar Association, member and past Executive Committee Officer, Real Estate Section; member, Tax Reform Task Force; member and past co-chair, City Policy Committee; past original member, Women in Profession Committee; past chair, Legislation and Local Affairs Committee, member, Task Force on Lobbying Disclosure
Pennsylvania Bar Association, member, Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section
American College of Real Estate Lawyers, Fellow
Vice-chair of the Public Private Partnership Committee at the American College of Real Estate Lawyers
Vice-chair of the Committee of Seventy Board of Directors

Other Distinctions

Listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Real Estate Law, 1995-2023; Land Use and Zoning Law, 2020-2023; and Public Finance Law, 2021
Noted among “Pennsylvania Super Lawyers” for Real Estate Law, 2004-2014, 2018-2022*
Listed in Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business for real estate law, 2003-present*
Recognized by The International Who’s Who of Real Estate Lawyers, 2012, 2017
Rated AV® Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell®
Recipient of “Women of Distinction Award” from the Philadelphia Business Journal, 2011
Recipient of the Earl G. Harrison Community Service Award, 2010
Course planner for Pennsylvania Bar Institute: 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th Annual Real Estate Institutes

*No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Further information on methodologies is available via these links.

Representative Matters

Represented municipal and redevelopment agencies in revitalization of urban mall with coordination of private and public funding, including tax increment financing.
Acted as counsel to nonprofit regional universities, medical research institutions and colleges on numerous real estate projects from traditional educational and research buildings in historic districts to development of mixed use, retail, entertainment and hotel complexes within campus environments.
Acted as Pennsylvania counsel for lenders in complex local energy projects including trash-to-steam, natural gas sales and waste coal-fired power production facility.
Represented public sector development agencies in the transactions with the Phillies and the Eagles to construct the new baseball park and football stadium in Philadelphia.
Represented various passenger and freight railroads in a wide range of real estate related matters including sale of air rights over Washington’s Union Station, sale of former railroad piers and yards for port purposes in Philadelphia, and numerous title, leasing and operating issues relating to rail properties in Pennsylvania.
Assisted a national private sector provider of Wi-Fi Services in negotiating agreements and complying with regulatory requirements to install and then assign City-wide service in Philadelphia.
Advised a national for-profit educational services company with respect to real estate undertakings and government contracts in connection with multi-year commitments to the School District of Philadelphia.
Counseled state and local governmental agencies in the acquisition from the federal government of the Philadelphia Navy Yard and represented the agencies in the development of the new Shipyard and numerous commercial and economic development projects at the adjoining business park.

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