Bar Admissions
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
Education
- Wake Forest School of Law, J.D.
- Dartmouth College, B.A., Economics
Benjamin H. Ellis co-chairs the Firm’s Real Estate practice group. He has been practicing in the areas of commercial real estate transactions, capital markets and finance, and corporate, partnership and business law for more than a decade. Ben represents private real estate clients, real estate developers, privately held businesses and family offices with their real estate and business investments. Ben frequently advises on the purchase, sale, leasing and financing of commercial real estate and privately owned businesses. Ben’s practice includes securitized and conduit loan closings, construction financing, 1031 like-kind exchanges, tax planning and asset preservation strategies.
Ben helps closely held business owners, real estate developers and private family real estate clients to preserve and enhance the value of their assets, while simultaneously minimizing risk. Ben’s practice includes structuring partnerships, limited liability companies, and joint venture and other business structures, as well as advising on direct investments, co-investments and private equity ownership. Ben also represents private lenders and banks in financing commercial real estate projects and privately held business expansion.
- Represented family limited partnership in multi-phased sale and 1031 exchange of timber land, including partial donation, to allow family to convert low-basis property to diversified net leased and shopping center properties across the Southeast in a tax-free manner, combined with a charitable deduction to use against other income
- Represented multiple private real estate investors in complex joint venture with a national homebuilder involving Section 1031 like-kind exchanges, tenant-in-common ownership structure and bank financing
- Represented multistate family-owned business in $140+ million leveraged buyout sale to private equity fund, including sale and leasing of real estate assets
- Represents real estate investors and developers in the acquisition, financing, leasing, development and sale of various real estate assets, including syndicated and securitized loan closings
- Represents family office real estate client with all aspects of real estate planning, financing and transaction execution
- Assists private investor groups with the purchase of various bank notes secured by distressed real estate, including advising on issues related to taking title to the real estate projects and tax issues
- Represents multinational privately owned corporation and affiliated companies in corporate, organizational, shareholder and employment matters
- Assists business owners with planning, financing and executing mergers and acquisitions, and other equity extraction and business expansion plans
- Represented privately held multistate manufacturing company in sale to Japanese publicly traded company
- North Carolina Board Certified Specialist, Commercial Real Property Law
Honors & Awards
- Recognized by Best Lawyers® in 2025 in America for Real Estate Law
- Selected for inclusion in North Carolina Super Lawyers® Rising Star, 2009-2013, 2015-2018, 2020, 2021)
- Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America®–Real Estate Law, 2016-2022
- Recognized as a Legal Elite, a list of the top 3% of lawyers in North Carolina compiled by Business North Carolina magazine, 2014, 2019, 2020
- AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated in Commercial Real Estate, Real Estate and Banking Law, 2013
Publications
- Co-Author (with Benjamin E. Dean), “Tax Court Approves Reverse Like-Kind Exchange Outside of Safe Harbor,” Journal of Real Estate Taxation, Fourth Quarter 2016
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