Nicole Mesard is Deputy Presiding Partner of the firm and a partner in the Real Estate Group, where she advises clients on all aspects of real estate law, including acquisitions and sales of retail and commercial properties, sophisticated financings, joint ventures, infrastructure transactions and restructurings of commercial real estate loans, including in bankruptcy. Ms. Mesard also serves as Chair of the Hiring Committee and Co-Chair of the Global Talent Initiative, and is a member of the firm’s Special Situations team. Previously, she served as Deputy Chair of the firm’s Corporate Department and a member of the Management Committee.
Ms. Mesard is a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and a Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School, where she co-teaches a course on real estate debt and equity fundamentals. Ms. Mesard serves on the Board of Trustees of the non-profit organization Prep for Prep. She is ranked as a leading lawyer by Chambers USA (2023), where clients note that she is “practical, accessible and really smart.” Clients highlight her “great depth of knowledge and strong technical expertise” and describe her as a “great advocate and communicator for her clients.” They say that she is “extraordinary,” and an “incredibly hard-working and a tough negotiator” who “understands the commercial issues and finds solutions to get deals done.” Clients have praised her “combination of practical commercial instinct and ability to dive in and come up with solutions to complex matters” and have described her as “thoughtful and easy to work with” and “a very good technical player but also practical in terms of understanding and giving advice on the commercial and business side of matters.” She is also recognized by IFLR1000 (2022) and by The Legal 500 US (2023), which has lauded her as “incredibly bright” and a “tough negotiator.”
Ms. Mesard joined Debevoise in 2001 and became a partner in 2008. She received her B.A. from the State University of New York at Albany magna cum laude in 1994 and her J.D. from Tulane University magna cum laude in 1997.