Haynes Boone is excited to welcome Partners Jeffrey Moerdler and Stephen Friedberg to the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group, bolstering the firm’s capabilities in data centers and general commercial real estate law. Moerdler and Friedberg, attorneys who have practiced together for over 35 years and have spent the last quarter century together at Mintz Levin, will be based in the firm’s New York office.
Moerdler, who joins the firm as chair of its Data Center and Digital Infrastructure Practice Group, most recently served as the head of Mintz Levin’s real estate and communications practices in the New York office, with a practice now focused predominantly on data center and digital infrastructure transactions driven by accelerating demand from artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure growth. He represents large national companies across technology, telecommunications, financial services, health care, energy and other sectors, and has negotiated thousands of data center leases, master services agreements and colocation agreements nationwide. Moerdler completed his first data center transaction in 1990, representing American Express Company on the development of their first two data centers in Phoenix.
Moerdler has also held numerous public service roles in New York, including serving as a commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for six years and as a member of the New York State Banking Board and the New York State Financial Control Board. He remains actively engaged in public service as a volunteer emergency medical technician and leader within the nation’s largest volunteer ambulance service.
Friedberg’s practice centers on data centers and complex real estate transactions supporting large-scale infrastructure and development projects, with a significant focus on data centers, ground leasing and sale/leaseback structures. Friedberg previously served as the head of Mintz Levin’s interdisciplinary sale/leaseback practice, including both single and large-scale sale/leaseback transactions, and he has worked on transactions as large as 1,400 properties.
A pioneer in the retail sale/leaseback space, Friedberg has extensive experience advising on the acquisition, development, financing and leasing of retail and shopping center properties. He previously served as in-house counsel to a major shopping center developer and is a frequent lecturer on sale/leasebacks, data centers, ground leasing and other complex commercial leasing matters.
“Jeff and Steve are highly respected commercial real estate lawyers in New York, particularly in the data center space, where their experience is virtually unmatched,” said New York Office Managing Partner Craig Unterberg. “Their arrival strengthens our Real Estate Practice and reflects the continued momentum of our New York office as we add top-tier talent in key sectors.”
The additions of Moerdler and Friedberg continue a trend of significant growth for the firm’s New York office, as its hub in the financial capital of the world continues to expand rapidly. Since the beginning of 2025, the New York office of Haynes Boone has welcomed 15 partners, including Financial Services Investigations and Enforcement Chair Richard Weber, Litigators Gabriel Berg and Lauren Coppola, Restructuring Partners Ingrid Bagby and Michele Maman, Real Estate Finance Partner Moni Sarmadi, Insurance Recovery Partner Carrie DiCanio, Derivatives Partner Michele Navazio, M&A Partner Zachary Jacobs and a group of seven asset securitization attorneys led by Greg Cioffi and Jeff Berman.
“Haynes Boone has built an impressive real estate platform with the scale, depth and sophistication to support clients on their most complex matters,” said Moerdler. “The firm’s deep real estate bench and collaborative approach with its energy practice make it an ideal home for our practice as demand continues to grow, particularly in the data center space.”
“After more than four decades in practice, joining Haynes Boone represents an exciting next chapter,” Friedberg added. “The firm’s robust real estate platform and growing capabilities in data centers create a powerful environment to continue advising clients on complex, large-scale transactions.”
Haynes Boone has welcomed more than 20 lateral partners firmwide since the beginning of 2025, strengthening the firm’s capabilities in private credit, capital markets, M&A, energy, intellectual property and litigation. The additions underscore the firm’s ongoing focus on building depth in core practices across the United States and internationally.
