Otten Johnson Robinson Neff + Ragonetti PC

19 Best Lawyers awards

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Awarded Practice Areas

Real Estate Law

Biography

Mike Westover represents landowners, developers, lenders, investors and holders of other real estate interests in a wide variety of transactions throughout the United States. For more than four decades, clients have come to rely on Mike’s extensive knowledge and experience in all areas of real estate finance and transactional law.

From representing national banks and institutional lenders in sophisticated financing transactions to working with agents and participants in syndicated credit facilities, Mike has handled hundreds of complex real estate finance matters. In addition to lender representation, he regularly works with owners and developers in connection with the financing of their real estate projects, including working with some of the country's largest apartment community developers in billions of dollars of financings. Mike's expertise also extends into the area of credit workouts. He has extensive experience, dating back to the mid-1980s, in restructuring troubled real estate and commercial credit facilities, and in advising both lenders and borrowers in connection with foreclosures, receiverships, and other remedial matters.

Mike's practice extends well beyond financing transactions. He regularly represents clients in joint ventures, acquisitions, dispositions, and development projects. Recent examples include acting as counsel to a large multinational company in the purchase of one of Denver's largest office towers and assisting another client in the sale of one of the largest ranches in the United States.

In addition to his client work, Mike served on the firm's Executive Committee for over 20 years, and he was the firm's Managing Director from 1998 until 2011.

Otten Johnson Robinson Neff + Ragonetti PC

19 Best Lawyers awards

Otten Johnson Robinson Neff + Ragonetti PC logo

Overview

  • Harvard University, J.D., graduated 1982
  • Harvard University, J.D., graduated 1982

Client Testimonials

Perhaps the best all-around lawyer I have worked with in in my career. He is smart, practical, level headed, results-oriented, efficient and responsive.

John Knoeckel (Sturm Financial Group)

Michael Westover is extremely responsive and knowledgeable. We completed multiple complex financings with Mike.

Mike is the brightest and most capable real estate attorney in the region. I have enjoyed a 25-year history with Mike and hold him in the highest personal and professional regard. He is a very capable attorney, but he is also a very capable business person. He balances these two often challenging perspectives in a win-win manner. I regularly rely upon Mike for both legal and business counsel and respect his judgment, wisdom, and guidance second to none. He is someone that manages his world without glitz and glamour and operates relatively "below the radar." However, this is a reflection on his character and humble nature and not on his incredible legal and business attributes. Mike is capable of managing the most complex of matters and negotiations. Of additional note, Mike is the managing partner at his firm. He carries out this role with incredible class, sensitivity, and professionalism in the face of a very challenging business environment.

Having worked with several dozen lawyers in Denver over the last few decades, I've found Westover to be about the best in town. He's smart yet practical, efficient, and pleasant to work with.

Mike Westover's expertise, problem solving style, responsiveness, and overall demeanor are without equal. He taught me, as a very junior level financial analyst, what the nuances were in legal documentation, provided guidance as I worked through uncharted territory in a pioneering municipal bankruptcy case, lent his common-sense approach in a massive portfolio restructuring, and has always been available at the drop of a hat to assist with any issue, large or small, that has arisen in my career. He's smart, modest and not caught up in the trappings of his profession. For over 20 years, Mike has been my "go-to" attorney.

Cyd Petre (Colorado Business Bank)

Denver, CO

Michael Westover is the best lawyer I have ever worked with in terms of intelligence, substantive knowledge, creativeness, and practicality.

Awards & Focus

Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2018 - Real Estate Law
Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers® for:
  • Real Estate Law, Denver (2018)
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 for work in:
  • Real Estate Law

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