Jim Butler, one of the world’s most recognised hotel lawyers and a founding partner of Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP, has departed the firm after 44 years, marking the end of an era for hospitality law.
Guy Maisnik, a partner at JMBM since 2003 and former Vice Chair of the Global Hospitality Group, has been promoted to Chair effective 2 January 2026. David Sudeck, who was named Co-Chair in May 2025, will continue in that role alongside Maisnik.
Butler co-founded JMBM and established the firm’s Global Hospitality Group, building it into one of the most influential hospitality law practices globally. The group has advised on more than $125 billion in hotel transactions involving more than 4,700 properties worldwide.
A career defining hotel law
Butler devoted his entire practice to hospitality, representing lenders, owners, developers, independent management companies and capital providers. Under his leadership, the Global Hospitality Group handled more than 2,700 hotel management and franchise agreements and more than 100 hotel mixed-use developments.
His influence extended beyond transactional work. Butler founded the Hotel Law Blog and created the Meet the Money conference, which celebrated its 32nd edition in May 2025. The annual gathering became one of the hospitality industry’s premier forums for hotel finance and investment, attracting owners, operators, developers and capital providers.
Industry recognition followed throughout his career. In January 2024, Butler received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the California Lodging Investment Conference. Craig Sullivan, CLIC’s founder and president, called him “the obvious and unanimous choice” for the honour, citing not only his transactional accomplishments but also his commitment to mentoring new hospitality professionals.
Leadership continuity established
The transition appears carefully planned. Maisnik brings more than four decades of commercial real estate experience with particular expertise in hotels and finance. He has represented buyers, sellers, lenders, opportunity funds, special servicers, REITs and developers across domestic and international markets spanning the Americas, Europe, Australia, the Middle East and Asia.
Maisnik has been recognised in The Best Lawyers in America, California Real Estate Journal’s Best Real Estate Lawyers and as a Top 100 Lawyer in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal.
Sudeck, elevated to Co-Chair eight months before Butler’s departure, brings two decades of hospitality law experience. His background includes hotel management agreements, franchise agreements and finance arrangements, with particular focus on construction financing, C-PACE financing and EB-5 financing.
Recent activity signals business continuity
The Global Hospitality Group’s recent work suggests seamless operational continuity. In December 2025, the team guided the largest hotel sale in California for the year – a transaction exceeding $500 million. Sudeck and partner Jeff Myers represented the receiver in the sale of assets representing 10% of a city’s hotel inventory to Newbond Holdings and Conversant Capital.
Earlier in the year, the group represented Peachtree Group in originating a $55 million bridge loan for the recapitalisation of the Hotel Amarano Burbank-Hollywood and handled the sale of the Original Pantry Café in Los Angeles on behalf of the Richard J. Riordan Estate.
Implications for hospitality professionals
Butler’s departure removes one of the industry’s most accessible thought leaders. His Hotel Law Blog, the first blog dedicated to hospitality legal issues, became a resource for industry professionals navigating everything from management agreements to distressed asset workouts.
For HR and operations leaders in hospitality, the transition underscores the importance of succession planning in professional services relationships. Clients who relied on Butler’s direct counsel will need to establish new working relationships, though the firm’s depth of talent across specialisms – from labour and employment to development entitlements – provides continuity options.
Maisnik acknowledged the significance of the transition, noting he had been “privileged to work alongside Jim and the many lawyers in our firm who are part of the Global Hospitality Group.” He affirmed his intention to continue building the practice both nationally and internationally.
The firm did not disclose Butler’s future plans.
