Matthew S. Seminara

“The best real estate counsel understands not just the lease, but the business behind it. My commitment is to bring that full understanding to every deal, from strategy through closing.” —Matthew S. Seminara

Matthew Seminara is the attorney clients call when a commercial real estate transaction needs to close—on time, on their terms, and with the long game in mind.

With nearly two decades of experience advising clients on all aspects of commercial real estate strategy, Matthew represents tenants and landlords in retail, office, industrial, manufacturing, health care, and other commercial leasing matters throughout the United States.

His clients include fashion, beauty, lifestyle, and luxury brands navigating high-stakes leasing matters in major U.S. markets, as well as health care organizations, corporate tenants, and property owners. He represents clients in retail and office leasing across shopping centers, outlet centers, mixed-use developments, and street locations, as well as medical office buildings and health care facilities, and also handles leasing administration and licensing matters. His experience on both sides of the table gives him a negotiating perspective that pure tenant-side or landlord-side counsel cannot replicate. His prior in-house role at a leading luxury retail brand, combined with deep private practice experience, enables him to anticipate operational needs, streamline negotiations, manage risk, and close on timelines aligned with store openings and operational milestones.

Matthew advises clients across the full life cycle of a commercial real estate transaction, from initial site selection strategy through lease execution, construction, and ongoing portfolio management. His transactional work includes leasing and subleasing, construction agreements, architect and design contracts, brokerage agreements, acquisitions and dispositions, and related real estate matters. He regularly coordinates with construction, branding, and operations teams to ensure that lease terms support build-out requirements, visual merchandising standards, logistics, and the long-term performance of retail stores, corporate offices, and health care facilities.

Before rejoining Epstein Becker Green as Of Counsel, Matthew founded a New York-based commercial real estate boutique law firm and advised a real estate advisory group on commercial leasing strategy. He previously served as co-chair of the Real Estate Department at a prominent New York law firm, where he built a broad commercial real estate practice representing owners and tenants across retail, office, and specialty uses. Earlier in his career, he served as Director and Senior Counsel of Retail and Leasing at a global luxury fashion house, where he helped drive the brand's retail expansion strategy throughout the Americas.

What Matthew Delivers for Clients

• Both-Sides Advantage: Matthew has represented both tenants and landlords throughout his career. That dual perspective means he understands how the other side thinks, where they have room to move, and how to structure a negotiation that achieves the client’s core objectives without unnecessarily prolonging the deal.
• Deals Closed on the Client’s Timeline: Store openings, corporate relocations, and portfolio transactions run on fixed schedules. Matthew structures negotiations to meet those deadlines, drawing on extensive experience closing leases in major markets nationwide and firsthand knowledge of the operational pressures that make timing non-negotiable.
• Lease Terms That Protect the Brand: Fashion, luxury, and lifestyle clients benefit from lease provisions specifically tailored to protect brand presentation, visual merchandising standards, exclusive use rights, and co-tenancy requirements—protections informed by Matthew's firsthand experience advising on retail expansion strategy throughout the Americas.
• Counsel Across the Full Transaction, Not Just the Lease: Matthew handles the full range of agreements a commercial real estate transaction requires, providing integrated counsel that keeps the transaction moving without the gaps that arise when different matters go to different attorneys.
• Lease Risk Aligned with Business Reality: Co-tenancy rights, percentage rent structures, continuous operation clauses, recapture provisions, and exit flexibility can determine whether a lease becomes an asset or a liability as market conditions change. Matthew negotiates these terms with the client’s long-term portfolio strategy in mind, not just the deal at hand.

• New York Metro Super Lawyers, Real Estate (2021 to 2025)
• New York Metro Rising Stars, Real Estate (2013 to 2016, 2019)

Education

• Fordham University School of Law (J.D., 2007)
  • Notes and Articles Editor, Fordham Environmental Law Review
  • Recipient, Archibald R. Murray Public Service Award, cum laude
• Columbia University (M.A., 2003)
• Bernard M. Baruch College (B.A., cum laude, 2001)

Professional & Community Involvement

• New York City Bar Association