Susan Bennett

Before her senior year in law school, Susan Fleming Bennett found herself with the opportunity to clerk at the prestigious law firm Holland & Knight. At the time, there were very few women in commercial real estate law, but the experience would eventually add her name to the list.

“One of my early mentors was Roy Harrell with Holland and Knight. I worked with him early in my career,” she said. “It was exciting and fun, and he gave me very interesting and challenging work to do.”

Bennett joined the firm right out of law school and stayed for four years before joining what would become Ruden McClosky in St. Petersburg. In 1985, she joined Stearns Weaver Miller at the urging of shareholder Ron Weaver, a prominent land use attorney.

“They had a lot of exciting work to do,” said Bennett, who went on to become head of the Real Estate Finance Group in the firm’s Tampa office. She represents financial institutions and developers in various matters including development, financing, leasing, title insurance, loans and portfolio transactions.

In the last two years or so, she has handled more than $1 billion in construction lending transactions — some syndicated — for her national financial institution clients on retail, condominium and mixed-use projects. In addition, she has handled acquisition and term loan financing for national bank and life insurance company clients for apartment, industrial and condominium projects.

“It’s challenging. It’s fun. Every deal is different and has novel issues to address,” she said. “The people we deal with are sophisticated.The deals are becoming more challenging as the regulatory environment changes, and that always keeps it new
and fresh.”

An AV-rated attorney, Bennett has spoken at many seminars on such issues as loan documents, construction lien law, title insurance, payment and performance bonds, and construction loans. She is especially active in CREW Tampa Bay and has received several awards for her volunteer efforts.

Bennett also is a member of Leadership Tampa, the Greater Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce, the Real Estate Investment Council and the Tampa Bay chapter of NAIOP — as well as serving on the board of Jewish Center Towers.

Bennett credits the support of husband Steve, also an attorney, and her 17-year-old daughter for her commercial real estate accomplishments. She said she hopes larger, more complicated financial transactions will figure prominently in her future.

“I love what I do. I’m doing more syndicated loan transactions, and that would be my focus — to move into more syndicated loan deals, the larger transactions,” she said.