Brendan Pytka
By Joshua Burd
Murphy Schiller & Wilkes LLP has tapped Brendan Pytka as its director of tax credits and incentives, further bolstering the law firm’s offerings for commercial real estate developers.
In his new role with the Newark-based team, Pytka will assist clients in assessing their financing strategy and obtaining the necessary incentives to realize challenging and transformative development projects, MSW said. He comes to the firm with more than 15 years of experience in real estate development and finance, including positions with a company in Newark where he was involved in more than $100 million in development activity across a range of product types including office, residential and retail.
Most recently, Pytka ran a consulting and research firm that assisted clients across the country in analyzing and executing their real estate investment strategies.
“Adding Brendan to our Tax Credits & Incentives group will provide a critical resource as our clients navigate government tax credits, incentives and other forms of nondilutive capital in a difficult financing market,” said Chris J. Murphy, a founding partner of MSW and chair of its tax credits and incentives practice group. “As a firm, we have been considered a leader in the tax credit space since launching eight years ago. Adding Brendan to our already dynamic team is like throwing fuel on the fire. I am really excited to have him join the team.”
MSW, a boutique law firm specializing in commercial real estate and development, noted that it has sought to be creative in the services it offers to clients. Pytka’s hiring follows the addition last year of Christopher Watson, the former director of planning for the City of Newark, as its own director of planning and development services, bringing another ancillary service from a non-attorney for clients as they work with some of the state’s top commercial real estate lawyers.
Pytka graduated from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a focus on finance, real estate and business and public policy, MSW said. He then joined JP Morgan as a member of the mergers and acquisitions team in New York and London.
MSW added that Pytka has significant experience structuring complicated real estate transactions, incorporating various financing incentives, including Historic Tax Credits, New Market Tax Credits, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and subsidies through the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, including the Aspire tax credit program.
