George Fatheree

George Fatheree is a real estate attorney known for his pro bono work that makes an impact. He has won several high-profile cases, such as Bruce’s Beach which restored land taken from an African American family nearly 100 years ago.

Early Life and Education

George Fatheree hails from Louisiana and earned his law degree from Loyola Law School. He was drawn to the school due to its reputation as a leader in public service.

Fatheree is actively engaged in civil rights-focused pro bono work and extensive civic and community service projects. He recently authored an amicus brief to the California Supreme Court on behalf of students with diabetes and helped secure payments for Holocaust survivors.

He was instrumental in the team that successfully restored Bruce’s Beach, a property in Manhattan Beach, to descendants of Charles and Willa Bruce through a landmark court case. This land had been wrongfully taken from an African American family almost 100 years prior.

Professional Career

George Fatheree is a partner at Sidley Austin and an expert legal adviser to investors, developers and lenders on numerous large commercial real estate deals. Additionally, he provides guidance to museums, artists and educational institutions in the arts and culture spaces.

Fatheree is proud to be a member of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business in the California Real Estate category (2018-2021). In addition to his professional practice, he serves as co-chairman of Loyola Law School’s Black Alumni Committee and teaches education law and real estate transactional practice at Loyola Law School.

He is an enthusiastic supporter of the arts, having represented both Debbie Allen Dance Academy and Black Lives Matter Los Angeles in their purchase, financing and development of state-of-the-art performing arts schools. Additionally, he has contributed thousands of hours of pro bono work such as securing reparations for Holocaust survivors and authoring an amicus curiae brief to the California Supreme Court on behalf of students with diabetes.

Achievements and Honors

George Fatheree has achieved great success throughout his career at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, earning him recognition as one of the top real estate attorneys in California.

He has also earned the Rising Stars designation, an honor bestowed upon a select group of highly-rated attorneys for their outstanding professional accomplishments and leadership abilities.

Fatheree has extensive public-interest experience, having secured reparations for Holocaust survivors and authored an amicus curiae brief to the California Supreme Court on behalf of students with diabetes who require medication while attending school.

In addition to his professional accomplishments, he has made a lasting impact in the community by volunteering. He served as Chief Operating Officer of the California Charter Schools Association and founded the Charter Schools Legal Defense Fund.

Personal Life

George Fatheree has earned a well-earned reputation in California and beyond due to his commercial real estate practice, counseling of artists and museums on arts and culture transactions, pro bono work related to civil rights issues and his extensive civic and community service activities. He often takes on impactful pro bono matters such as representing Willa and Charles Bruce’s descendants in their landmark return of Bruce’s Beach property–an historic deal which restored land wrongfully taken from African American families almost 100 years ago.

Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP partner George Fatheree III was delighted when he heard about the sale of an expansive multimedia archive containing 4 million photos from Ebony and Jet magazines as well as 100,000 film and audio recordings. Within five days, he and his colleagues managed to secure the treasure for four renowned charitable foundations, giving viewers an invaluable visual record of black America.

Net Worth

George Fatheree is a partner in Munger, Tolles & Olson’s real estate group and provides advice to private equity firms, developers, lenders and high net-worth individuals on a range of large and complex commercial real estate transactions. These include joint ventures, acquisitions & dispositions, financings, corporate real estate M&A deals, fund formation, sports arena/casino deals as well as leasing & energy deals.

He represents artists, museums, art collectors and cultural institutions on a range of arts and culture transactions and issues. Additionally, he frequently takes on pro bono work that has an impact; for example, representing Willa and Charles Bruce’s descendants in their historic return of Bruce’s Beach property – an historic return that had been wrongfully taken away from an African American family nearly 100 years prior.