Jeffrey S. Lesk
Partner, LEED® AP
Office Managing Partner
Syndication Practice Group Leader

Practice Areas

Experience

Jeffrey Lesk is the managing partner of Nixon Peabody's Washington, DC, office. He concentrates his practice in matters relating to community development; real estate syndication and securities; real estate acquisition, development and finance; and affordable housing. His practice has included structuring and implementing all aspects of public and private real estate investment programs focusing on socially-oriented real estate projects utilizing low-income housing tax credit, historic preservation tax credits, renewable energy tax credits and other federal, state, and local incentives. He has most recently concentrated on applying sustainable development and financing techniques to affordable housing and community development transactions and on educating developers, investors and government agencies on green development and finance. He co-developed and co-chaired (with Enterprise Community Partners) the first national conference on this topic, which is now an annual symposium.

Jeff is a leader in Nixon Peabody’s firmwide green initiative, which involves identifying opportunities for the firm’s many practice groups to participate in sustainable development and energy conservation projects, developing a unified firmwide approach to practicing in the areas of green development and energy conservation, and putting sustainability into practice within the firm. He worked with Nixon Peabody’s San Francisco office to develop the first law firm office in the country to receive certification from the U.S. Green Building Council under its program for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.  Jeff is also a U.S. Green Building Council LEED® Accredited Professional (LEED AP).

Jeff has lectured and written on various housing, community development and environmental topics. He has been community economic development editor of the ABA Journal of Affordable Housing & Community Development Law and is on the advisory board of the Housing and Development Reporter. Jeff also served on the advisory committee of the National Building Museum for their exhibit, “Affordable Housing— Designing an American Asset,” which is now on a national tour, and is serving on the advisory committee for the NBM’s upcoming exhibit, “Green Community.” He also serves on the board of GreenHOME, the Chairman’s Council of Conservation International and the lawyers Working Group of the U.S. Green Building Council

Admissions

Education

University of Arizona College of Law, J.D.
Stanford University, B.A.