Overview

Meghan Cocci is a real estate partner in the Los Angeles office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. She represents owners, investors and operators on their most complex and highest-value hospitality and real estate projects and transactions around the world. Meghan’s practice includes a wide range of real estate and hospitality matters, including single-asset and portfolio property acquisitions and dispositions and the formation and structuring of joint ventures. She regularly negotiates management, franchise and license agreements for hotels, resorts, golf courses, spas, restaurants and other hospitality and leisure projects. Meghan also represents clients in acquisitions and dispositions of hotel management companies and provides strategic counsel on mixed-use developments.

Meghan is a nationally recognized real estate lawyer who advises clients on a broad range of transactions and strategic matters, with a particular focus on the hospitality industry. She has over two decades of experience advising on many of the most significant hospitality transactions in the U.S. and internationally, including Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Drawing on her sophisticated industry knowledge and strong working relationships with key market players, Meghan offers strategic insights into how business and legal issues can play out in the long term.

She delivers creative and business-focused counsel to a variety of market participants, including hotel and non-hotel real estate investment trusts (REITs), private equity funds, family offices, and real estate developers to address her clients’ business objectives.

Meghan has been recognized in Chambers USA every year since 2006. She maintains a national Band 1 ranking for Leisure & Hospitality and her clients describe her as “a go to person for strategic advice, quick paced decision-making and good business knowledge”, “the cream of the crop in the industry who meets the gold standard for client service”, “top tier in terms of expertise and experience in the space. She is one of the best in the industry [Chambers 2025]”, “An exceptional lawyer. She’s confident, responsive and among the most knowledgeable in her field [Chambers 2024].”

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Thought Leadership

Speaking Engagements

Meghan frequently speaks on real estate topics at major hotel conferences and other industry events, including:

  • New York University International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference (NYU IHIIC)
  • Georgetown University Law Center Hotel and Lodging Legal Summit
  • Berlin International Hotel and Investment Forum (IHIF)
  • International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC) Annual Conference
  • American Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS)

Memberships & Affiliations

AHLA, Hospitality Investment Roundtable

ULI, Hotel Development Council

ULI LA, Hospitality & Entertainment Development Council

Credentials

Admissions & Qualifications

  • California
  • New York
  • District of Columbia
  • Arizona

Education

  • University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of LawJ.D.1998
  • University of Texas at AustinB.B.A.1995