The 20-lawyer group will assist lenders, special servicers and asset management firms with restructuring distressed real estate loans and positioning foreclosed assets for successful sale. The task force allows K&L Gates to help clients with all types of troubled real estate matters throughout the US and the UK, as well as parts of Europe and Asia.

"Through our task force, K&L Gates' lawyers can provide sound advice and the necessary legal skills to help clients achieve the maximum results for these assets," Walter D. Fisher, Charlotte partner and co-leader of the firm's real estate practice area, stated in a release. He noted that foreclosures should be seen as the beginning rather than the end of a transaction.

K&L Gates has 1,700 lawyers in 28 offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia. In addition to Charlotte, its other Southeast offices are in Raleigh and Research Triangle Park, NC and in Miami.