Attorneys

Lonnie M. Ritzer

Partner lmr@shapirosher.com

36 South Charles Street
Suite 2000
Baltimore, MD 21201

410.385.4221 ph
410.539.7611 fax

Lonnie M. Ritzer is a senior partner and head of the tax law and sports law practice groups at Shapiro Sher Guinot & Sandler. He concentrates in tax law, partnership and corporate transactions, real estate planning, and mergers and acquisitions. His clients include sports franchises and other sports-related individuals and corporations that continue to benefit from Mr. Ritzer’s extensive experience with sports branding and licensing, financing and development of sports facilities, and other sports industry matters. He also handles many aspects of contract and endorsement planning for professional athletes.

Mr. Ritzer regularly structures complex corporate, real estate, and financing transactions for commercial real estate clients and non-profit organizations. He has been involved in transactions across the country, as well as in Australia, Europe, and the Netherlands. Mr. Ritzer also serves on the Board of Trustees for various non-profit organizations. Several of these organizations are involved with using sports to teach character and “life lessons” to children. Other organizations involve consumer counseling and community athletic facilities for underprivileged families.

Mr. Ritzer has served on committees of the Bar Association of Baltimore City (Tax and Public Education), the Maryland State Bar Association (Tax Section Council, Transactional Tax and State Tax Study Groups), and the Tax Section of the American Bar Association. He is a past President of the Baltimore Association of Tax Counsel. He has authored articles for various periodicals, including The Journal of Taxation and The Maryland Bar Journal, and has served as a guest lecturer at the University of Baltimore School of Law. From 1991 to 1992, Mr. Ritzer assisted in the drafting of the Maryland Limited Liability Company Act and is a co-author of a book on that subject; he is currently serving on a Maryland State Bar Association committee that is studying changes in the Maryland Limited Liability Act.

Representative Transactions

• Currently assisting with the financing, formation and development of Baltimore Racing Development, the entity tasked with bringing the Indy Racing League’s Grand Prix to Baltimore in 2011.
• Serves as regular outside counsel to Ripken Baseball Group, which owns three minor league baseball teams across the country and two youth sports facilities; work includes acquisitions, licensing, and general corporate matters.
• Handled the legal aspects of developing the Ripken Stadium Complex, in Aberdeen, Maryland, which consists of a 6,000-seat minor league stadium, a 3,500-seat youth stadium (a miniature replica of Camden Yards), a multi-field youth baseball academy, and a hotel.
• Handled the acquisition of the Bulle Rock Golf Course and its surrounding land, which is being developed for residential and commercial uses.
• Serves as outside general counsel to a tax-exempt organization that owns and operates facilities nationwide serving disadvantaged youth.
• Has handled a variety of sophisticated real estate swap transactions on behalf of numerous clients throughout the greater Baltimore area.
• Represents several high-profile sports figures, including Beatriz Recardi, a 2010 rookie on the LPGA tour, and a variety of entities founded by baseball legend Cal Ripken, Jr., and his family.
• Assisted in the development of Baltimore Ravens training facility in Owings Mills, Maryland.

News & Publications

June 15, 2011: Chambers USA 2011 ranks Shapiro Sher Guinot & Sandler among the top law firms in the country. The prestigious guide cites four of the Firm's partners, including Lonnie M. Ritzer, among the leading lawyers in the United States.

Baltimore SmartCEO magazine names Lonnie M. Ritzer and three additional Shapiro Sher partners among its "Legal Elite" list of "go-to attorneys in business law" in its November 2010 issue.

February 27, 2007: "An Attorney with a Feel for the Game." The Baltimore Business Journal profiles Lonnie M. Ritzer.