Sunny Kakwani      he / him

Of Counsel Attorney

✦ Small business advocate; connector; policy influencer; strategist; community builder.

✦ Previously known for pocket squares + gelled hair; unabashed pooch poppa; lover of all sports; voted most hysterical laugh in high school; moved to the PNW for its beauty + adventure.

✦ Sunny's entrepreneurial focus, academic background and dynamic personality make him a strong communicator and business partner.

Sunny, born in New Delhi and raised in New York, discovered his passion for policy and advocacy early in life, which led him to Washington, DC in pursuit of his undergraduate degree in Business, Economics and Public Policy at George Washington University. That reverence evolved into practice while Sunny studied law in Boston, MA at Suffolk University. Following convocation of his Juris Doctorate in 2008, Sunny served as a judicial clerk in the High Court of Gujarat, as well as the Supreme Court of India. Keeping a close eye at the impending housing crisis at home, Sunny returned to the States to advocate for families during the economic recovery. He focused his practice on statutory and precedent-based policy, which led to the imposition of good-faith requirements onto financial institutions.

In a decisive pivot to his legal career, Sunny joined a business focused law firm, where he excelled in procuring and managing clients with real property transactions, syndication and private lending. He also led the tax lien investment team through his due diligence and legal strategies via foreclosure and quiet-title litigation. Sunny elevated his experience by joining the Manhattan offices of Morici & Morici LLP, where he represented several sophisticated clientele, including the Rockefeller Group, Carlyle Group and Ralph Lauren, among others at various economic levels. He managed and closed multi-million dollar residential and commercial transactions for developers and high-net worth venture capitalists, in addition to advising on mergers and leveraged buyouts and executing commercial leasing and other business ventures.

A lifelong appreciation for the beauty of the West and desire to prioritize a higher quality of life, Sunny and his wife decided to move to her hometown of Portland in 2018. He thereafter joined one of Oregon’s first law firms, McEwen Gisvold LLP, working in the Real Estate, Transactional and Corporate Groups. He advised individual and institutional clients in a broad scope of matters including complex commercial financing, due diligence, leasing, corporate governance and strategic counsel.  Sunny represented national lenders in documenting, negotiating and managing transactions including construction, bridge and term loans, secured by industrial, retail, agriculture, hospitality and multifamily properties and ground leases.  

Sunny negotiates modifications, settlement stipulations, confidentiality agreements, employee/consulting contracts, landlord/tenant matters and business acquisitions/sales. He also has expertise in municipal and private investment strategies, including hard-money loans, tax lien foreclosures and 1031 like-kind exchanges.  Sunny has advised individual and institutional clients in a broad scope of matters including risk management, due diligence, public policy, ethics, dispute resolution, complex commercial financing, leasing, corporate governance and strategic counsel. He has extensive background in social entrepreneurship, corporate transactions, policies, training, intellectual property, as well as transactional contracts, investments, syndication, financing and litigation. Sunny’s specific responsibilities as the department head of hard money loans, 1031 like-kind exchanges and municipal tax lien investments and enforcement has provided significant exposure to alternative financing and risk mitigation.  He recently represented national corporations, lenders and life companies in documenting, negotiating and managing transactions including construction, bridge and term loans, secured by industrial, retail, agriculture, hospitality and multifamily properties and ground leases.

Sunny is a fully attentive leader that builds upon empathic collaboration to effectively solve problems and interact with functional stakeholders. His reputation of a successful business implementer has been seasoned through his various roles at law practices, nonprofits and other corporate ventures. Sunny is someone that brings diversity, both in background and thinking, to any organization and is focused on collaborating with a team that values same. His passion for culture, community and inclusion led Sunny to become a founding member and to currently serve as Treasurer on the non-profit board of the South Asian Bar Association (SABA) - Oregon chapter.    

Practicing in progressive areas requires passion and a pioneering spirit.  Living, studying and working in a variety of cities and countries has helped Sunny to foster his genuine passion for culture and community.  His various professional experiences contribute to thoroughly understanding the interests of multiple stakeholders.

In his free time Sunny enjoys pro bono work, mentoring, traveling, running, yoga, meditation, reading, camping, coaching, playing basketball and snowboarding.