NEW YORK – Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP announced the arrival of experienced real estate lawyer Arete “Arlene” Koutras as Special Counsel and resident in the New York, NY office.

Koutras joins from another mid-sized New York law firm with proficiency in advising clients on a wide range of real estate matters with an emphasis on the representation of institutional lenders in mortgage loans and affordable housing transactions. She focuses her practice in secured and unsecured lines of credit, construction and permanent financings, direct debt transactions, bond financings, and even tax credit equity investments.

The full-service law firm looks forward to having Koutras’ significant experience in portfolio and cross-collateralized loans on a national level, as well as other loans involving affordable housing subsidies, complex structures, ground leases, master leases, and more.

Koutras is a member of the New York State Bar Association and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. She received an LLM in International Business and Trade Law from Fordham University School of Law, a JD from Brooklyn Law School and a BA from Columbia College, Columbia University.

Koutras spoke with The National Herald about joining the prestigious firm. She told TNH, “I am pleased to join Windels Marx – the 7th largest real estate practice in New York. The firm provides a broad platform on which I can continue to expand my real estate practice on behalf of institutional lenders and other industry participants. I am excited to be able to join such a robust practice, which includes loans to non-profit entities, private placements of tax exempt bonds to finance the acquisition, and development of schools and other non-for-profit organizations, and also affordable housing transactions.”

About her family background, Koutras said, “My family originates from the mainland of Greece which is called Sterea Ellada. My father is from a small seaside village named Spilia which is on the coastal mainland in the prefecture of Fokidas. My mother’s family originates from Serres which is a small city in the Macedonian section of Northern Greece. My grandfather, Iakovos Zagarola, was a famous criminal defense attorney in Athens in the 1960’s and had many notable law clerks, one of which is Anna Benaki, a notable politician, who served as speaker of the Hellenic Parliament from 2004 to 2007. “I grew up spending my summers in Rafina, a small seaside town 30 minutes outside of Athens, also one of the towns recently devastated by the wildfires in Athens. Rafina is a small port town where many tourists flock to in the summer months to take the ferries to the various islands, mostly the Cyclades Islands.

“I am very proud of my Greek heritage and carry it with me wherever I go,” she told TNH, adding that “I speak the Greek language and have passed it on to my children, Eraklis (age 8), Eleni (age 4), and Andreas (age 5 months).”

“I reside in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, New York with my husband, George Hristodoulou and my three children, which is also where I grew up. My husband George is the founder and CEO of www.beachdibs.com which is an online beach chair reservation system designated to give beachgoers on the Greek Islands a hassle free experience where they can reserve their beach chairs and packages in advance prior to arriving at the beach. This is really handy when tourists from all over the world descend on the Greek Islands in the summer months which can make getting a prime spot on the beach quite tricky and stressful.

She noted, “I will be traveling to Greece in the coming weeks with my family and I am looking forward to the Greek hospitality, wonderful people, and amazing food!”

About Windels Marx

With offices in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP is a full-service law firm formed in the mid-nineteenth century. Today, Windels represents domestic and international clients in banking and finance, energy and environment, government and tobacco interests, healthcare, hospitality, insurance, manufacturing, real estate, technology and intellectual property and transportation. Learn more at www.windelsmarx.com.