Biography

Handlan spends most of his professional time leading the firm’s real estate, banking and commercial financing areas, as well as working with the firm’s mergers and acquisitions area; he joined Kegler Brown in 1972.

Banking + Commercial Lending

Allen focuses on advising both lenders and borrowers in connection with complex financing transactions involving secured and unsecured multi-facility loan transactions, mezzanine financing and bond financing.

Real Estate + Financing

Allen has extensive experience with a wide variety of real estate acquisitions, sales and financings involving office buildings, hotels, parking garages, shopping malls and centers, industrial, manufacturing, warehousing and distribution facilities, and multi-family residential projects involving the utilization of public/private partnerships and mixed financing sources (conventional financing, tax credits and bond financing) including the negotiation, documentation and closing of such transactions with respect to assets in Ohio and throughout the United States. As a consequence of those transactions, Allen has gained substantial experience in dealing with real estate tax valuation issues and real estate tax exemption matters.

Mergers + Acquisitions

Allen also focuses on counseling clients, as buyers or sellers, in connection with complex business transactions, including mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. Representative industries include manufacturing, restaurant, retail, building and construction materials, technology, and professional services.

Practice Areas

Education

  • University of Virginia School of Law (J.D., 1972)
  • Ohio University (B.A., 1969)

Bar Admissions

  • Ohio
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio

Professional Affiliations

  • American Bar Association, Banking and Business Law sections, member
  • Columbus Bar Association, Real Property and Business Law committees, member
  • National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP), member
  • Ohio State Bar Association, Banking, Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Law, Real Property and Natural Resources committees, member
  • Upper Arlington Rotary Club, board of directors, past member; Upper Arlington Scholarship Committee, past chair; Community Service Committee, past chair

Special Honors

  • Selected as “Lawyer of the Year” in Columbus in the area of Banking + Finance Law by The Best Lawyers in America®, 2023, 2019
  • Recognized in Columbus CEO, Best Lawyers, 2022
  • Honored by Chambers USA for expertise in Banking + Finance and Real Estate
  • Martindale-Hubbell Rating of AV Preeminent®
  • Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America®
  • Selected to the Ohio Super Lawyers list

Charitable + Civic Involvement

  • Pilot Guide Dog Foundation, Board of Trustees, Vice President; Past President; Executive Committee, Past Member
  • Whetstone Care Center, Board of Trustees, Past Member
  • Upper Arlington Rotary, Past - Board of Trustees; Community Service Committee, Chair; Membership Committee, Member; Fundraiser Committee, Member

Publications

  • Bank Financing for Oil and Gas Transactions, Ohio Legal Center Institute, Oil and Gas Law, co-writer

Career Highlights

  • Chair of the firm’s real estate and financing practice area
  • Member of Kegler Brown’s executive committee
  • Managing director of Kegler Brown from 1995 to 1999