John Lavoie

Partner in Charge – Reston
Full contact info

I am passionate about commercial real estate and data center technology. Our team has been the key adviser to technology users, developers and institutions that have each brought transformative change to the Washington metropolitan area for many years.

Passions

Family

Data center technology

American history

Experience

Cerberus Announces Landmark Investment in Aquatech

April 3, 2025

Cooley advised Cerberus Capital Management, a global leader in alternative investing with approximately $65 billion in assets across complementary credit, real estate and private equity strategies, on its growth investment in Aquatech, a global leader in water technology and services for industrial and infrastructure markets.

Read more

Related contacts

Garland “Sonny” W. Allison
Partner, Colorado
Amelia Runyan Davis
Partner, Colorado
Timothy Shapiro
Partner, Palo Alto
Mark Windfeld-Hansen
Senior Counsel, Palo Alto
Zachary Sonenshine
Associate, New York
Morgan Baker
Associate, Washington, DC
Feroz Khalidi
Associate, Colorado
Matthew Bartus
Partner, San Francisco
Adam Fleisher
Partner, Washington, DC
David Fletcher
Partner, Washington, DC
Steve Flores
Partner, Chicago
Annie Froehlich
Partner, Washington, DC
Todd Gluth
Partner, San Diego
Len Jacoby
Partner, New York
Christopher Kimball
Partner, Washington, DC
Kevin King
Partner, Washington, DC
John Lavoie
Partner in Charge – Reston, Reston
Carly Mitchell
Partner, Washington, DC
John Paul Oleksiuk
Partner, New York
Aaron Pomeroy
Partner, Colorado
Stacey Song
Partner, New York
Michael Tollini
Partner, Washington, DC
Scott Weston
Partner, Boston
Sharon Connaughton
Special Counsel, Washington, DC
Peter Crain
Special Counsel, Reston
Reid Hooper
Special Counsel, Washington, DC
Dillon Martinson
Special Counsel, Washington, DC
Rebecca Ross
Special Counsel, Washington, DC
Grant Schweikert
Special Counsel, Washington, DC
Julie Wicklund
Special Counsel, Palo Alto
Alanna B Zuchelli
Special Counsel, Reston
Meredith Ashlock
Associate, Colorado
Nicholas Balenger
Associate, Reston
Jasmine A. Banks
Associate, Washington, DC
Umer Chaudhry
Associate, Washington, DC
Susan Choy
Associate, New York
Sharon Davidov
Associate, New York
Megan Drill
Associate, San Diego
Jeremy M. Exelbert
Associate, New York
Jimmy Gilligan
Associate, Boston
Michael Gladstone
Associate, New York
Virat Gupta
Associate, Washington, DC
Dr. Aeraj ul Haque
Associate, Chicago
Bomin Kim
Associate, New York
Allison Kutner
Associate, New York
Xueqing Li
Associate, San Francisco
Arthi Naini
Associate, New York
Sarah Oliai
Associate, Washington, DC
Shelby Saunders
Associate, New York
Leanne Andrepont
Senior Trademark Paralegal
Megan Boss
Senior Paralegal , Boston
Patricia Myers
Paralegal Specialist, Colorado
Jill Simon
Senior Paralegal, New York
Luke Sande
Patent Agent, Boston

Related Practices & Industries

Adaptive Phage Therapeutics Enters Into Definitive Merger Agreement With BiomX

March 6, 2024

Cooley advised Adaptive Phage Therapeutics, a US-based, privately held, clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of phage-based therapies to combat bacterial infections, on its definitive merger agreement with BiomX, a clinical-stage company advancing novel natural and engineered phage therapies that target specific pathogenic bacteria.

Read more

Related contacts

Christian Plaza
Partner, Reston
Brian Leaf
Partner, Reston
Matthew Schwee
Partner, Reston
John Lavoie
Partner in Charge – Reston, Reston
Kenneth Krisko
Partner, Reston
Eileen Marshall
Partner, Washington, DC
Phil Mitchell
Partner, New York
Natasha Leskovsek
Of Counsel, Washington, DC
Adrienne Beaudoin Deshmukh
Associate, Reston
Rick Jantz
Associate, Santa Monica
Anne Luquette
Associate, San Francisco
Tyler Saavedra-Buckley
Associate, San Francisco
Patricia Myers
Paralegal Specialist, Colorado
Douglas Lyles
Senior Research Services & Access Analyst

Thayer Ventures Acquisition Corp. Completes Merger With Inspirato

February 19, 2022

Cooley advised Thayer Ventures Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company affiliated with Thayer Ventures, on its completed business combination with innovative luxury travel subscription brand Inspirato. Lawyers Daniel Peale, John McKenna, Milson Yu, Michelle Peleg, Shawn Fateh, Jonathan Camello, Brian Kloeblen and Angel Nwachukwu led the Cooley team advising Thayer Ventures.

Read more

Related contacts

Daniel Peale
Partner, Washington, DC
John McKenna
Partner, Palo Alto
Milson Yu
Partner, Palo Alto
Michelle Peleg
Associate, San Francisco
Eileen Marshall
Partner, Washington, DC
Todd Gluth
Partner, San Diego
TJ Graham
Partner, Palo Alto
David Walsh
Senior Counsel, Reston
John Paul Oleksiuk
Partner, New York
Sarah Lightdale
Partner, New York
Scott Dailard
Partner, San Diego
John Lavoie
Partner in Charge – Reston, Reston
Gerard O'Shea
Partner, New York
Darren DeStefano
Partner, Reston
Christopher Kimball
Partner, Washington, DC
Mark Windfeld-Hansen
Senior Counsel, Palo Alto
Francis Wheeler
Senior Counsel, Colorado
Bill Galliani
Senior Counsel, Palo Alto
Peter Crain
Special Counsel, Reston
Dillon Martinson
Special Counsel, Washington, DC
Stella Sarma
Partner, Brussels
Karen Tsai
Special Counsel, Washington, DC
Timothy Shapiro
Partner, Palo Alto
Chris Chynoweth
Special Counsel, New York
Tommi McCarthy
Associate, New York
Edward Sniezek
Associate, Reston
Rubin Waranch
Associate, Colorado
Andrew Epstein
Special Counsel, Seattle
Alla Kagan
Paralegal Specialist, San Diego
Drue Anne Koons
Paralegal Specialist, San Diego
Patricia Myers
Paralegal Specialist, Colorado
Jon Turk
Senior Paralegal, Washington, DC

Related Practices & Industries

Asymchem Agrees to Acquire Snapdragon Chemistry

February 12, 2022

Cooley advised Asymchem, a Chinese-based contract development and manufacturing company serving the global pharmaceutical and biotech industry, on its definitive agreement to acquire Snapdragon Chemistry, a US-based chemical technology company. Partner Yiming Liu led the Cooley team.

As a result of the transaction, Asymchem will significantly expand its footprint in the US, offering customers a seamless path from preclinical process R&D through commercial current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) production. Snapdragon will operate as a stand-alone Asymchem division, and continue with its ongoing lab and manufacturing facility expansion for additional capacity to support larger, pilot-scale manufacturing in Waltham, Massachusetts.

"We believe continuous flow manufacturing is a revolutionary technology and represents the future of pharmaceutical production, not only generating advantages to process safety and cost, but also bringing tremendous environmental benefits," Hao Hong, chairman and CEO of Asymchem, said in a news release. "Asymchem has been deeply committed to flow chemistry technology development and its application expansion in the pharmaceutical industry for more than a decade. We are excited that this strategic acquisition will further strengthen our capabilities in continuous manufacturing, as well as broadening our service scope and client pool."

Related contacts

Yiming Liu
Partner in Charge – Shanghai, Shanghai
Yiying Wang
Associate, Shanghai
Yunxiang Xu
Associate, Shanghai
Howard Morse
Senior Counsel, Washington, DC
Christopher Kimball
Partner, Washington, DC
Aaron Pomeroy
Partner, Colorado
Kathleen Goodhart
Partner, San Francisco
Rama Padmanabhan
Partner, San Diego
John Hale
Senior Counsel , Palo Alto
John Lavoie
Partner in Charge – Reston, Reston
Sonia Nath
Partner, Washington, DC
Andrew Harline
Partner in Charge – Singapore, Singapore
Bridget R. Reineking
Special Counsel, Washington, DC
Natasha Leskovsek
Of Counsel, Washington, DC
Peter Crain
Special Counsel, Reston
Stella Sarma
Partner, Brussels
Karen Tsai
Special Counsel, Washington, DC
Dillon Martinson
Special Counsel, Washington, DC
Erica Russell
Associate, San Francisco
Gwenlynne Lee
Counsel, Singapore
Zoë Helstrom
Associate, San Francisco
Sai Yarramalla
Associate, Palo Alto
Patrick Sharma
Associate, Santa Monica
Katie Adams
Associate, Reston
Sarah Oliai
Associate, Washington, DC
Kate Walther
Paralegal Specialist, San Diego

Related Practices & Industries

PN Hoffman Secures Approval for Development of the Wharf

July 15, 2016

Cooley assisted PN Hoffman in acquiring and starting construction of "The Wharf" in Southwest DC. PN Hoffman is known for developing upscale condominium residences and mixed-use properties in the Washington, DC area.

The Wharf is a $2 billion, world-class, mixed-use waterfront development located on the historic Washington Channel. The $800 million first phase is scheduled to include 200,000 square feet of retail, 435,000 square feet of office, 140,000 square feet of cultural and performing arts space, a 680 key hotel, 240 condominiums and 648 apartment units. When complete The Wharf will feature approximately 3 million square feet of new residential, office, hotel, retail, cultural and public uses including waterfront parks, promenades, piers and docks.

Cooley real estate was able to position The Wharf as a key to accomplishing the major goal of reconnecting the city to its waterfront, providing DC residents with a world-class public destination. The project is promised to turn the area into a regional draw and economic hub with strong retail and restaurant markets. Mayor Vincent C. Gray is calling the Wharf "a truly transformative development that will help reconnect the waterfront to the rest of the District."

PN Hoffman & Associates, is one of Washington's premier developers of urban residential and mixed-use neighborhood transformation projects. Since its formation in 1993, PNH has successfully completed 35+ projects, including the first nationally recognized LEED-certified residential high rise in Washington.

Related contacts

John Lavoie
Partner in Charge – Reston, Reston
Peter Crain
Special Counsel, Reston

Related Practices & Industries

View more

Admissions and credentials

District of Columbia

Maryland

Virginia

West Virginia

Rankings and accolades

  • Chambers USA: Band 1 for Real Estate – Virginia: Northern (2020 – 2024)
  • The Best Lawyers in America: Construction Law and Real Estate Law (2024)
  • Virginia Business: Virginia 500 – 2023 Power List
  • Washingtonian: Top Lawyers Hall of Fame (2022)
  • Bisnow.com: DC’s Top Real Estate Lawyers (2014)
  • The Washington Business Journal: Top Real Estate Transactions Lawyer (2008)
  • Virginia Business: Legal Elite – Real Estate/Construction (2003 – 2005)
  • Super Lawyers: Real Estate Law – Virginia and Northern Virginia

Memberships and affiliations

Fairfax Bar Association

National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP)

The Virginia Bar Association

Maryland State Bar Association

District of Columbia Bar Association

Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Association of Greater Washington, DC (CREBA)

Jack Lavoie offers significant expertise in complex lease transactions, notably for data centers and corporate headquarters. He represents both landlords and tenants. Jack is a problem-solver, and fantastic on the transactional side.

Client quote

He’s a fantastic lawyer and a pleasure to work with.

Client quote

Chambers USA: Real Estate (2024)