Blank Rome is pleased to share that partners Carol A. Gershon and Steven A. Shoumer, co-chair of the firm’s Real Estate group, have been named 2026 Rainmakers in CRE Debt, Equity & Finance by GlobeSt.
This recognition celebrates leaders who drive meaningful impact across the commercial real estate industry. GlobeSt. Rainmakers are known for cultivating trusted relationships, leveraging deep networks, and advancing complex transactions that fuel business growth. Their strategic insight and deal-making acumen elevate their firm’s reputation, attract new clients, and deliver measurable value in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
The 2026 Rainmakers in CRE Debt, Equity & Finance list highlights trailblazers whose determination, experience, and leadership have shaped the industry and helped clients successfully navigate challenging markets.
View the full list of honorees here.
Carol’s and Steven’s honoree profiles, as published by Globe St., are copied in full below.
Carol Gershon
Carol Gershon has become a go-to legal strategist for complex commercial real estate finance, steering nearly $1 billion in transactions across multifamily, hospitality, and senior living assets during the past three years. Her work on senior housing and healthcare deals alone includes $380 million in financings for Cross RiverBank, highlighted by a $49 million Florida nursing home transaction that combined layered debt structures with operational turnaround objectives.
She has also been central to large-scale residential development capitalizations, representing Toll Brothers in more than $575 million of joint ventures and construction loans across Colorado, Nevada, New Jersey and Texas, as well as advising on a 48‑property multifamily portfolio and an $80 million syndicated loan secured by transitional senior living facilities. Beyond individual deals, Gershon distinguishes herself by designing governance frameworks, organizational structures, and commercial contracts that anticipate tax, regulatory, and compliance risks across multiple jurisdictions, making her a trusted counselor to lenders, developers, and operators navigating volatile markets. Her record of pro bono recognition, including the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network Excellence Award and Volunteer of the Year honors from Pro Bono Partnership, underscores a career defined by both technical excellence and civic commitment.
Steven Shoumer
Steven Shoumer has become one of Philadelphia’s leading real estate finance attorneys, steering large, complex construction and permanent financings that shape multifamily, industrial, mixed-use, and student housing development across the country. As a partner in Blank Rome’s Philadelphia office and co-chair of the firm’s national real estate practice, he serves as a primary counsel to banks, financial institutions, and private equity funds financing projects ranging from university housing to major industrial facilities.
Shoumer’s deal sheet underscores his role as a favored lender-side advisor: for Santander Bank, he closed financing for a 1,080,308-square-foot Amazon-leased industrial facility in Lansing, Michigan, as well as multiple construction loans for new multifamily developments in Texas, California, Nashville, and a 13-story, 348-unit residential tower in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, collectively approaching half a billion dollars. He has also led Citizens Bank construction loan facilities for a two-building, 562-unit multifamily project in Bethesda, Maryland, a 300-unit multifamily development in Saugus, Massachusetts, and a 773-bed student housing project at the University of Nevada, Reno—transactions totaling more than a quarter of a billion dollars.
Ranked by Chambers USA in Real Estate: Finance and recognized by The Legal 500, Shoumer is praised for practical, solutions-oriented dealmaking, making him a preferred choice not only for lenders but also for counterparties who request his involvement. His contributions extend to service as a Fellow of the American College of Mortgage Attorneys and to board roles with organizations such as The Impact Center and Ryan’s Case for Smiles, reflecting a commitment to community engagement alongside an elite finance practice.
