Shams Merchant
Associate
Shams Merchant
CONTACT
smerchant@wkpz.com
T: (713) 961-9045
F: (713) 961-5341

Bar Admissions

  • Texas

Education

  • J.D., University of Houston Law Center
  • BBA in Finance, University of Houston, magna cum laude

Memberships

  • State Bar of Texas
  • Houston Bar Association
  • South Asian Bar Association, Houston
  • Asian Real Estate Association of America, Houston
 

Additional Information

  • Houston Bar Association, Real Estate Law Section Scholarship
  • Houston Bar Association, Construction Law Section Scholarship
  • Fluent in Hindi and Gujarati
Shams Merchant
Associate
Mr. Merchant is an associate in the firm's real estate practice group.
 
His practice includes advising and representing clients on a wide range of real estate and business transactions. He assists clients in the purchase, sale, financing, leasing, and development of commercial and residential properties including retail, multi-family, office, industrial, condominiums, and mixed-use. Additionally, Mr. Merchant also assists clients on the formation and structuring of business organizations associated with real estate development and ownership, such as partnerships, joint-ventures, limited liability companies, and corporations. He also performs title and survey review, helps cure title defects, and assists with drafting and negotiating easements and deed restrictions. 
 
Mr. Merchant has extensive experience representing both landlords and tenants in complex commercial lease disputes, litigation, and lease buy-outs. He also has experience representing clients in high-stakes business and real estate litigation, international arbitration, and various commercial and business disputes involving breach of contracts, landlord/tenant, real estate fraud, title and boundary disputes, adverse possession, eminent domain, and shareholder and partnership disputes.
 
Prior to joining WKPZ, Mr. Merchant practiced at a boutique commercial real estate law firm under a board-certified commercial real estate attorney. During law school, he worked at one of the largest commercial real estate practice groups in Texas. He also helped one of the best trial lawyers in America defeat a motion for summary judgment in a widely-publicized real estate deed restrictions dispute in Houston.