US commercial real estate finance and advisory firm Walker & Dunlop has promoted Dan Groman to general counsel on a permanent basis, having been standing in as interim GC since May.

Groman had been deputy GC at Walker & Dunlop since 2012. As GC, he will be responsible for the company’s legal and compliance groups, also holding the role of chief compliance officer.

Walker & Dunlop is one of the largest commercial real estate finance businesses in the US, providing financing and investment management services to real estate investors.

Willy Walker, chairman and CEO of Walker & Dunlop, said: “Dan was an exceptional deputy general counsel for the past 12 years and I am delighted to have his leadership, legal acumen and smarts in the role of general counsel going forward. Dan’s understanding of our industry and company make him the ideal general counsel as we continue expanding and growing Walker & Dunlop.”

Groman originally joined Walker & Dunlop from Freddie Mac in 2011 as associate GC, before being promoted to deputy GC less than a year later. He had spent just under seven years at Freddie Mac as associate GC and deputy GC of the Freddie Mac Foundation. Prior to that he was an associate at Arnold & Porter.

He replaces Richard Lucas, who announced he was leaving the company back in May. He had been GC at Walker & Dunlop for more than 13 years, having previously been GC at Hilton Worldwide. Like Groman, he is also an Arnold & Porter alum, where he spent close to two decades, 10 years of which as partner. He is currently vice chair of the Yale Law School Fund and also owns his own real estate business, Della Realty.

In other real estate-related moves, in September US real estate group Amherst hired Lendlease’s Americas GC Peter Campbell as its new legal head, replacing Gabriel Steffens who left earlier in the year.

In May, US real estate business Prologis promoted deputy GC Deborah Briones to chief legal officer, replacing Ed Nekritz, who was stepping down after almost three decades with the company.