James Callister is the Chief Investment Officer at CareTrust REIT and has been with the company since 2021 when he joined as CareTrust’s General Counsel. Mr. Callister's primary focus is working with the company’s acquisitions team in structuring and negotiating new equity and debt investments. He has also been an integral part of the Company’s legal and corporate functions, asset and portfolio management matters, and tenant relationships.
Prior to joining CareTrust, Mr. Callister worked as a real estate attorney and a partner at the law firm of Sherry Meyerhoff Hanson & Crance LLP and, before that, at the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers LLP. Since 2008, he has worked almost exclusively on healthcare REIT transactions, closing on acquisitions or financings of over 300 skilled nursing, seniors housing, and independent living facilities on transactions involving the investment of over $2.5B across 35 states. Mr. Callister has assisted in the structuring, negotiating and closing of all of CareTrust’s acquisitions since its formation as a REIT. As an attorney, Mr. Callister worked for nearly 20 years in private practice representing and advising clients in a diverse array of real estate transactions. Mr. Callister’s transactions-based legal experience has focused on the representation of publicly-traded REITs in the acquisition, disposition, leasing, and financing of healthcare-related properties. Mr. Callister holds a B.S. in History from Brigham Young University and a J.D. from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University, where he graduated magna cum laude.