Find Lawyers in Chicago, Illinois for Real Estate Law
Practice Area Overview
Real estate law refers to the body of laws that govern the buying, selling and leasing of property.
These laws cover a wide range of legal issues related to real estate transactions, including financing transactions, environmental law and title searches. Real estate laws and regulations vary from state to state, with some requiring a real estate license to buy or sell property. Attorneys in real estate law can help with issues that a real estate agent can’t.
Hiring a real estate lawyer or real estate law attorney can be essential for navigating the legal complexities of a home purchase or sale. Law firms specializing in real estate law can assist with legal issues related to real estate transactions, such as reviewing contracts and conducting title searches.
Real estate lawyers or attorneys are also typically involved in representing clients before the real estate commission or title company. Law school courses often cover real estate law, as it is an essential aspect of many legal practices. A full-service real estate law firm should have expertise in these areas:
Sales and Acquisitions
The representation of buyers and sellers in the acquisition and disposition of the various kinds of real estate including office buildings, retail centers, hotels, industrial properties, residential properties and manufactured housing communities.
Real estate attorneys can be equally essential whether the transaction is for residential or commercial property.
Title
The examination of title to real estate, evaluation of title exceptions and negotiation of title insurance policies.
Land Use and Environmental
Land use entitlements, due diligence investigations, Brownfield developments and compliance with Environmental Laws and federal and state Endangered Species Acts.
Development
The negotiation and preparation of development and construction agreements and the other documents required to develop and construct office buildings, shopping centers, mixed-use projects, free-standing units and industrial sites.
Leasing
The negotiation and preparation of office, retail and industrial leases and long-term ground leases. A real estate lawyer may assist with:
- Drafting and reviewing lease agreements.
- Negotiating lease terms.
- Ensuring compliance with laws and regulations.
- Dispute resolution.
- Lease modifications and renewals.
- Handling lease terminations and evictions.
- Advising on subleasing and assignment.
Finance
The representation of lenders and borrowers in real estate secured loan originations, loan sales and purchases and other debt arrangements, including:
- Permanent financings.
- Construction loans.
- Bridge loans.
- Conduit loans.
- Mezzanine loans.
- Shared appreciation loans.
- Portfolios of non-performing loans.
Joint Ventures
A very large proportion of real estate transactions involve joint ventures between capital sources and developers. Therefore, a real estate firm must be in a position to structure and negotiate partnership agreements, limited liability company operating agreements, shareholder agreements and other forms of joint venture arrangements and advise on the tax aspects of the transactions.
Restructuring and Workouts
Not all real estate transactions are successful. Real estate lawyers, therefore, must be in a position to advise lenders, borrowers, partners, landlords, tenants and developers when a transaction goes bad.
This type of real estate law may involve transactional, bankruptcy, tax and litigation work. Restructuring and workouts often include:
- Loan modifications.
- Foreclosures.
- Deeds in lieu of foreclosure.
- Discounted loan payoffs.
- Loan forbearances.
- REO sales.
- Joint venture modifications.
- Buy/sells.
- Forced sales.
- Lease and development modifications.
- Bankruptcies.
- Receivership actions.
- Guarantee actions.
Litigation
Litigation in the real estate area involves the representations of real estate owners, buyers, sellers, lessors, brokers, lenders, and developers in, among other things:
- Contract disputes.
- Mechanics lien and construction disputes.
- Eminent domain proceedings.
- Title disputes.
- Loan service.
- Foreclosure issues.
- Bankruptcy.
David Allswang is a partner in Nixon Peabody’s Real Estate group and head of our national leasing team. He represents client in all areas of commercial real estate. What do you focus on? I focus my practice on the acquisition, leasing and disposition of commercial real estate. Working on behalf of landlord entities, I have completed projects involving several million square feet of retail space. I work with clients in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, England, China and Israel...
Mark concentrates his practice in commercial real estate and related corporate, securities, tax and business planning matters, including investment fund formation and the acquisition of distressed mortgage debt. His practice emphasizes acquisitions and dispositions, commercial development, secured financing, joint ventures and tax deferred transactions. His practice places particular emphasis on complicated commercial acquisitions, dispositions and joint ventures for publicly traded real esta...
As co-chair of the Firm’s Real Estate Group, Suzanne concentrates her practice on commercial real estate and related corporate, securities, and business planning matters. Her practice includes a particular emphasis on publicly traded real estate investment trusts (REITs). She also has significant experience in (a) the formation of joint ventures that combine developers and other real estate professionals with institutional financial partners, (b) acquisition, disposition, and financing ...
Rachel Brown is a partner in the Real Estate Group in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Her practice focuses on finance, venture formation, acquisitions and dispositions, and development. She advises borrowers and lenders in all types of real estate based financing transactions including first mortgage loans, construction loans, mezzanine financings, credit facilities, subscription facilities and other structured financings. Rachel also represents clients on workouts, loan sales...
As co-chair of the Firm's Real Estate Group, Jeremy concentrates his practice on commercial real estate. He represents and advises several publicly traded and non-traded real estate investment trusts and private equity real estate investment companies in connection with acquisitions (both real property and debt), dispositions, debt assumptions, joint ventures, leasing matters, developments, and financing. Jeremy also has significant experience representing institutional lenders with respect t...
John G. Caruso is a partner in the Real Estate Group in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. John represents and counsels clients in a broad range of commercial real estate transactions, including financings/commercial lending, acquisitions, dispositions, synthetic lease and sale-leaseback transactions, commercial leases, rights-of-way and easement agreements and portfolio acquisitions and dispositions. John actively represents clients in structuring joint ventures for the acquisit...
James J. Caserio is Co-Chair of the firm's Chicago Real Estate Practice. He focuses his practice on domestic and cross-border real estate transactions, real estate finance, joint ventures and development. His clients include institutional investors, public and private real estate companies, retailers, developers, REITs, hedge funds, other investment funds and financial institutions.
David Cohen helps clients buy, sell, finance and develop real estate projects. For lenders, inventors, developers and property owners, he advises them on the full range of transactions that can get them closer to their real estate goals. He also counsels government clients on affordable housing and community development. Financings, joint ventures and public-private partnerships are among the varied transactions that David works on frequently. He also advises on land development transactions,...
Alex Cole focuses her real estate practice in the areas of real estate transactions and development, hospitality, international real estate, project finance and construction law. She is routinely involved in large real estate acquisitions (hotel, office and retail) and represents all the various parties in the construction and development process. Some of Alex's past projects include: Park Hyatt Australia, purchase and disposition of The Carlyle in transaction including sale of Rosewood Hotel...
Joel T. Cooper focuses his practice on transactions including acquisitions, dispositions, development and partnership and joint venture formation, with a special emphasis on private equity fund formation and private equity investment. As a partner in Hahn Loeser’s Chicago office, Joel is a part of the Business Practice Area, focusing in corporate and real estate law. Joel represents institutional sponsors of private equity funds, major money center banks, life insurance companies and ot...
Financial institutions across the country rely on David Dlugie to handle their most critical commercial property and commercial loan matters, sometimes with extremely tight timelines. For clients that are financing or selling/buying/leasing real property, or acquiring or disposing of commercial real estate loans, he solves their financing and equity issues using negotiation skills honed through three decades of practice. As the head of Katten's Chicago Real Estate practice, David assembles te...
Douglas M. Ellis has extensive experience in a wide range of real estate transactions, including the development, acquisition, disposition, financing, management and leasing of commercial, industrial and residential properties. He has also represented sellers and purchasers ofdistressed debt and assisted borrowers in loan workouts. His clients include both privately held concerns as well as public entities such as real estate investment trusts (REITs). During his 25 years of practice, Doug ha...
Brett concentrates his practice on commercial real estate transactions. Brett's real estate practice contains significant involvement with publicly traded real estate investment trusts (REITs), investment advisors, and institutional lenders. His practice places particular emphasis on the acquisition, development and disposition of office, industrial, retail, and multi-family assets, sale-leaseback transactions, tax-free exchanges, build-to-suit projects and leasing of commercial projects. He ...
Dennis is a senior partner and a founder of Barack Ferrazzano. He concentrates his practice on commercial real estate and business planning matters. Dennis is the primary North American real estate counsel for Bernard Arnault, LVMH, and all the LVMH brands in the Americas. Dennis was the William H. Trumbull lecturer and adjunct professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law from 1979 to 1999, and in 1985 was awarded the Robert Childres Memorial Award as the outstanding professor ...
Michael T. Fishman is Co-Chair of the firm's Chicago Real Estate Practice who focuses his practice on real estate, real estate finance, private equity and real estate fund formation. His clients include institutional investors, investment advisors, public and private real estate companies, REITs and financial institutions. Michael has worked to form domestic and cross-border real estate funds and joint ventures, and regularly represents lenders on real estate projects throughout the United St...
Having served as a former Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois and Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago, Jack George is a valued leader who possesses a deep knowledge of real estate law. Jack focuses his practice on real estate, land use, and zoning matters. He is instrumental in shaping the Chicago skyline, and has worked on numerous notable development projects consisting of complex elements such as zoning map amendments, planned development applications, an...
Irwin I. Gzesh has well over 30 years of extensive interdisciplinary experience incommercial real estate and corporate transactions, finance and business planning. His corporate experience includes mergers and acquisitions, joint venture formation, investment syndications, partnership dissolutions and secured lending. With respect to real estate transactions, Irwin has represented a broad spectrum of clients involved in all aspects of the development, acquisition, management, financing, worko...
Josh focuses on complex real estate transactions including joint ventures, acquisitions and dispositions as well as financing, development, management and restructuring of real estate assets. He advises private equity sponsors, publicly traded investment firms, REITs, foreign pension funds and other institutional investors and developers in transactions involving various asset classes, including multifamily, industrial, office, hospitality and opportunity zones. Josh has been recognized as a ...
Dean A. Isaacs focuses his practice on a broad spectrum of issues related to U.S. and international real estate, including construction, acquisition and mezzanine loans. He also focuses on intercreditor agreements, joint ventures, land assemblage, acquisition, disposition and development of office, retail, hotel, entertainment, resort, shopping, single and multi-family residential, condominium and condominium-hotels, and workouts, restructurings and foreclosures.
Commercial real estate investors trust Kenneth Jacobson to guide them through high-dollar transactions in all kinds of economic environments. He helps capital providers like real estate investment trusts (REITs), commercial banks, insurance companies and investment funds invest in commercial real estate through a world of different product types and investment structures. Thanks to a rigorous focus on issues that matter, Ken executes deals with maximum efficiency. Ken has a well-honed ability...
Described as "an absolutely first-class lawyer" with "tremendous expertise in fund formation and joint ventures" by industry publications such as The Legal 500 US, Alvin Katz has been helping real estate investors and developers close their most important deals for more than 40 years. Alvin is consistently ranked in the top tier of Chicago real estate lawyers by Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, which quotes clients praising his "exceptional intelligence" and describe him ...
Howard is one of the founders of Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg LLP and currently serves as the firm's co-managing partner. He concentrates his practice on commercial real estate and related corporate, securities and business planning matters. Howard has extensive experience in the formation of joint ventures between institutional partners and developers and in the acquisition, development, leasing and disposition of office buildings, shopping centers and other retail locations,...
Amy concentrates her practice on commercial real estate, real estate development and related matters with an emphasis on leasing and construction. Her practice includes representation of real estate investment trusts, public and private corporations, national religious organizations, national retail tenants, and individuals in connection with the acquisition, disposition, development, construction, and leasing of office, industrial, retail, mixed-use, hotel, multi-family, residential, and chu...
Michael P. Kuppersmith is a partner in Holland & Knight's Chicago office. He concentrates his practice in the area of commercial real estate law, with an emphasis on the leasing, acquisition, development and disposition of office, retail, residential and industrial properties, corporate facilities work, real estate financings, including construction, bridge and permanent financings, securitized financings and multiproperty secured revolving credit facilities, workouts involving distressed...
Douglas J. Lubelchek represents clients involved in complex real estate and finance transactions, including developers, real estate investment trusts, banks, insurance companies, and management and leasing companies in connection with transactions involving multi-family apartment projects, office properties, shopping centers, industrial sites, hotels, military bases and other government facilities. He regularly handles complex joint venture transactions and represents clients in various portf...
Thomas J. McNulty has significant experience in real estate taxation and related litigation. He represents a wide variety of taxpayers on a national level and has argued more than 50 reported appellate and Supreme Court cases. Tom has authored numerous articles regarding assessment ratio cases and the assessment and valuation of utility property. Most recently, he authored the chapter on “Tax Rate Objections” for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Litigation textbook on Real Es...
Dan has over 35 years of experience navigating a broad range of highly complex and sophisticated transactions in the real estate space. He has been ranked in Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business since 2005. In the 2021 edition, sources noted that “his work product is phenomenal” and “he has a great reputation.” In the 2018 edition, clients praised Dan for his “high degree of technical knowledge, accuracy and client service.” Dan has ex...
Chuck Picton is a partner in the Firm’s Real Estate Group. His practice focuses primarily on finance, acquisition, disposition, and leasing matters. His clients include publicly-traded and privately held real estate operating companies and investment firms, opportunity funds, investment managers, REITs, and developers engaged in all aspects of real estate investment, operation, and development. Chuck has represented borrowers in connection with a multitude of real estate-based finance t...
In more than 30 years of practice, Greg Pierce has assisted in the financing, acquisition, disposition, development and sale-leaseback of billions of dollars in real estate properties. He represents lenders, borrowers, sellers, purchasers, developers and other parties in all aspects of real estate transactions, including the formation, management and liquidation of joint ventures, partnerships, limited liability companies, funds and other entities related to such transactions. Recognized as a...
Julie's practice encompasses a broad range of commercial real estate matters, including development, leasing, financings, property sales and acquisitions, and joint ventures. She has substantial experience in real estate development, including build-to-suit transactions and design and construction-related contracts. Julie has significant experience in negotiating and documenting commercial office, industrial, and retail leases. She also has worked extensively in the area of commercial real es...
Edward J. Schneidman is of counsel in the Corporate and Real Estate Groups in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. His experience includes all aspects of corporate and securities laws with a focus on real estate capital markets-related matters. He has extensive experience in public and private mergers and acquisitions, capital formation and public offering activities for REITs and other real estate-oriented companies. He has also advised clients on corporate and partnership liquida...
For more than 30 years, Mark Simon has helped lending institutions, real estate funds and developers on a wide range of real estate financings and investments. He combines deep technical knowledge and industry experience with an understanding of the legal and business needs of real estate funds, banks, insurance companies and private developers. Recognized as a leading lawyer for years by industry publications such as Chambers USA, Legal 500 and Best Lawyers, Mark brings market knowledge and ...
Andrew has extensive experience in commercial real estate advising real estate investors, funds, finance companies, sponsors and operating companies on private equity capital raising, finance (including preferred equity and mezzanine), investment and development of commercial real estate. He also advises on the formation of joint ventures to own, operate, develop and finance global real estate. He regularly represents lenders with participations, modifications, originations and workouts of co...
Andrew White advises real estate investors, funds, sponsors, and operating companies on private equity capital raising, finance, investment, and development of commercial real estate. He also counsels on the formation of joint ventures to own, operate, develop, and finance a full range of property classes, including office, industrial, multifamily, hotel, and retail properties. Additionally, Andrew represents purchasers and landlords in sales, leasebacks, and the financing of single-tenanted,...
Ed Wicks focuses his practice in the areas of real estate transactions and development, secured financings and workouts, leasing transactions and hospitality law. In his years of experience, he has: Represented public and private hospitality companies in the acquisition, management, financing, debt restructuring and disposition of domestic and foreign hotel and resort properties; Represented lenders, special servicers and borrowers in securitized financings, loan enforcement and workouts, and...
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