Andrew Connor concentrates his practice in corporate and transactional law.  His areas of focus include general corporate law, business transactions, lending, general contract work, securities law, and mergers and acquisitions.

For more than 29 years, Andy has been developing solutions to help his clients achieve their business goals, representing business owners of many different types of businesses in their day to day matters.  He has represented manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, services businesses, and retailers.  Examples of the work include employment contracts, leases, bank loans, sales representative agreements, stockholder agreements (including buy and sell arrangements), and sales order terms and conditions.  He also assisted businesses in raising equity, in purchasing other businesses, and in selling themselves.  Clients have generally been in the greater Chicago area, but work has involved projects around the country.

Andy has significant experience in district energy work, a practice area which calls on multiple disciplines in connection with the construction, financing and operation of plants to provide heating, cooling and electricity to a “campus” of users and the sale of such energy services under long-term agreements.  He has been practicing in district energy work for more than seven years.  Major projects include energy plant for the Aladdin Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, the downtown Phoenix, Arizona district cooling system, the energy plant for the Windsor Hotel and Casino in Windsor, Ontario, and the agreement of Constellation Energy Source to build and operate a new district energy plant in downtown Nashville, Tennessee.  A current project involves the acquisition and rehabilitation of a bio-mass burning electric power plant in South California.

Andy also actively represents commercial lenders, which he finds helps him to represent corporate borrowers to their advantage, because he knows where the lender is likely to be flexible on an issue that is important to the borrower, and because he understands what it takes to get a financing closed.

Examples of representations in the last year include:

• A cash purchase of a California business by an entity owned by Chicago and New York investors.
• Negotiation of a master purchase agreement with a key customer of a closely held manufacturer under which the customer will place orders for store fixture for the next 18 months.
• Purchase of a lighting contractor for cash and stock of the acquiring company.
• Development of a management incentive plan for three key employees of a steel fabricating business.
• Documenting a Sales Representation Agreement for a designer of custom textiles.
• Negotiation of an equipment financing lease for a manufacturer.
• Documentation of a line of credit for a seafood importer.
• A pending proposed sale of equity by a professional services firm.
• A pending acquisition of control of a company by an entity which already owns a minority interest.

Andy has also provided assistance to charitable organizations.  He led the legal team which handled the ownership of Hales Franciscan High School to a lay board of alumni and friends from the Franciscan Friars allowing top quality secondary education to young African-American men to continue in Chicago’s south side.  Currently, Mr. Connor is actively involved with Canal Corridor Association, which is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor, a key part of the history of Chicago.  In 2006, he assisted Thresholds, which provides psychiatric rehabilitation services, in acquiring Becker House, a smaller organization with a similar mandate.

Andy has been married to Catherine Scott Connor for 31 years.  They have three adult children, John, Paul and Sarah, and live in Frankfort, in the southwest suburbs of Chicago.

Mr. Connor is AV® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell.*

*CV, BV and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies.

Bar Admissions & Memberships

• Illinois

Education

• J.D. - University of Chicago, 1979
• A.B. - University of Chicago, 1970