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Commercial Leasing & Property ManagementSchwartz Cooper maintains a large, full-service real estate practice with decades of experience in commercial real estate leasing, development, acquisitions and dispositions, finance and construction. With one-quarter of our 80 practicing attorneys focusing entirely on real estate, we have one of the largest real estate practice groups in Chicago. The attorneys in our Leasing Practice Group devote the majority of their time to commercial leasing matters in office, retail and industrial transactions. We bring value to our clients beyond legal knowledge; our attorneys have extensive experience in the business of real estate. Members of our team have had careers in real estate as brokers and developers, and have served as general counsel for large retailers and commercial real estate brokerages. We leverage our familiarity with the leasing market to assist our clients in achieving their business goals. Schwartz Cooper’s commercial leasing team provides legal representation of institutional and entrepreneurial owners, including REITS, multi-national pension funds, insurance companies, developers and mortgagees. We work with leasing agents and managers of over 120 commercial properties throughout Chicago and the Midwest, aggregating over 14 million square feet of office space, 7 million square feet of retail space, and 7 million square feet of industrial space. We also have represented landlords and tenants in numerous “big box” lease transactions. Our mission is to resolve issues efficiently while keeping our clients’ business objectives in mind—we are known as “deal makers,” not “deal breakers.” We focus on clarity and brevity in all of our documentation, as well as a fast response time on all drafting assignments—usually less than 48 hours on drafts for most leasing-related documentation. We economically handle standard leases and lease amendments as well as sophisticated and complex lease transactions, including those that involve significant negotiation of issues such as lender subordination, equity participation and joint ventures. We have particular expertise in the legal ramifications of construction issues in lease transactions. Besides representing landlords in negotiating leases, we also represent them in managing properties. For example, we assist landlords in negotiating brokerage agreements, vendor contracts and telecommunications licenses. We represent landlords in enforcing leases against tenants, including bringing eviction actions and appearing in bankruptcy proceedings. We also represent commercial tenants throughout the country in office, retail and industrial/warehouse leases. Our attorneys speak and write regularly on cutting-edge topics and issues that affect both property owners and tenants. We are frequent contributors to, and on the Board of Editors of, the Commercial Lease Law Insider and the Commercial Tenant’s Lease Insider. Several of our attorneys teach for the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA/Chicago and BOMA/Suburban Chicago). Our civic involvement includes positions on the Housing Opportunity Development Board, the Plan Commission for the Village of Willowbrook, the Plan Commission of Western Springs, and the City of Evanston Preservation Commission. Representative Matters
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