CHICAGO September 14, 2004 LAWFUEL – Best attorney news, law firms, legal research – Sixty-five lawyers from the Chicago office of Piper Rudnick LLP have been named Leading Lawyers in Illinois by the Leading Lawyers Network.
The prestigious survey cites only attorneys who have been most often recommended by their peers in the network’s statewide surveys. As the Network states, “The list of Leading Lawyers is the result of thousands of contacts with Illinois lawyers asking them which of their peers they believe comprise the top lawyers. Only those lawyers who are most often recommended qualify as Leading Lawyers.” They are, the Network concludes, the most reputable and experienced in the profession.
The Leading Lawyers survey is relatively new, and, to date, has cited attorneys from a limited number of practice areas. The Network intends to announce additional Leading Lawyers in further categories in the coming months.
About the Leading Lawyers:
James L. Beard is a partner in the firms Real Estate practice group. He practices in commercial real estate law and has represented clients in a wide range of commercial real estate transactions. He also has considerable experience representing developers and institutional lenders in restructuring and workout of troubled real estate projects.
Mark A. Berkoff is a partner and co-chair of the firm’s Bankruptcy and Business Reorganization practice group. He is widely experienced in many aspects of bankruptcy and creditors’ rights. Also known as a speaker and author, Mr. Berkoff is listed in Whos Who in America and Whos Who in American Law.
Daniel S. Brennan is a partner in the firm’s Construction Litigation practice group. He advises owners, designers, and contractors on risk management in the construction process; prosecutes and defends construction claims; drafts construction and design contracts; and advises on design and construction of accessible facilities under federal law.
Michael G. Brennan is a partner in the firm’s Franchise and Distribution practice group. He concentrates his practice on domestic and international business, licensing, and franchising matters. He also speaks and writes regularly on topics of domestic and international business law.
Peter C. B. Bynoe is a partner in the firms Land Use and Development practice group. He has negotiated new stadium and arena deals for major-league sports teams across the country. He was involved in the Olympic Stadium project in Atlanta, Georgia, at many stages, from defining its conceptual framework to negotiating the agreement that induced a baseball team to occupy the renovated facility. Mr. Bynoe also manages a multidisciplinary practice representing significant corporate clients.
Fredric A. Cohen is a partner in the firm’s Franchise and Distribution practice group. He focuses his practice in complex commercial litigation. He practices in federal and state courts and alternative dispute resolution forums throughout the United States representing clients in commercial disputes. Mr. Cohen is listed in An International Who’s Who of Franchise Lawyer.
Louis S. Cohen is a partner and the chair of the firms Chicago Real Estate department. He practices on a national scale in real estate commercial acquisitions and dispositions, development, venture structuring and formation, leasing, lending, restructuring, and workouts, and in sports facilities development. He is also a licensed real estate broker in Illinois.
Merle Teitelbaum Cowin is a partner in the firm’s Real Estate practice group. She focuses on a broad range of real estate transactions. She has significant experience representing lenders and borrowers in financing transactions and representing owners, developers, and investors in the acquisition, disposition, leasing, and operation of commercial properties.
John T. Cusack is a partner and the chair of the firm’s Finance, Financial Services and Bankruptcy practice group. He concentrates in the area of corporate law and finance law and also has an active practice in debt restructurings and reorganizations. He represents public and privately held clients as their outside general counsel or as special counsel, as well as sponsors and private equity investors in entity formation, leveraged financings, and portfolio investments.
Charles L. Edwards is Senior Counsel in the firm’s Real Estate practice group. He concentrates his practice exclusively in the area of complex commercial real estate transactions, including purchase and sale; mortgage financing; leasing; joint ventures and partnerships; condominium development and conversion; and cooperative housing transactions. He is cited in Whos Who Legal and has been named one of America’s leading business lawyers by the respected legal publisher Chambers USA.
Steven E. Ehrlich is a partner in the firm’s Real Estate practice group. He has assisted in the real estate aspects and pre-IPO structuring of several of the nation’s largest real estate investment trusts. In addition, he has experience in secondary stock offerings and has worked on numerous corporate asset purchase transactions.
Michael H. Elam is a partner in the firm’s Government Affairs practice group. His practice encompasses all aspects of environmental, natural resource, and energy law, on every level from local to international. Mr. Elam has a technical background, and previously supervised U.S. EPA attorneys and handled federal enforcement actions for 10 years. He is particularly well known for his work on complex projects requiring multi-party agreements, public private partnerships, litigation, and the reuse of contaminated brownfield property.
Mark I. Feldman is chair of the firms Intellectual Property practice group. He focuses his practice on trademarks, patents, copyrights, trade secrets, and Internet and technology law. He also is cited in An International Who’s Who of Trademark Lawyers and Euromoney’s Guide to the World’s Leading Trade Mark Law Practitioners.
Harold W. Francke is a partner in the firms Land Use and Development practice group. He focuses his practice in annexation, zoning, public sector financing, tax increment financing, utility construction, real estate development, and general real estate matters, and in litigation challenging local impact fee ordinances. He has participated in the drafting of several pieces of state legislation, including amendments to the Illinois Township Open Space Act and the Illinois Road Improvement Impact Fee Law.
Elizabeth H. Friedgut is a partner in the Real Estate practice group. She concentrates her practice in the representation of lenders, investors, developers, contractors, and property managers in the financing, acquisition, leasing, and management of multiple unit residential, commercial, and retail real estate projects around the country. She also has extensive experience in federal and state government real estate finance programs for multi-family rental housing.
Mark C. Furse is a partner in the firms Environmental practice group. He focuses his practice on regulatory compliance, enforcement proceedings, soil and groundwater remediation, complex transactions, contract disputes, and cost recovery litigation.
Dennis J. Gallitano is a partner and co-chair of the firm’s Information Technology practice group. He focuses his practice in information technology and corporate law in the communications, university and higher education, health care, banking and general corporate areas.
J. Kevin Garvey is a partner in the firms Real Estate practice group. He concentrates his practice in the area of real estate transactions, including leasing, sales, and acquisitions, with an emphasis on shopping center transactions.
Deborah L. Gersh is a partner and co-chair of the firms Health Care practice group and co-chair of the firm’s Chicago Corporate and Securities Department. She practices in the areas of health care, private equity, corporate mergers and acquisitions, and privacy matters. She also has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions of publicly and privately held companies.
Thomas F. Geselbracht is a partner in the firms Litigation practice group. Over the last two decades, he has tried and handled most kinds of land use litigation, including zoning, eminent domain, environmental, title insurance, and landlord-tenant, in dozens of trials.
Allen J. Ginsburg is the managing partner of the firm’s Chicago office and co-chair of the firm’s Chicago Corporate and Securities practice group. He concentrates his practice in the franchise, corporate and mergers and acquisitions, and lodging and timeshare areas. Mr. Ginsburg has written and spoken on the subjects of franchising, corporate succession planning, and mergers and acquisitions in many forums.
David Glickstein is a partner in the firm’s Real Estate practice group. He has extensive experience in a broad range of real estate transactions, representing owners and developers on local, national, and international projects and representing lenders and borrowers on complex financing transactions and workouts. Mr. Glickstein is cited as one of America’s leading real estate lawyers in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.
Edward S. Goldman is a partner in the firm’s Real Estate practice group. He focuses his practice in commercial leasing, sales and acquisitions, permanent and construction financing, and construction law. Mr. Goldman’s experience includes the representation of shopping center developers, owners and developers of office buildings, office and retail tenants, and other users of real property, both locally and on a national level.
Robert H. Goldman is a partner in the firm’s Real Estate practice group. His practice encompasses all aspects of commercial real estate development and finance. In a large part of his practice, Mr. Goldman provides legal services in the development, financing, and syndication of housing projects throughout the country and abroad. He has been named in An International Who’s Who of Real Estate Lawyers as one of the top real estate practitioners in the world.
Ross Green is a partner in the firm’s Real Estate practice group. He focuses his practice in the area of institutional real estate transactions and financings and represents pension funds, REITs, lenders, joint venture partners, and other institutional clients in connection with all phases of the development, financing, acquisition, and disposition of commercial real estate
Errol R. Halperin is a partner and co-chair of the firms Business and Technology practice group. He advises major clients in general business and the manufacturing industry as well as in the real estate industry and in the real estate investment trust industry. His practice is concentrated in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate law, international transactions, and federal income tax law.
Stuart Hershman is a partner in the firm’s Franchise and Distribution practice group. He focuses his practice in the franchising, general distribution, and antitrust areas. He has structured, documented, and helped implement hundreds of franchise programs, distribution relationships, and intellectual property licensing arrangements. Mr. Hershman is listed in An International Who’s Who of Franchise Lawyers
Paul Homer is a partner in the firm’s Real Estate practice group. He is a general practitioner with emphasis on business litigation, securities, and corporate law. He has lectured and written on securities law aspects of real estate financing. Mr. Homer is also known for his decades of pro bono work, in particular his long commitment to the Uptown People’s Law Center. On his 80th birthday in 2003, the City of Chicago honored him by declaring November 7 to be Paul Homer Day.
Richard S. Homer is Senior Counsel to the firms Real Estate practice group. He concentrates his practice in the area of corporate and real estate.
Leroy G. Inskeep is a partner in the firm’s Bankruptcy and Business Reorganization practice group. He has served a wide range of clients, including financial institutions, insurance companies, franchisors, landlords, and real estate developers. Mr. Inskeep has authored numerous articles and lectures extensively on a wide variety of bankruptcy topics before professional, industry, and trade groups.
Howard E. Kane is a partner in the firm’s Real Estate practice group. He concentrates his practice in retail, commercial, mixed-use, office, and industrial real estate. He has had the major responsibility for the legal work in the development of numerous mixed-use downtown urban developments, regional shopping centers, and industrial parks.
Sandra Y. Kellman is a partner in the firm’s Real Estate practice group and co-chair of the firm’s Lodging and Timeshare practice group. Ms. Kellman’s practice encompasses all aspects of complex commercial real estate development and finance, representing both borrowers and lenders in complex multi-party, multi-property transactions. She writes and speaks frequently on real estate development topics.
Ian S. Kopelman is a partner and chair of the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice group. He focuses on matters involving retirement and other fringe benefit programs for clients ranging from major publicly held corporations and public benefit plans to sole proprietorships and partnerships. A nationally recognized figure in his field, he is a frequent speaker and has written extensively on the subject of employee benefits. Mr. Kopelman is listed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in American Law.
Ty D. Laurie is a partner in the firm’s Construction Litigation practice group. He is a Fellow of the American College of Construction Lawyers and has served on the Governing Committee of the American Bar Association Forum Committee on the Construction Industry. Mr. Laurie has been cited in Best Lawyers in America and named one of the country’s leading litigation attorneys by Chambers USA.
Norman M. Leon is a partner in the firm’s Franchise Litigation practice group. He represents franchisors in federal and state courts and alternative dispute resolution forums throughout the United States. He also has extensive experience dealing with franchisee terminations and the enforcement of post-termination covenants.
Peter A. Levy is a partner in the firm’s Real Estate practice group and co-chair of the firm’s Lodging and Timeshare practice group. Mr. Levy’s practice encompasses a broad array of real estate transactions, from office building and shopping center leasing to raw land acquisition for residential and corporate office building development. He has represented clients in all aspects of the timeshare industry for more than 20 years.
John R. Mannix, Jr., is a partner in the firm’s Corporate and Securities practice group. He concentrates his practice in the areas of corporate finance and corporate law. His corporate finance practice involves the representation of banks, commercial finance companies, and other institutional lenders. In his corporate law practice, Mr. Mannix represents clients engaged in venture capital and acquisitions and divestitures.
Sally J. McDonald is a partner in the firm’s Labor and Employment practice group and represents management in all areas of labor and employment law. She is also known as a speaker on the topic of employment discrimination.
Keith W. Medansky is a partner in the firm’s Intellectual Property practice group. He focuses on a full range of transactional and litigation matters pertaining to trademarks, copyrights, software, anti-counterfeiting, and technology. Mr. Medansky has handled trademark matters in the United States and over 100 other countries.
Lee I. Miller is co-chair of Piper Rudnick LLP and a partner in the Real Estate practice group. For nearly 30 years, Mr. Miller has concentrated his practice in the area of commercial real estate law, representing clients in a wide range of commercial real estate transactions. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America and, for the past several years, has been recognized by Crain’s Chicago Business in its annual listing of Whos Who in Chicago Business.
Nicholas R. Minear is a partner in the firm’s Tax practice group. He focuses his practice in the areas of income taxation and corporate law. He is experienced in a broad range of business-related federal income tax matters and is also experienced in structuring partnerships and LLCs.
David N. Missner is a partner in the firm’s Bankruptcy and Business Reorganization practice group. He focuses in the areas of bankruptcy reorganization, commercial transactions, and banking law. He is a frequent lecturer on these topics for the Chicago Bar Association, Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, and other professional and trade organizations. Mr. Missner has been cited by Chambers USA as one of America’s leading business lawyers.
Portia Owen Morrison is a partner in the firms Real Estate practice group. She concentrates her practice in all aspects of commercial real estate development and finance, representing developers, and lenders in multi-family, office, retail, hotel and industrial development and redevelopment projects. She has been named one of America’s leading real estate lawyers by Chambers USA and is listed in An International Who’s Who of Real Estate Lawyers and Euromoney’s Guide to the World’s Leading Real Estate Lawyers.
Theodore J. Novak is a partner in the firm’s Real Estate practice group and chair of the firm’s Land Use and Development practice. Mr. Novak is one of the country’s most highly regarded land use attorneys. Both the Global Counsel Corporate Real Estate Handbook and Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business rank him among America’s leading lawyers. He is the only member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers in the Midwest who concentrates on land use, zoning, and condemnation matters.
Jeffrey N. Owen is a partner in the firm’s Real Estate practice group and has more than 20 years of experience as a commercial real estate attorney. His practice is national and international in scope. Mr. Owen’s clients include Fortune 50 companies, retailers, entertainment companies, developers, and global manufacturing and food service industry companies.
Harold Pomerantz is a partner in the firms Real Estate practice group and founder of the firm’s Commercial Leasing practice group. For over 20 years he has concentrated his practice in complex commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions and dispositions of real estate assets; commercial financing; syndications; partnership and joint ventures; and commercial leasing transactions. Mr. Pomerantz is also recognized in An International Whos Who of Real Estate Lawyers.
Timothy Ramsey is a partner in the firm’s Environmental practice group. He has a broad-based environmental practice involving regulatory compliance, permitting, transaction-based environmental risk allocation and negotiation, environmental insurance, and cost recovery litigation. He has a particular focus on brownfields cleanup and redevelopment utilizing federal and state brownfields programs and works extensively in the closure, transfer, and redevelopment of military bases under the Base Realignment and Closure Act.
David L. Reifman is a partner in the firms Land Use and Development practice group. He concentrates his practice primarily in the areas of land use and zoning, real estate transactions, tax increment financing and other public/private financing transactions, and transactions involving community and economic development. He has extensive experience securing required annexation, development, zoning, and subdivision approvals for complex developments.
Lester Rosen is Of Counsel to the firms Real Estate practice group. He has more than 40 years of experience in all aspects of real estate financing, including joint ventures, equity participations, mortgage lending, and workouts of troubled transactions. He counsels numerous mortgage bankers and institutional lenders, including major insurance and credit companies.
Peter B. Ross is a partner in the firm’s Real Estate practice group. He has a practice that encompasses all aspects of commercial real estate development and finance and entails a full range of property classes. His experience includes representing investors, developers, corporate users, and lenders in acquisitions and dispositions, construction, leasing, venture formations, permanent and construction financings, mezzanine financings, and structured debt placements.
Lewis G. Rudnick is a partner in the firms Franchise and Distribution practice group. He has practiced in the fields of domestic and international franchising and distribution law since 1964. He is also known as a prolific writer, editor, and speaker on a broad array of franchising law subjects. Mr. Rudnick is listed in An International Who’s Who of Franchise Lawyers and in The Best Lawyers in America. In 2004, the International Franchise Association honored Mr. Rudnick with its William Rosenburg Leadership Award, citing his vast contributions to the organization over the years.
James P. Ryther is a partner in the firm’s Intellectual Property practice group. He has extensive trial experience in both jury and nonjury cases, including trials related to electrical, chemical, and mechanical subject matter.
Andrew P. Scott is a senior associate in the firms Land Use and Zoning practice group. He represents developers, property owners, and businesses in issues of land use and zoning, economic development incentives, government relations, and ethics compliance. Before joining Piper Rudnick, Mr. Scott was assistant counsel to the Honorable Michael J. Madigan, speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives.
Joseph W. Sheyka is a partner in the firms Franchise and Distribution practice group. He has practiced in the field of franchising and distribution law for over twenty years. He is co-author of “General Franchising Considerations,” a chapter in the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education’s Organizing and Advising Illinois Businesses. Mr. Sheyka is a frequent lecturer on franchising and distribution topics.
Donald A. Shindler is a partner in the firms Real Estate practice group. He concentrates his practice in transactional and corporate real estate. Mr. Shindler has represented numerous institutional and corporate entities and entrepreneurial developers in their real estate transactions. He writes and speaks extensively on real estate topics.
David B. Sickle is a partner in the firm’s Real Estate practice group. He concentrates his practice in transactional real estate and finance. He has experience in shopping center financing, acquisition, development, leasing, and dispositions. His retail leasing practice focuses on motion picture theaters, with both major movie theater circuits and nationally recognized shopping center developers as his clients.
Perry J. Snyderman is a partner in the firms Real Estate practice group. He concentrates his practice in real estate law and financial matters. He has lectured extensively to bar associations and business organizations on issues relating to real estate.
Morton M. Steinberg is a partner in the firms Real Estate practice group. He is experienced in a broad range of real estate transactions on a national basis, including sales, acquisitions, construction financing, office and hotel developments, shopping centers, commercial leasing, and multi-asset portfolio acquisitions.
Sandra J. Wall is Of Counsel to the firm’s Franchise and Distribution practice group. She focuses in the areas of franchising and general corporate law, counseling franchise clients on a variety of franchise disclosure and relationship and general corporate matters. Ms. Wall also writes and speaks on franchise law subjects.
Richard Wendy is a partner in the firm’s Real Estate practice group. He focuses his practice on land use, zoning, historic preservation, and real estate development. Mr. Wendy, who trained as both an attorney and architect, has extensive experience in the leadership and management of complex, public-private development projects requiring the forging of consensus among conflicting interests in a high-intensity environment.
Dennis E. Wieczorek is a partner and the co-chair of the firm’s Franchise and Distribution practice group. For more than 27 years he has concentrated his practice in U.S. and international franchising, licensing, antitrust, and distribution law matters. He was recently chosen as the next chair of the ABA Forum on Franchising. Mr. Wieczorek is cited as a leading franchise lawyer in An International Who’s Who of Franchise Lawyers, which also ranked Piper Rudnick as the leading firm in the world for franchise law.
Julius Y. Yacker is Contract Of Counsel for the firms Real Estate practice group. He devotes his practice to the creation of programs for specialized housing and community development. A large part of his practice has involved the development of housing and financing programs that serve the needs of special groups, such as tenant groups, older persons, low-income and public housing people and families, and constituents of various organizations.
Theodore I. Yi is a partner and chair of the firm’s Commercial Leasing practice group. Mr. Yi’s extensive real estate experience includes representing owners and developers, construction and permanent lenders, and various users of real property on transactions involving all types of commercial properties, such as retail shopping centers, office buildings, and industrial facilities.
Mark D. Yura is a partner in the firm’s Real Estate practice group. He concentrates his practice in real estate transactional matters. His clients include lenders, investors, developers, and contractors. Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business cites him as one of the country’s leading practitioners of real estate.
William A. Zolla is a partner in the firm’s Real Estate practice group. He concentrates his practice in the area of general commercial real estate. He represents real estate developers and major institutional lenders and pension funds in the acquisition, development, joint venture formation, and financing of properties in the Chicago metropolitan area and throughout the country.
About Piper Rudnick LLP
Piper Rudnick is a business law firm of about 975 lawyers with U.S. offices in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Edison, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Reston, San Francisco, Tampa, and Washington, D.C., and a European office in Paris.
In 2004, Chambers USA named 40 of the firm’s lawyers (up from 28 in 2003) among America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, including two who received the rare “Exceptional” rating and one “Senior Statesman,” particularly in the areas of real estate, corporate, litigation, and labor and employment.
The firm’s practice is focused on:
Litigation, including national business and securities, product liability and toxic torts, intellectual property, antitrust, labor and class action litigation, and a white-collar group featuring a former Watergate prosecutor. This group includes eight members of the American College of Trial Lawyers (one of whom also served as president), two former United States Attorneys and a former federal judge.
Real Estate, comprising one of the largest and most diverse practices in the United States, with a focus on transactional, finance and securities capabilities for owners and investors in all property sectors. In 2004, Chambers and Partners, the Practical Law Company, and Who’s Who Legal in separate independent surveys of clients and competitors all ranked the Real Estate group as the undisputed leading real estate practice in the nation. The group includes the President-elect and a former President of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, as well as 16 other members of the College.
Business and Technology, including corporate and securities, corporate governance, franchise and distribution, intellectual property, media, information technology, taxation, bankruptcy, biosciences, IPOs, private equity, mergers and acquisitions, project finance, and other major transactions for companies of all sizes.
Government Affairs, including the nationally known federal affairs and legislation group formerly with Verner Liipfert Bernhard McPherson and Hand; a government controversies practice headed by the former general counsel of a leading telecommunications company; and prominent regulatory practices in government contracts, environmental, e-commerce and privacy, tax legislation, antitrust and communications. This group includes former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell and former House Majority Leader Dick Armey.
The firm also has significant international capabilities in trade regulation, dispute resolution, and cross-border transactions, complemented by our strategic alliance with The Cohen Group, an international strategic business advisory firm headed by former U.S. Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander General Joseph Ralston, and former U.K. Defense Minister and NATO Secretary General Lord George Robertson.
