CHICAGO – July 25, 2022 – Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP continues to expand its Real Estate Practice in its Chicago office, adding Jeffrey S. Rheeling as shareholder and Jennifer Desser as of counsel.
The Chicago real estate team now stands at 43 attorneys with these newest additions. Over the past year, the team has grown by 34% with 11 real estate attorneys joining the firm in Chicago to continue to meet client demand and add key skillsets to the practice.
“Real estate has been an important focus for the Chicago office since its inception more than 20 years ago, and the addition of Jeff and Jennifer reflect our continued commitment to providing our clients with quality legal services at a depth and breadth unmatched by our competitors,” Chicago Co-Managing Shareholders John F. Gibbons and Rita M. Powers said. “The continued growth of our real estate team demonstrates our ability to attract highly skilled legal talent and is a testament to our strong reputation in the market.”
The Chicago team represents clients across the country in a diverse range of real estate matters, from the structuring and negotiation of acquisitions, sales, and joint venture transactions, to the development, financing, and leasing of property, as well as overseeing litigation. Clients include global institutional asset owners and managers, developers, private equity firms, real estate investment trusts (REIT)s, entrepreneurial investors, and real estate funds.
“Jeff and Jennifer further strengthen our real estate capabilities both in Chicago and nationally. They bring experience that lends itself seamlessly to the needs and goals of our clients, which allows us to efficiently handle real estate matters from inception to conclusion,” said Global Real Estate Practice Co-Chair Michael J. Baum, a Chicago shareholder who leads the practice along with Richard J. Giusto in Miami, Stephen L. Rabinowitz in New York, and Dr. Christian Schede in Germany. “We continue to look for strategic opportunities to grow our real estate practice in key markets across the United States and worldwide, as real estate remains a cornerstone of the firm’s success.”
Rheeling, who joins Greenberg Traurig from Kirkland & Ellis, represents REITs, real estate funds, developers, private equity firms, institutional investors, and hedge fund sponsors in complex real estate transactions. He focuses his practice on real estate development, financing, joint ventures, and sales and dispositions of office, retail, mixed-use, industrial, hospitality, and multifamily properties.
“Greenberg Traurig has an extremely talented group of real estate lawyers. It is an exciting time in the real estate industry, and I look forward to collaborating with my new colleagues to help grow the firm’s real estate platform even further,” Rheeling said.
Desser, who arrives from Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff, represents clients on the acquisition, disposition, development, leasing, and financing of multifamily, office, retail, industrial, research/development/manufacturing, logistics, and mixed-use developments and facilities nationwide. Her clients include developers, owners, operators, institutional investors, real estate opportunity funds, pharmaceutical companies, and senior housing and rehabilitation facility conglomerates.
“I chose Greenberg Traurig because of its collaborative culture and global network of attorneys who can assist in providing counsel to clients wherever their businesses may take them,” Desser said. “There is a lot of opportunity to work closely with clients on interesting and complex projects that reflect the firm’s strong reputation in the real estate space.”