Nixon Peabody is growing its Chicago office with the addition of commercial real estate attorneys James Mayer and Michael Kuppersmith, who join the firm’s real estate practice team as partners. The pair join from Holland & Knight LLP in Chicago.
“Jim and Mike are well-regarded in the industry not only for the caliber of their commercial real estate work, but also for their creative approach to business and legal issues,” said David R. Brown, Nixon Peabody’s Chicago office managing partner.
“We’re excited to welcome Jim and Mike to our office. They are exceptional practitioners and they will expand our commercial real estate footprint locally and nationally,” added David Allswang, a real estate partner in the Chicago office, and head of the firm’s national leasing team.
James Mayer
Jim focuses his practice on commercial real estate law, including all aspects of real estate acquisition, development, leasing, operation, management, and disposition. His clients include real estate pension funds, investment advisory groups, real estate investment trusts, national and international franchisors, financial institutions, commercial and residential developers, and office, retail, and industrial landlords and tenants. His work also involves acquisitions of hotels, development of sports facilities, and real estate finance.
“Real estate is on the verge of significant expansion in 2021,” said Jim. “Beyond the typical office, industrial, and retail asset classes, I foresee opportunities expanding to include health care-related properties, such as medical office buildings and in-patient facilities, with the potential for creating joint ventures.”
Jim was one of the principal attorneys who represented Miami-Dade County in connection with the drafting and negotiating of the development, management, and operating agreements for the American Airlines Arena. He also represented McDonald’s Corporation as lead counsel in negotiating its lease and relocating its world headquarters from Oak Brook to downtown Chicago.
Jim earned a J.D. and an MBA from Emory University’s School of Law and Goizueta Business School. He also earned a B.A., with high honors, from Emory.
Michael Kuppersmith
Mike focuses his practice on commercial real estate law, with an emphasis on the leasing, acquisition, development, financing, and disposition of office, retail, multifamily residential, student housing, hotel, and industrial properties. He also concentrates on corporate facilities work, workouts involving distressed real estate assets, and the development and redevelopment of commercial properties. Mike represents an array of clients, including private real estate funds; pension funds; commercial and multifamily residential developers; office, retail, and industrial landlords and tenants; financial institutions; and institutional investors on these types of transactions, as well as multinational corporations on their facilities’ needs. He also has extensive experience working on commercial real estate transactions in California.
“I see significant changes in the utilization of commercial real estate,” said Mike. “As a result, there will be a potential surplus of space, an increase in sublease transactional work, and redevelopment opportunities for both office and retail assets.”
Mike was one of the principal attorneys who represented Catellus Development Corporation on a series of bond transfers between Catellus, the City of San Francisco, and the State of California, which established the development grid for the 300-acre Mission Bay development in San Francisco. Mike was also the lead attorney, representing a multinational, publicly held corporation on its lease of 330,000 square feet of office space in Manhattan for its U.S. headquarters.
Mike attended the University of Texas School of Law, receiving high honors, and earned a B.A. from the University of Georgia, magna cum laude.
