Helping Change the Face of Chicago
Sometime back in the early 80’s, a prospective client showed up in my office with an idea for a small condominium project. The project involved converting an old boiler factory on Webster Avenue in Lincoln Park into condominiums. The prospective client explained he had been a construction partner with several developers with whom I was familiar. His business plan was to convert under-used or dormant industrial properties, lying in or on the fringe of redeveloping urban residential areas, into something called “Loft Condos.”
Today, The Enterprise Companies and the Shipka family have become the largest residential developer in the City of Chicago. The Enterprise Companies have evolved from signature loft conversion projects, such as Landmark Village and Regal Lofts, to erecting entirely new large sections of Chicago spearheaded by projects such as Museum Park, Montgomery Wards, and University Commons.
Brown, Udell, Pomerantz & Delrahim, Ltd. has been partnered with the Shipka family and The Enterprise Companies for over 25 years conducting major legal matters such as land acquisition, construction financing, development documentation and closings – with an occasional litigation matter now and then – helping the Shipka family change the face of Chicago.
Our Philosophy
Brown, Udell, Pomerantz & Delrahim, Ltd. has tripled in size over the past ten years for one simple reason - we understand the needs of our clients. As lawyers, businessmen, and real estate investors ourselves, we are able to counsel our clients from a unique and practical perspective. Too many attorneys out there have had no actual business experience, or are specialists in only one particular area of the law, preventing them from fully understanding the business needs of their clients. To the contrary, all of our partners (and many of our associates) have had extensive legal and business experience, many having practiced in both the transactional and litigation areas.
Thus, when we draft contracts, corporate governance agreements, and other legal documents for our clients, we do so with a keen eye towards limiting our clients’ exposure and preventing future misunderstandings and/or litigation. Similarly, while we will aggressively act to protect and defend our clients’ interests through litigation, we have been consistently successful in minimizing our legal fees, while maximizing strategic opportunities for a reasonable pre-trial resolution. In the litigation context, we have also been extremely effective in causing even reluctant insurance companies to defend and indemnify our clients, with limited out-of-pocket expenses to our clients.
Our philosophy of serving our clients’ long-term interests, and advocating the use of our attorneys only when necessary, and only to achieve, protect or defend legitimate business objectives, has served us all well. Our law firm has more than tripled over the past ten years, while our loyal long-term clients have grown and prospered exponentially.
Unique Skills Due to Unique Experience
Merging business with the practice of law can have its complexities; it can also have benefits. Prior to opening the Law Offices of Michael Brown, Ltd. in 1977, a small real estate development firm known as Wrightwood Developments was formed in 1971. Allowing the crossing of the experiences of a real estate law firm and a real estate development company proved to be extremely beneficial and served as one of the cornerstones of the real estate practice at Brown, Udell, Pomerantz & Delrahim, Ltd.
The only true way to provide adequate counsel to a client engaged in a new development is to have done one yourself. Wrightwood Developments has grown over the past 35 years to cover residential and loft development, office and retail projects and property management. The Law Offices of Michael Brown, succeeded by Brown, Udell, Pomerantz & Delrahim, Ltd., has grown to become one of the premier boutique law firms in Chicago extending services to the real estate industry.
These unique skills have guided clients through the small renovation of 2 a flat to the large scale creation of new neighborhoods such as Diversey/Paulina, Wrightwood/Clybourn, Chicago/Larrabee and Museum Park. The practical experiences of growing these two companies side by side have benefited each entity and provided special meaning to the term “Attorneys and Counsellors.”
Legal Counsellors with a Business Sense
It’s better to avoid a problem initially rather than solving it later. A good real estate attorney anticipates both legal and business problems that can affect a transaction.
I was once faced with an instance where a client, a large national retailer, presented me with a contract to review for a potential new store site. The property was located in an area where I just had gone through a very arduous approval process for a similar type store.
The surrounding neighborhood had actually just recently formed a neighborhood group with the sole purpose of opposing development plans very similar to the one being contemplated.
Upon advising my client of the recent activity it became apparent they would face a significant and costly battle in gaining approval for a project in which they had not anticipated being a problem. In the end they still purchased the property; however, they were able to lease the property to a third party who offered more friendly use to the neighborhood. The client was grateful to the firm because, based upon our advice, they were able to avoid a serious problem and still profit from the acquisition.
The lesson learned is to retain a lawyer with extensive, sensible business and real estate experience, which will help your company remain profitable and avoid both legal and business problems in the future.
Individual Attention Is Most Important
Our client, a small business man, was recently on the receiving end of a lawsuit filed by one of the largest law firms, not only in the city, but in the country.
He was naturally concerned with the prospect of litigating with a “deep pocket” opponent and defending against the typical large firm tactics such as contesting everything, even the routine and attempting to bury him in paper. However, his trust in us was rewarded when the case concluded with an order dismissing all claims against him. Additionally, a check was written to him personally from the opposing firm as a result of a defense tailored to his specific needs pursuant to sanctions addressed to the opposing firm’s tactics.
The moral of the story is: bigger doesn't mean better. We approach all litigation by first understanding the needs of the client and his business and tailor our litigation strategy to fit that need. In this way our representation is truly in partnership with the client.