Chad J. Richman is a Partner in the Real Estate Practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP. Mr. Richman was a Partner at Freeborn & Peters, which combined with SGR in 2023.
Mr. Richman, a Partner in the Real Estate Practice, is a deal-driven legal strategist and problem solver for prominent real estate developers, owners (including REIT’s and funds), tenants, and lenders (institutional and specialty) in the Chicago area and across the nation. His practice routinely involves acquisitions and dispositions, leasing, venture structuring, construction, and complex financing across a wide range of real estate asset classes, including multi-family apartments, office buildings, senior housing, hotels, shopping centers, and mixed-use projects. Mr. Richman has experience in federal Opportunity Zone fund formation and investment.
Having participated in his family’s real estate development projects from a young age, Mr. Richman is mindful of the challenges and time constraints facing real estate businesses and has a deep understanding of the market and best practices for ground-up and value-add development and investment, as well as office and retail leasing. He prides himself on his ability to effectively and efficiently close transactions on fair and favorable terms for his clients by pushing negotiations along the critical path from “term sheet to exit.” He is recognized for being detail-oriented, dynamic, passionate, and creative in his approach.
Outside of the real estate sector, entrepreneurs across industries, ranging from conventional products and services to cutting-edge technology, rely on Mr. Richman as their trusted business advisor to provide forward-thinking guidance and down-side legal protection on a spectrum of day-to-day operating and financing issues, particularly with respect to early-stage equity raises and commercial debt facilities. He has guided the accelerated growth of a technology- based startup from seed capital to “unicorn” status and beyond.
Mr. Richman holds a B.A. from Miami University. He graduated first in his law school class at John Marshall Law School, summa cum laude, and practiced law at one of the largest law firms in the world. He has advised on real estate transactions scaling over $20,000,000,000 in size. Prior to practicing law, Mr. Richman acted as a principal overseeing the re-development of a mixed-use high rise in the “Central Business District” of Chicago and served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Ronald A. Guzman in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
American Bar Association
Illinois State Bar Association
Moderator, “Chicago Opportunity Zones and 2019 Forecast,” Bisnow Chicago (January 24, 2019).
Moderator, “Beyond The Bones: Future-Proofing And Creating Value In Repositionings,” Bisnow Chicago (July 25, 2018).
Author, “Opportunity Zones: A New Program Incentivizing Private Real Estate Investment in Designated Areas,” Freeborn & Peters LLP (May 24, 2018).
Moderator, “Development, Construction, Management, & Financing Trends,” Retail & Mixed-Use Summit Presented by REJournals (September 7, 2017).
Author, “Client Alert: Negotiating Variable Rate Mortgage Loans as LIBOR Phases Out,” Freeborn & Peters LLP (August 24, 2017).
Author, “Client Alert: Pending Legislation May Impact Conversion of Chicago’s Condominiums to Apartments,” Freeborn & Peters LLP (July 20, 2017).
Author, “Client Alert: Vertically Separating Ownership to Create Value in Chicago,” Freeborn & Peters LLP (June 19, 2017).