Gary N. Ruben

Gary Ruben is a principal and chairs the firm’s Real Estate Group. His practice includes all aspects of real estate, including sales and acquisitions, financing, construction, joint ventures, workouts, foreclosures and bankruptcies. Mr. Ruben has extensive experience working with lenders making loans in the senior care and health care industries and has provided counseling on real estate acquisition and construction financing matters related to assisted living facilities, independent care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, medical office buildings, birthing centers and hospital campus buildings. He has also represented insurance companies, pension funds, REITs, banks, investors and strip center developers, as well as national and local tenants. He has helped clients purchase and sell loans and structure loan participations, both as to senior and mezzanine debt (including representing clients bidding to purchase distressed HUD loans.) He has worked with clients in negotiating forbearance agreements and workouts, DIP financings and foreclosures. He has counseled clients on issues related to complex sale-leaseback transactions, including accounting and tax issues arising in such matters.

Although he now focuses primarily on real estate and finance, Mr. Ruben has also represented corporate clients in general corporate counseling, corporate and tax structuring, mergers and acquisitions, secured lending transactions, and equipment lease transactions. Mr. Ruben has presented on real estate topics on numerous occasions.

Mr. Ruben is admitted to practice in Illinois. He received his law degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard University in 1981 and his B.S. in accounting, Bronze Tablet and highest honors, from the University of Illinois in 1978. He received the Elijah Watt Sells Award on his CPA examination, awarded to the top three percent on the examination. He has been recognized annually by the Leading Lawyers Network and Super Lawyers and is a member of the Chicago and American Bar Associations.

Representative Matters

• Represented an institutional lender in more than 100 senior care- and health care-related real estate financing transactions, including loans for senior care facilities, medical office buildings and medical campus facilities.

• Represented an institutional landlord in downtown Chicago office building leases in 100,000+- and 200,000+-square-foot lease transactions.

• Represented an institutional client for more than 15 years in sale-leaseback transactions and financings thereof, many of which involved multiple properties in different states.

• Represented an institutional lender in a $70 million refinancing involving more than 75 separate real estate parcels in numerous states.

• Represented an institutional lender in single-tenant retail and industrial financings.

• Represented a national manufacturer and distributor of medical devices in connection with the acquisition, construction and a $6 million bond financing of a manufacturing, assembly, "clean room" and distribution facility.

• Represented a public company in complex subleasing transactions, including subleasing a building to be built out as its suburban corporate headquarters.

• Represented a joint venture in the $10 million refinancing of a multi-building industrial complex.

• Represented a user in the acquisition and development of a 100,000-square-foot office/warehouse in the northern suburbs of Chicago, including acquisition financing, construction/short-term permanent financing and construction contract negotiation.

• Represented an institutional lender in a downtown Chicago office building mortgage transaction.

• Represented an institutional investor in the joint venture acquisition of a downtown Chicago office building.

• Represented a REIT in the joint venture acquisition of a large outdoor shopping center.

• Represented a regional railway transportation authority in connection with the acquisition of major trackage rights.