Levenfeld Pearlstein LLC is pleased to announce the promotion of four of its attorneys to partner.  The new partners include Michele L. Krause, Jeffrey C. Friedman and Nick S. Legatos, all attorneys in the firm’s Real Estate & Finance Practice Group, and Marc E. Fineman, an attorney in the Intellectual Property Service Group. 

“We are very happy to welcome Michele, Jeff, Nick and Marc into our partnership,” said Bryan I. Schwartz, chairman of Levenfeld Pearlstein.  “Their exceptional legal skills and unwavering dedication to client service makes them highly valued members of our team.”

Michele L. Krause
Ms. Krause, 37, concentrates her practice in commercial real estate law with a particular focus on retail and office leasing on behalf of landlords and tenants.  She represents landowners, developers and national corporations in the acquisition, disposition, and leasing of a variety of types of real estate, including commercial, office, industrial and residential.  Ms. Krause also has extensive experience representing landowners, purchasers, and tenants of environmentally contaminated property, including the drafting and negotiation of access and remediation agreements, indemnity agreements, easements, licenses, and leases.  Her diverse real estate experience also includes the drafting and negotiation of development agreements, reciprocal easement agreements, and covenants, conditions and restrictions of record.
 
Ms. Krause received her B.S. from Illinois State University and her J.D. from the Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology.

Jeffrey C. Friedman
Mr. Friedman, 34, has participated in many aspects of commercial real estate transactional law, including sales, acquisitions, leasing and development.  He is regularly involved with ongoing sales, leasing, and redevelopment of operating and closed Albertsons grocery store properties across the U.S.  He was also involved in the sale of nearly three quarters of $1 billion of operating Mervyn’s retail properties throughout the country and regularly works on the ongoing leasing and development of Mervyn’s stores.  Mr. Friedman has also been involved in the acquisition, leasing, and redevelopment of the Service Merchandise portfolio of 230 properties located in 25 states. Mr. Friedman is regularly involved with the leasing of One Mag Mile, a prominent mixed-use development on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, as well as in multiple commercial office loft spaces in Chicago’s upscale River North neighborhood.

Mr. Friedman received his B.A. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and his J.D. from the Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology.

Nick S. Legatos
Mr. Legatos, 33, has participated in all aspects of commercial real estate transactional law, including sales, acquisitions, financing, leasing, development and land use work, in connection with retail, industrial, vacant and office properties.  In particular, Mr. Legatos represents commercial developers in the development, acquisition, leasing, financing, land use approvals and sale of retail developments throughout the Midwest, including shopping centers.  In addition, he represents owners in the drafting and negotiation of retail leases, including large national retailers and ground leases, as well as securing acquisition, construction and permanent financing.  Mr. Legatos also has extensive experience in drafting and negotiating reciprocal easement agreements and declarations.
 
Mr. Legatos received his B.A. from Northwestern University and his J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law.

Marc E. Fineman
Mr. Fineman, 36, focuses his practice on trademark, patent, and copyright matters.  He has ten years of experience in domestic and international intellectual property protection, enforcement, defense, and licensing.  Mr. Fineman’s extensive intellectual property background includes prosecution, transactional work, and litigation.

Mr. Fineman’s clients include large, international public corporations; privately held companies; family-owned business; and individuals.  His extensive prosecution background is complemented by significant transactional experience.  Mr. Fineman has negotiated and prepared complex intellectual property agreements, including licenses, assignments, development agreements, consent agreements, co-existence agreements, security interests, and settlement agreements.  He has helped clients develop worldwide intellectual property protection strategies, and assisted them with corporate intellectual property identification, ownership, and exploitation policies, with an emphasis on maximizing asset value and protection while minimizing risk and cost.  In addition, Mr. Fineman has counseled clients regarding intellectual property dispute resolution and litigation in the Federal courts and before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.  He was registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office in 1997.

Mr. Fineman received his B.S. from Rutgers University and his J.D. from the John Marshall Law School.