Our Attorneys

Scott A. Schonfeld

Scott Schonfeld is a partner in the Corporate & Securities Group and Co-Chair of the Real Estate Group. He maintains a broad-based transactional practice with a particular focus on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, venture capital, securities matters, and complex commercial real estate transactions.

Scott has substantial experience advising clients on sophisticated real estate matters, including complex acquisitions and dispositions, ground-up development projects, and commercial leasing transactions across a wide range of asset classes. His real estate practice also includes representing sponsors, investors, and operating partners in real estate joint ventures, structured equity investments, and other complicated capital arrangements, frequently involving bespoke governance, promote structures, and risk-allocation mechanisms.

Scott is nationally recognized for his deep expertise in the restaurant and hospitality sector, where he regularly represents restaurateurs, restaurant company owners, developers, celebrity chefs, and other industry stakeholders on both corporate and real estate matters. He works closely with general counsels and ownership groups of some of the largest and most successful restaurant companies in the country, and has negotiated, documented, and closed numerous high-profile transactions in that space.

In addition, Scott is a preferred legal vendor at Northwestern University’s startup accelerator, The Garage, where he represents emerging companies throughout the startup lifecycle, including entity formation, joint venture arrangements, equity and debt financings, intellectual property matters, and exit transactions.

Before attending law school, Scott worked in Silicon Valley in the video game industry as a market research analyst and later served as a community youth counselor in South Florida, where he worked with adolescents and their families navigating the juvenile justice system.

Mergers, Acquisitions & Joint Ventures

• First chair buyer representation in connection with $25m acquisition/double-forward merger of cryptocurrency company with simultaneous issuance of buyer equity
• First chair seller representation in $25m sale of industrial distribution company
• First chair buyer representation in $4m acquisition of commercial goods supplier
• Representation of publicly traded company (and six (6) affiliated global subsidiaries) in share and asset sale of distressed leisure consumer discretionary business to private equity purchaser.
• Representation of high profile, global private equity company and its various related portfolio companies in connection with roll-up strategy:
• $16M acquisition of stock of industrial printing company
• $300M acquisition of stock of industrial printing company* (terminated immediately prior to closing)
• $101M acquisition of stock of industrial printing company
• $5M acquisition of industrial printing company
• $15.5M acquisition of stock and merger of water filtration company
• $5M acquisition of stock and merger of water filtration company
• Representation of closely held family industrial equipment business in $16M asset sale (including real estate purchase and sale) to private equity purchaser
• First chair representation of sellers of closely held summer camp in $1.5M asset sale
• First chair representation of global hospitality company in connection with acquisition and joint venture with event production company

Securities

• Representation of cryptocurrency trading company in connection with $35m Series A
• Representation of boutique fitness company in connection with $1M angel round
• Representation of cryptocurrency trading company in connection with $1M angel round
• Representation of online education company in connection with $500k angel round
• Representation of global hospitality company in connection with $30M fund
• Representation of university-based coffee company in connection with $1M SAFE round

Restaurant & Hospitality Representations

• Outside counsel to high profile, national restaurant companies in connection with numerous leasing, joint venture, and private placements, including with respect to restaurants located in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Las Vegas, and West Palm Beach
• Counsel to celebrity chefs in connection with multiple high profile Hotel Management and Restaurant Management Agreements

Real Estate

• Representation of seller of $5M, 230,000 sq. ft. industrial manufacturing site with significant environmental issues in Creston, IA
• Representation of seller of in connection with sale of industrial portfolio across North America
• Representation of global private equity company in connection with $500M acquisition of Willis Tower in Chicago, IL
• Representation of lender in connection with $35M construction loan facility in Grandview, CO
• Representation of lender in connection with $35M construction loan facility in Basalt, CO
• Representation of lender in connection with $17M construction loan facility in Glenwillow, OH
• Representation of mezzanine lender in connection with mezzanine financing of John Hancock Tower in Chicago, IL
• Representation of purchaser of acquisition by a joint venture of a real estate investment trust in order to facilitate the purchase of the Chicago Board of Trade Building.

Emerging Companies

• Serve as outside general counsel to several technology start-ups, and serve as a mentor to Northwestern University’s Garage accelerator