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Scott A. Schonfeld

Bio

Scott Schonfeld is a partner in the Corporate & Securities and Real Estate Groups. Scott maintains a broad-based transactional practice at the firm where he focuses in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, private equity, venture capital, securities matters, general corporate representations, and commercial real estate transactions.

Scott has exceptionally strong expertise in the area of restaurant representations where he frequently partners with restaurateurs, restaurant company owners, developers, celebrity chefs and virtually every other type of stakeholder in the industry on both corporate and real estate matters. He collaborates closely and constantly with general counsels and owners of some of the largest and most successful restaurant companies in the nation and has negotiated, documented, and closed many significant transactions in this space.

Scott is a preferred legal vendor at Northwestern University’s start-up accelerator, The Garage, and represents a wide range of emerging companies in every aspect of the startup life cycle, including choice of entity, joint venture agreements, equity/debt raises, intellectual property matters, and exits.

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

Experience

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.
Reported Opinions
Reported Decisions
Achievements

From 2022 to 2023, Scott was selected to the list of Illinois Rising Stars, a list published by Super Lawyers. Rising Stars uses a patented multiphase selection process which includes peer nominations and evaluations combined with third party research. Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Attorneys who have been selected to the list of Illinois Rising Stars make up 2.5 percent of lawyers in Illinois who have been in practice for less than ten years. These selections are made on an annual basis.

Scott was selected as one of the “40 Illinois Attorneys Under 40 to Watch” for 2022 by the Law Bulletin, the publisher of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and the Chicago Lawyer Magazine. Those selected exemplify intelligence, passion, success in their field, and a desire to help community.

Additionally, Scott has been selected for inclusion in The 2024 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch© in the field of Corporate Law.

Publications
Speaking Engagements
Civic and Professional Activities
Reported Cases
Education

Recent Publications

Best Lawyers in America© 2025

Fox Swibel is proud to announce nineteen attorneys have been named in the 2025 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America©, the oldest, most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, accounting for over a third of our attorneys. Please join us ...
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Best Lawyers in America© 2024

Fox Swibel is proud to announce twenty-one attorneys have been named in the 2024 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America©, the oldest, most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, accounting for over a third of our attorneys. Please ...
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Scott Schonfeld Selected as One of the “40 Illinois Attorneys Under 40 to Watch” for 2022

Scott A. Schonfeld [email protected] Fox Swibel is very pleased to announce partner Scott Schonfeld has been selected as one of the “40 Illinois Attorneys Under 40 to Watch” for 2022 by the Law Bulletin, the publisher of the Chicago Daily ...
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Fox Swibel Makes Three New Promotions

Fox Swibel is pleased to announce the promotion of Jean Gallo Wine to Capital Partner.  We are also pleased to announce the promotions of Scott Schonfeld and Steve Vanderporten to Partner. “It is with great pleasure that I announce the ...
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SEC Adopts Series of Modernizing Amendments to Definition of “Accredited Investors”

  Image Source - Shutterstock On August 26, 2020 the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted certain amendments (the “Amendments”) to the definition of an “accredited investor” as defined by Regulation D of the Securities Act of 1933 (the ...
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Phase 4: Illinois Cautiously Resumes Indoor Dining & Legal Considerations for Leases and Joint Venture Agreements in a Post-COVID World

Phase 4: Illinois Cautiously Resumes Indoor Dining and Legal Considerations for Leases and Joint Venture Agreements in a Post-COVID World Background: As of June 26, Illinois has moved into Phase 4 of the “Restore Illinois” Plan.  During Phase 4, restaurants ...
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Chicago Restaurants in the Age of COVID-19: A New Frontier

Chicago Restaurants in the Age of COVID-19: A New Frontier Jun 10, 2020 On May 5, 2020, Governor J.B. Pritzker released “Restore Illinois”, a 5-step public health plan for re-opening Illinois (the “Plan”).  The Plan clearly is of considerable interest ...
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