Each year, Midwest Real Estate News inducts a new class into its Midwest Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame. This year, we are running profiles of these inductees online throughout the year. Our hope? That you get a taste of what it takes to be a commercial real estate star.
This time, we feature Amy Blumenthal, managing partner at Chicago law firm Gould & Ratner.
Listen up: Real estate attorney Amy Blumenthal hasn’t gotten to the top of her field just by being smart. She knows her clients are smart, too.
“I’ve found that when you listen more, and talk less, you’re able to understand what all of the parties are looking for in any given real estate deal and, as a result, how best to get them what they want, in the most practical and efficient way,” she said. “When you help clients succeed, they help you succeed.”
Blumenthal is a managing partner at Chicago’s Gould & Ratner, LLP, and is a past chair of the firm’s real estate practice. She’s recognized by her peers and clients as a leader in commercial real estate, with more than 30 years of experience in office, retail, hotel, industrial and luxury residential properties, as well as real estate development and land use, from the financing, sales and acquisitions sides of the table.
Talking money: Blumenthal is a top gun in the financing portion of her practice, facing frequent challenges ranging from initial acquisition to development and ultimately permanent financing, working with senior debt, mezzanine debt and private equity. She advises many clients, starting with zoning and acquisition, and continuing to development to sale or leasing.
Healthy aspect: She holds a nursing degree from the University of Rochester as well as a Juris Doctor from George Washington University. A former oncology nurse, she retains a strong sense of caring for those in health crisis. She serves on the board of directors of the Erie Family Health Foundation, dedicated to providing high-quality, affordable health care for lower-income Chicago residents at Erie’s health centers in Chicago and Evanston, Illinois.
Practical practice: Blumenthal has been recognized as an Illinois SuperLawyer for Real Estate as well as an Illinois Leading Lawyer in the areas of land use, zoning and condemnation, commercial real estate and real estate finance. She’s been named the 2018 President of Commercial Real Estate Executive Women (CREW) of Chicago, a chapter of a worldwide organization of more than 10,000 women dedicated to advancing women in commercial real estate.
“As a real estate lawyer, I’m concerned most fundamentally with protecting the interests of my clients in every transaction,” she said. “But I’ve been in this industry long enough to know, too, that a practical, business-oriented approach to handling legal issues for sellers – and buyers – is usually the best protection for all parties in a deal
