CHICAGO — Freeborn & Peters LLP announced that Ari W. Krigel, a partner in the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group and a member of Freeborn’s Food Industry Team, has been named one of Law Bulletin Media’s 40 Illinois attorneys under 40 for 2018. A Freeborn attorney has earned the distinction each of the last 19 years.
Krigel grew up in Leawood and was a member of the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy’s class of 2000.
The 40 Under Forty recognizes the 40 “most talented young attorneys practicing in Illinois,” according to Law Bulletin Media, which also publishes the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and Chicago Lawyer magazine. The honorees were chosen from among more than 1,500 nominations for their intelligence, passion, success in the office, desire to help their community and willingness to work hard at their profession. The recipients all were under age 40 prior to May 1, 2018.
“We congratulate Ari on this prestigious honor in being recognized as one of Law Bulletin Media’s 40 Under Forty Illinois attorneys,” said Richard J. Traub, a Freeborn partner and co-leader of the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group. “Ari is an accomplished young lawyer and important member of Freeborn’s Real Estate team. We are very proud of Ari for his successes in his practice and as a dedicated servant in the community.”
One of Krigel’s clients, a general counsel for a developer, who nominated Krigel for the 40 Under Forty, said, “I have worked with hundreds of attorneys over the years and few have exhibited the legal skills that Ari has in representing us, especially at his age. Just as important to me, he has constantly exhibited qualities that cannot be taught: business sense, dedication, patience and hard work.”
Another nominator commented on Krigel’s role as a trusted confidant and adviser with sharp deal maker skills.
“We depended on Ari for not only his legal acumen, but also his understanding of business markets, his ability to identify efficient solutions and his guidance through a series of transactions with the goal of maximizing profit for our family estate,” said the nominator, who also is Krigel’s client. “Being a skilled lawyer can be learned. Being a thoughtful, sincere, compassionate one cannot. Ari is all of these things, and my family is so very lucky to have him working with us.”
Krigel concentrates his practice in commercial real estate, with an emphasis on acquisitions, dispositions, conventional and public financing, leasing, workouts and development. His experience includes drafting and negotiating purchase and sale agreements, loan agreements, mortgages, commercial leases, forbearance and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure agreements, easements and performing due diligence for real estate transactions. He has represented large institutional investors, national and regional lenders and mid-market real estate investment and development companies.
Among his recent successes for clients, Krigel represented a restaurant operator and developer in a large multi-property sale/leaseback and also closed $20 million in loans secured by the assets of entities operating 63 fast food and casual restaurants, including Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken, T.G.I. Friday’s, Blaze Pizza, Old Chicago and Long John Silver’s.
He also represented the borrower in an $8.9 million, 11-property portfolio refinancing that resulted in the dismissal of two portfolio foreclosure cases and provided financing for future construction. In addition, he negotiated mortgage and mezzanine loans totaling $55 million secured by a separate property owned by the same client.
