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Professional background

MonicaShamass

Managing Associate
Chicago

O 312.998.4289

MonicaShamass

Managing Associate

Monica is a managing associate in the firm's Real Estate group. She guides clients through commercial real estate transactions and development projects, from negotiating the deal and securing municipal approvals to resolving title issues and closing. Her practice encompasses acquisitions and dispositions, commercial leasing, development and redevelopment, land use and zoning, construction agreements, property tax exemptions and economic incentives, and Section 1031 tax-deferred exchanges. She represents Fortune 500 and other public and private companies, developers, institutional owners and investors, lenders, landlords, tenants, municipalities and nonprofit health systems across industrial, warehouse and logistics facilities, data centers, office and healthcare properties, retail and mixed-use and condominium developments.

Monica combines transactional experience with a detailed understanding of the municipal approval process to help clients move projects forward. She has successfully secured zoning map amendments, planned unit development approvals, variances, special use permits, subdivision approvals and replats, including for projects converting agricultural and underutilized properties to industrial use. Her experience also includes negotiating eminent domain settlements, easements and development and construction agreements; advising municipalities on property transactions, ordinances and tax incentives; and coordinating complex multi-property and multi-parcel closings.

Focus Areas

Examples of Monica’s experience include:

  • Served as the sole associate on a $375 million disposition of eight hospital facilities and four affiliated senior living facilities in the Chicago area, handling lease assignments, estoppels and related real estate deliverables through closing.
  • Advised a Chicago-area municipality on the planned unit development for a speculative light-industrial facility and Cook County Class 6b property tax incentives for local businesses.
  • Served as sole transaction counsel for the redevelopment of a long-vacant, high-profile suburban site for a national restaurant operator, including negotiating municipal ordinances, pursuing enterprise zone sales tax exemptions and securing the first municipal designation under the Southland Reactivation Act, resulting in substantial redevelopment incentives.
  • Served as lead in the sale of a Chicagoland town center-style mixed-use development, including negotiating the purchase and sale agreement, leading due diligence and coordinating the closing.
  • Led acquisitions of commercial and industrial properties throughout Chicagoland, including negotiating purchase and sale agreements and coordinating due diligence, title, closings and simultaneous Class 6b incentive approvals.
  • “Chicago’s Commercial Leasing Market: Adapting to the Current Market Landscape”
  • “Bank Failures and Business: How to Safeguard Your Company’s Finances”
  • “Growth Without Guesswork: Legal Tactics for Building, Protecting, and Scaling Business,” Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce

Professional Associations

  • Chicago Bar Association
  • Illinois Bar Association
  • American Bar Association

Education

  • DePaul University College of Law, J.D., 2017
  • Michigan State University, B.S., 2012

Bar Admissions

  • Illinois

Languages

  • Arabic
  • French