The Dirt Lawyer's Blog Archive

The sale of the beautiful Art Deco landmark has closed, according to CoStar . I've heard a little of AmTrust Realty Corp., the buyer, but the lender, Windy City Funding Co., LLC, is an admittedly unknown commodity to me. If anyone has some dirt, so to speak, then let me know. I love learning new things! With its great mid-Loop location, I'm sure tenants would like the place. We don't yet know how much space B of A intends to keep and what the terms of any such lease might be. Ear, meet ground.

An interesting (possible) incongruity I am finding: Half of GCs surveyed are planning to do more work in house and cut back on law firm usage (one big reason -- the cost of hiring BigLaw firms to do less than bet-the-company work). Yet, notwithstanding this, smaller firms that could perhaps compete on this front are still merging into BigLaw. On the heels of Welsh & Katz (a fine IP firm) announcing its merger with Husch Blackwell Sanders (itself a recent merger!), now we have the first-rate mid-sized Schwartz Cooper dissolving , with almost all of its lawyers moving to Detroit-based Dykema. In turn, Dykema got its start in Chicago in 2004 by merging with Rooks Pitts, also a well-known mid-sized firm. So, is this economies of scale? A fear that you have to grow to compete? How will clients react? Schwartz Cooper was well-known for its work for LaSalle Bank (now B of A); did that play into it as well? I'm going to have to make a phone call or two. One last thought: just a...

Good infrastructure is a key to good, well-valued dirt. I am starting to think we need an Eisenhower-era level project to fix infrastructure problems, be it publicly or privately financed. Can our ridiculously school taxes go to roads instead? At least I use the roads. Where I live roads are literally crumbling. One main artery, US 45/52 from the Will County line north, is almost impassible. Yes, it is THAT bad , so much so that some have called for its closure. I found similar problems near O'Hare yesterday. The one good thing our current governor has done? Open road tolling . Are the rumors of an increase in residential refinancings true? Or are a lot banks just really messed up in underwriting? I was happy to see National City staying independent for the time being. (But they certainly not out of the woods, as this story reminds us. And other banks, too, are not immune .) And what's up with RBS? Would buying LaSalle along with ABN/AMRO have made a difference? Ri...

Jordan Crouch was kind enough to cite me as the source for Macquarie's starting a CMBS group with some good folks from LaSalle Bank. But he's the guy who got me looking in the first place, so he should have been the first to write about it. (And yes, Macquarie is the bank that bought the Chicago Skyway.) For you lawyers looking for something new to do, how about taking the gig as Head of Legal and Structuring . Yes, lawyers, you can help run a CMBS department right here in Chicago. I have to admit there is something tempting about applying for that job, but it is not happening. Among oter reasons, the boss is not going to tolerate my making that commute again, at least not five or six days a week.

Bank of America has completed its acquisition of LaSalle Bank, and the stories in the news all report that thousands will lose their jobs as a result. That comes, of course, as no surprise at all. It looks like one good thing may come out of this for the dirt folks: B of A is moving its commercial real estate operations to Chicago, and I applaud them for doing that. There are some super pros at LaSalle and having this at least cushions a major blow to our banking business somewhat. I'll be interested in hearing from borrowers how dealing with the B of A unit will be compared to how things are today.

(with apologies to John Maynard Keynes....) A long time ago in this blog , I hoped that another ABN-AMRO type bank such as RBS would acquire LaSalle. My biggest fear for the local economy was that Bank of America would be the buyer because it would mean major layoffs and the possible loss of a major local corporate citizen to the folks in Charlotte notwithstanding promises to the contrary. Alas, some think the worst could come true. A report is estimating that the merger will cost Chicago some 10,500 jobs, both direct and indirect, as a result. B of A of course says any talk of layoffs is premature, but come on. Can you expect us to believe you’ll many if any headquarters staff here? Will loan committee decisions come from the Carolinas, thus possibly bringing to an end the bank that so many small and mid-sized counted on to get the job done? And what of that great dining room at the top of the headquarters building? (Somehow I bet that stays.) Hopefully this report is a doom a...

I'll admit it: I thought other bidders were better fits for LaSalle Bank because it would be better for the bank to retain some of its autonomy -- and its name -- that I think would have happened with someone other than Bank of America. I just thought that would be better for Chicago and for its business community. But with the Dutch Supreme Court ruling in B of A's favor , that hope is gone , and the Charlotte-based behemoth finally has its strong foothold in Chicago. It also eliminates the possibility of massive litigation. I hope they keep the LaSalle spirit in underwriting loans. I hope they will be as good a corporate citizen as ABN/AMRO has.