Press Release
Duane Morris' Chicago Office Adds Real Estate Law Partners Douglas Lubelchek and John Santa Lucia and Special Counsel Darrin Forbes
January 20, 2010
CHICAGO, January 20, 2010—Duane Morris LLP is pleased to announce that Douglas Lubelchek and John Santa Lucia have joined the firm in its Chicago office as partners in its Real Estate Practice Group. Lubelchek and Santa Lucia, both formerly of Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP, further strengthen Duane Morris' depth of experience in real estate matters, particularly in the representation of large private and public real estate investment trusts (REITs), an area where both Lubelchek and Santa Lucia are recognized at the national level in Chambers USA. Darrin Forbes, also formerly of Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP, will join Duane Morris as special counsel.
Duane Morris has been adding nationally to its real estate practice. Earlier this month, real estate law partner Eleissa Lavelle joined Duane Morris' Las Vegas office, and in late December, real estate partner Chester Lee joined the firm's New York office.
Douglas Lubelchek represents publicly traded and private real estate investment trusts, private investors, and management and leasing companies in real estate and finance transactions. His practice focuses on the purchase and sale of single-site and national portfolios of multi-family properties, office buildings, retail developments, industrial properties and other mixed-use developments. Lubelchek also represents clients in joint ventures and in financing and refinancing transactions, such as construction financing, mezzanine financing and sale-leasebacks.
Previously, Lubelchek was vice president of Rosenberg & Liebentritt, P.C., a formerly captive law firm for real estate investor Samuel Zell and various affiliates.
Lubelchek earned his J.D. with honors in 1987 from the University of Chicago Law School. He earned his B.S. in Accountancy with highest honors in 1984 from the University of Illinois.
John Santa Lucia focuses his practice on real estate and finance transactions for public and private real estate companies, including REITs. Santa Lucia also brings to Duane Morris a unique practice focused on military-housing privatization. In this area, he represents private developers as well as public and private ventures on projects involving the Armed Forces. He is currently the lead counsel in connection with the first international privatized military-housing project, involving financing of more than a billion dollars in two phases. The project involves building 2,400 family housing units on a military housing base in South Korea.
Previously, Santa Lucia was vice president of Rosenberg & Liebentritt, P.C. and served as senior counsel at Heller Real Estate Financial Services in its Midwest region business group, its low-income housing tax credit practice and its sales finance division.
Santa Lucia earned his J.D. in 1988 from Northwestern University School of Law, where he was an editor of the Northwestern Journal of International Law and Business. He earned his B.A. with high honors in 1985 from Northwestern University Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences.
Darrin Forbes focuses his practice in real estate and commercial leasing. He represents property owners, developers and privately held and publicly traded real estate companies in acquisitions, dispositions and financing of shopping malls, office properties, apartment complexes and industrial properties. Since 2001, he has represented the Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund, which provides rental subsidies and financing to landlords and developers in low-income communities in Chicago.
Forbes earned his J.D., cum laude, in 2001 from the University of Illinois College of Law and his B.S., magna cum laude, in 1998, from Northern Illinois University.
About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP, a full-service law firm with more than 700 attorneys in 24 offices in the United States and internationally, offers innovative solutions to the legal and business challenges presented by today's evolving global markets.
