Andrew Porter takes great pride representing an array of commercial real estate investors and developers, construction companies, condominium associations, private lenders, receivers, landlords, tenants, TIC owners, and real estate brokerage firms with litigation or transactional needs. For nearly thirty years, he has prosecuted and defended securities and consumer fraud class and mass actions; real estate acquisition, development, leasing, and partnership disputes; and other complex legal claims in federal, state, and industry arbitration venues. He has also represented buyers and sellers of both commercial and luxury residential real estate.
Following stints at two national law firms and a boutique Chicago litigation firm, he served as general counsel and chief operating officer of a luxury high-rise development company, a role which encompassed financial modeling, deal structuring, asset valuation, construction contract administration, and enterprise risk management. In that capacity, he acquired substantial business experience and became intimately familiar with the myriad intricacies of the real estate industry.
He has dealt extensively with Illinois common interest communities and condominium associations, has navigated federal, state, and local laws governing the administration, marketing, and sale of real property, and has devoted considerable time to both commercial leasing and mixed-use property management. He also established a residential real estate brokerage company and served as its managing broker. In addition, while working with a start-up Chicago-based online apartment listing service, he authored a popular new standard-form Chicago apartment lease, numerous articles about the Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance (the CRLTO), and several guides on sound apartment leasing practices.
Andrew graduated from the University of Michigan in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, briefly attended medical school at the George Washington University School Of Medicine And Health Sciences, then earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. Before embarking on his career in private practice, he served as a federal judicial law clerk for the Honorable James C. Cacheris, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia. He has also worked at both the Federal National Mortgage Association and Julien J. Studley Co., a national commercial real estate leasing firm.