Service Areas
Industry Focus
Education
- DePaul University College of Law, J.D., 1974
DePaul University, B.S.C., Finance, 1968
Bar Admissions
- Illinois, 1974
John Mays is a managing partner of the firm. He began his career as the general counsel of a Chicago based home builder. His practice now focuses on real estate development, with emphasis on land use and development. He represents clients in all phases of the development process, from the acquisition, financing and zoning of property through its ultimate leasing or disposition.
He has spoken on growth strategies before the American Planning Association and he has been an instructor at the Urban Land Institute's National Real Estate School and at the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is a member of the Adjunct Faculty of the John Marshall Law School where he lectures on land use and development issues. He recently served as Chair of a two-day multidisciplinary advisory panel studying the potential redevelopment of Archer Avenue in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood. He is a past Chair of the Urban Land Institute's 1200 member Chicago District Council and nationally, serves on ULI's Residential Neighborhood Development Council and as a member of the Urban Land Institute's District Council Advisory Group. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the School and Institute of Real Estate, Walter E. Heller College of Business Administration, Roosevelt University.
His professional affiliations include the Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago, Chicago's Metropolitan Planning Council, the National Association of Home Builders Legal Action Network for Development Strategies Committee and the American Bar Association's Forum on the Construction Industry. John has also been named an Illinois Super Lawyer.
Representative Matters
- Counsel for Regional and National Homebuilders in the acquisition, entitlement, and development of numerous communities throughout Northern Illinois.
- Counsel for major Regional Developer of Industrial, Office and Research Parks in leasing, disposition of major properties, and the acquisition, entitlement and development of properties including a 600 acre development in Northwestern Illinois.
- Representation of clients in loan and mezzanine funding negotiations, including complex construction loan agreements and investment vehicles.
- Creation of multiple Homeowner Associations, Community Associations and Condominiums throughout the Chicago Area including the creation of a parking garage condominium in downtown Chicago.
- Negotiation of complex construction contracts for multiple clients.
- Local counsel for national building supply company in the renegotiation of its development agreement with a local community.
Presentations
- The Development Approval Process in Illinois - Surviving the Public Hearing Process, March 2008
The Development Approval Process in Illinois - Navigating the Development Process, October 2007
Navigating the Development Approval Process: Techniques for Getting the Most Our of Your Land, Midwest Builders Show® & Conference, March 2007
The Development Approval Process in Illinois - Surviving The Public Hearing Process, August 2006
Challenges of Greenfield Development, Urban Land Institute Workshop Series on Real Estate Development, May 2006
Successful Strategies for Getting Projects Approved, Midwest Builders Show® & Conference, March 2006
Forum for Chicago's Homebuilding Industry (Panel Member), January 2005
Professional and Civic Affiliations
- Full member of the Urban Land Institute
Past Chair of the Urban Land Institute's Chicago District Council
Chicago's Metropolitan Planning Council
Advisory Board of the School and Institute of Real Estate, Walter E. Heller College of Business Administration, Roosevelt University
The National Association of Home Builders Legal Action Network for Development Strategies Committee
The American Bar Association's Forum on the Construction Industry
Illinois Institute for Local Government Law