Commercial and residential, development, leasing, financing, and joint-venture structuring, handled so the asset, the entity that holds it, and the capital behind it all read from the same document.
The structure that takes title at closing is the structure that will hold the asset through the refinancing, the lease-up and the sale, and it cannot be corrected on the closing statement. So the holding entity, the joint-venture waterfall and the tax posture are settled before the letter of intent hardens, and the deal documents are then negotiated to read from one page.
Firm facts · ReachA corporate and private-capital boutique with international reach: a principal office in Chicago, a second office in Oakbrook Terrace, offices in London and Dubai through partner firms, meeting locations by appointment in seven further US cities, and a partner network across ~51 jurisdictions on five continents. Founded 2013.
The title commitment is read against the ALTA survey, exception by exception, and zoning, entitlements and tenant estoppels are run down before the earnest money goes hard. The loan documents are read for what the lender may do on a bad day, with the guaranties, carve-outs and cure periods negotiated so that the sponsor's exposure is known before signature rather than after it.
We act on both sides of these documents, and having sat where the lender sits is a useful way to learn how a lender reads. The same team carries the deed and the mortgage to record and tracks the holdbacks and transfer-tax filings to release, because a closing is not finished when the wire lands.
Acquisitions, dispositions, and management of commercial property, where the purchase agreement, the lease and the loan documents are negotiated to protect the asset through the deal and for as long as you hold it.
Enter the practice: Commercial Real Estate →Purchases, sales, and closing coordination for residential property, where disclosure obligations and the contractual ramifications of a high-cost transaction are read closely before signing.
Enter the practice: Residential Real Estate →Land-use planning, zoning compliance, and variance applications across multi-phase development, with the agencies a project depends on coordinated and the approvals carried through to completion.
Enter the practice: Development & Land Use →Acquisition, construction, and refinancing facilities, with the documents analyzed and negotiated so the terms are set, the risk allocated, and the borrower's or lender's position kept clean.
Enter the practice: Real Estate Financing →Commercial leasing, landlord and tenant counsel, and the ongoing obligations that leasing and management arrangements create, structured so liability stays contained over the life of the asset.
Enter the practice: Leasing & Property Management →Formation, sponsor and investor terms, and governance for the entities and joint ventures that hold and develop real estate, handled with the firm's corporate and asset-protection benches.
Enter the practice: Joint Ventures & Entity Structuring →Counsel to condominium boards and community associations on governing documents, declarant transition, and the recurring legal questions of shared ownership.
Enter the practice: Condominium & Association Counsel →Title, contract, and development disputes resolved through negotiation, alternative dispute resolution, or the courts, coordinated with the firm's litigation bench when the matter escalates.
Enter the practice: Real Estate Disputes →Commercial and residential transactions sit on different bodies of law. Commercial deals turn on financing structures, zoning, and business operations, and residential deals on disclosure and consumer-protection obligations that vary by jurisdiction. The structure is set first.
Development projects require sustained coordination with several government agencies and strict regulatory compliance, and that coordination runs through every phase of the build.
The risk in real estate financing sits in the loan documents, and it surfaces only when they are read closely. The terms are where the position is won or lost.
Property management and leasing arrangements create ongoing responsibilities and liability exposure. They have to be structured at the outset and maintained, long before a dispute arrives.
Before a transaction goes to signing, we run it through adversarial diligence. Title, survey, zoning, financing terms, and entity structure are stress-tested the way the other side's lawyers will read them, so nothing they find is a surprise to you. The work is partner-led, on deals where the dollars and the risk are both high.
The entities that acquire, hold, and develop real estate, with the formation, governance, and transactional structuring behind the joint venture.
Corporate →Real estate and property tax strategy, like-kind exchanges, and the tax structures built into a transaction from the first draft.
Tax →Holding structures, family limited partnerships, and the entity design that keeps real estate assets insulated and the portfolio defensible.
Asset Protection →Hart David Carson LLP's real estate practice covers commercial and residential transactions, development, leasing, financing, and joint-venture structuring. The work spans commercial and residential real estate, development and land use, real estate financing, leasing and property management, joint ventures and entity structuring, condominium and association counsel, and real estate disputes.
We act for buyers and sellers, developers, landlords and tenants, lenders and borrowers, and the joint ventures that bring them together. The engagement keeps the asset, the entity that holds it, and the capital behind it reading from the same document, from a single closing to a multi-phase development.
Real estate is a stack of regulatory, contractual, and financial decisions that have to agree with one another, and the structure is where the risk is set. Commercial and residential transactions sit on different bodies of law, so the structure is decided before the first term sheet.
The risk in real estate financing surfaces only when the loan documents are read closely and negotiated. We handle acquisition, construction, and refinancing facilities, analyzing and negotiating the documents to set the terms, allocate the risk, and keep the borrower's or lender's position clean.
Yes. We resolve title, contract, and development disputes through negotiation, alternative dispute resolution, or the courts, coordinated with the firm's litigation bench when the matter escalates.
Yes. Hart David Carson LLP works to one standard from Chicago, with offices in London and Dubai through partner firms, and coordinates with the firm's tax bench and the partner network where a real estate matter reaches across jurisdictions.
Before the letter of intent hardens, the holding entity, the joint-venture waterfall, and the tax posture are set. Title vests in a structure rather than a person, and the wrong structure cannot be fixed at closing.
The title commitment is read against the ALTA survey, exception by exception. Zoning, entitlements, environmental reports, and estoppels from tenants in place are run down before the earnest money goes hard.
Purchase agreement, loan documents, and any ground lease or JV agreement are negotiated to read from the same page, with guaranties, carve-outs, and cure periods allocated so the lender's remedies and the sponsor's exposure are known before signature.
Escrow instructions, the closing statement, and the marked title policy are settled. The deed and mortgage go to record, and post-closing obligations such as holdbacks, SNDAs, and transfer-tax filings are tracked to release.
Title vests in a structure rather than a signature, so we build the structure first.
Reviewed by Jonathan D. Herpy, Sr., Senior Partner · Last updated October 2026 · Educational overview · Not legal advice
One partner is accountable for the whole matter, and you have that partner's direct line. Chicago, London, and Dubai work to the same standard.