CHICAGO – May 16, 2011 – Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is pleased to announce that Sheli Z. Rosenberg, a prominent real estate attorney and Chicago-area businesswoman, has joined the firm as of counsel, effective today.
Ms. Rosenberg has significant experience in both real estate law and the Chicago business community. For much of her career, she was with Equity Group Investments LLC, Sam Zell's privately held real estate investment firm, holding legal and executive positions, including General Counsel, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to Equity Group, she was a managing partner of Chicago law firm Schiff Hardin, LLP, where she was the firm's first woman partner.
Ms. Rosenberg currently serves as a director for several publicly traded and private companies, primarily in the real estate and health care sectors. She also was an adjunct professor at Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management until 2007. A recognized advocate for women in business, she is a co-founder and former president of the Center for Executive Women at the Kellogg School, where she continues to serve on the Center's steering committee. Ms. Rosenberg received her B.A. degree from Tufts University and is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law.
"We are delighted to have Sheli join Skadden," said Brian W. Duwe, head of the firm's Chicago office. "She brings an extraordinary depth and breadth of real estate and transactional expertise and considerable boardroom skills to our office. She will play an important role in the continued growth of our real estate and REIT practices in Chicago."
Additionally, Skadden real estate partner Paul J. (P.J.) Huff, Jr. is returning to Chicago after seven years in the firm's Tokyo office, further bolstering the firm's real estate and REIT practices.
Mr. Huff's experience encompasses numerous aspects of the U.S. and Asia-Pacific real estate and financial services industries. He advises clients in matters related to real estate and investment finance, REITs, private equity, banking and financial institutions, hospitality, gaming and lodging, restructuring, distressed acquisitions and financing. An attorney in Skadden's Chicago office for seven years prior to relocating to Tokyo, Mr. Huff received his B.A. from Northwestern University and his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. He is a Gaikokuho Jimu Bengoshi (Registered Foreign Lawyer) in Japan and was selected for inclusion in Chambers Asia 2010.
"With Sheli joining the firm and P.J.'s return to Chicago, we will significantly enhance our real estate and REIT teams, which have handled major transactions in recent months, such as for HCP, Inc. and Genesis HealthCare," said Nancy M. Olson, head of Skadden's Chicago real estate practice. "Sheli's deep knowledge of the Chicago and Midwest property landscape and contacts in the real estate community and P.J.'s international expertise will serve clients extremely well across a wide variety of domestic and cross-border matters."
Skadden has approximately 2,000 lawyers in 23 offices around the world, including approximately 180 lawyers in Chicago. For the 11th consecutive year, Skadden was named the best corporate law firm in the United States in Corporate Board Member magazine's 2011 survey of "America's Best Corporate Law Firms." The firm also was recognized as one of the top-tier firms in the area of real estate and as a leading firm in the area of REITs by Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business 2010.