Michele L. Krause has nearly thirty years of experience advising clients in sophisticated commercial real estate transactions. Michele is the head of our commercial leasing group and represents both landlords and tenants in all types of commercial leasing transactions, with a particular focus on retail, industrial and office properties. Michele also represents institutional and entrepreneurial clients in the acquisition, disposition, development and leasing of commercial, office and industrial properties. She also represents developers of multi-family, student housing, self-storage, senior housing and hospitality properties in connection with the acquisition, development, leasing, management and disposition of these types of properties.

Michele has significant experience negotiating development agreements, declarations, restrictive covenants, property management agreements and vendor contracts. With her background in environmental law, Michele has unique experience representing owners, purchasers, and tenants in connection with legal issues arising from environmentally contaminated properties.

Michele began her legal career as in-house counsel to Amoco Corporation (now BP, plc). Prior to co-founding Ginsberg Jacobs, she practiced at Holland and Knight, LLP and was a partner at Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC.

  • Acquisitions & Dispositions
  • Cannabis
  • Construction & Development
  • Leasing
  • Telecom
  • Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology, J.D., 1994
  • Illinois State University, B.S., Criminal Justice, with Departmental Honors, 1991
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
  • Commercial Real Estate Executive Women (CREW), Chicago Chapter
  • CREW Network
  • International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
  • Author, “Co-Tenancy Clauses in a Changing Retail Landscape”  (Commercial Property Executive, November 5, 2018)
  • Author, “Ten Ways to ‘Green’ A Commercial Lease”  (The Business Ledger, October 13, 2008, Vol. 16, No. 21)
  • Co-author, “Avoiding Purchase Option Pitfalls” (Property Writes, second quarter, vol. 8, issue 2)
  • Co-author, “Filling the Purchase Option ‘Gap’: Preservation for Suspension of Rental Income and Other Lease Rights After Exercising the Option and Prior to Closing” (The Real Estate Finance Journal, Winter 2005)
  • Contributor, “When Is Real Property Exempt From Property Taxes? A “View to Profit” May Defeat the Tax Exempt Status of Real Property Used for Educational Purposes” (Property Writes, first quarter, vol. 9, issue 1)
  • Selected as an Illinois Super Lawyer, (2024)
  • Named as a Leading Lawyer in Commercial Real Estate Law by Leading Lawyers Network (2008-2023)
  • Named in 100 Leading Women Real Estate Related Lawyers in Illinois (January 2017 & 2019)
  • Commercial Real Estate Executive Women (CREW), Chicago Chapter Board of Directors, Secretary (2010-2013)
  • Mentor for the Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentoring Program, John Marshall Law School (2015-2016)
  • Mentor for the Goldie B. Wolfe Miller Women Leaders in Real Estate Initiative, Roosevelt University (2010-2013)
  • Panelist at The Business Ledger’s September 11, 2008 Newsmakers’ Forum – “The Environment, Energy & Business”
  • Recipient of the CREW 2008 Membership Committee Volunteer of the Year Award
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