Founding Partner

Deborah Tyler Haddad has more than 25 years of experience in the real estate industry. Ms. Haddad’s diverse practice includes the acquisition, development, land use, construction, financing, joint venture structuring, leasing and disposition of property.

Ms. Haddad is broadly experienced in private law firm practice as well as closely held and public companies. Ms. Haddad is able to offer the combined perspective of a general counsel, senior business executive and outside counsel.

After her admission to the Illinois state bar in 1981 she began her legal career representing clients in commercial litigation matters. Thereafter, she supplemented her trial and appellate experience as an associate in the real estate practice group at the Chicago law firm of Gould & Ratner LLP and later as associate general counsel at Lexington Homes. In 1993 Ms. Haddad joined Concord Development Corporation, a privately owned high-volume Chicago area homebuilder, as general counsel. In that role she managed all of the corporation’s legal activities. After successfully assisting ownership with the sale of Concord Development Corporation in 2002 to Lennar Corporation, one of the nation’s leading homebuilders, Ms. Haddad joined Lennar's senior management team in land acquisitions in the Chicago area and served as senior vice president of Lennar’s Urban division. Ms. Haddad returned to private practice as a partner in the Real Estate Transactions section of the law firm of Holland + Knight LLP. She has been involved in all legal aspects relating to the development of numerous residential, office, industrial and mixed use communities in the Chicago area.

Ms. Haddad has keen municipal and land use insight having served in Lake Forest as Fourth Ward Alderman on City Council, member and chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals and member of the Plan Commission.

Ms. Haddad is President of the Board of Directors of Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Advisory Board for the Center of Real Estate Law of the John Marshall Law School. Ms Haddad is also a member of Commercial Real Estate Executive Women of Chicago/CREW Chicago, the American Bar Association, the Illinois Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association.

City of Lake Forest • Lake Forest, IL 2001 – present
City Council, 4th Ward Alderman 2006 – April 2008
Committees:
Finance (past member)
Personnel, Compensation and Administration (past member)
Laurel Avenue Redevelopment (past member)
Planning and Preservation (past member)
Waukegan Road Streetscape (past member)
Plan Commission, Member 2002 – 2006
Zoning Board of Appeals, Member 2001 – 2006; Chairman 2002 – 2006
Lake Forest Housing Trust, (Past Member)

Advisory Board, Center for Real Estate Law, John Marshall Law School
CREW Chicago (Commercial Real Estate Women/Chicago)
President, Board of Directors, Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce
American Bar Association
Illinois State Bar Association
Chicago Bar Association

Land Use Control and Zoning — Speaker • John Marshall Law School July 2007
Approval and Funding of Infrastructure in Illinois — Speaker • Lorman Educational Services February 2008
Planning Commissioner Online Course — Contributor and Panel Participant • Urban Land Institute and University of Illinois/Chicago April 2008
A Road Map to Development and Zoning in Chicago — Land Use Law Conference • CLE International September 2008
Affordable/Workforce Housing — Challenges and What It Takes to Make it Happen • Center for Real Estate Law, John Marshall Law School September 2008
What Every Tenant Needs to Know About Leasing — Protecting Your Legal and Economic Interests • Legal/Financial Forum, Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce July 30, 2009

J. D. University of Detroit Law School
B.A. Mount Holyoke College

Illinois (1981)