Pedersen & Houpt provides a broad range of legal counsel to middle market, early stage and start-up companies and their owners.  Many of our clients have a significant presence in the Chicago and Midwest regional business communities.  We also represent real estate and multi-unit retail developers on a national basis.  P&H's core areas of practice involve the following five niche markets:

Middle Market Privately-Held Manufacturing, Distribution and Service Companies
Pedersen & Houpt's core focus is on the representation of closely-held middle market businesses, particularly those in the manufacturing, distribution and service industries. Our work on behalf of these client companies is comprehensive and includes entity formation, employee benefits and executive compensation, employment law (including restrictive covenants), acquisitions and divestitures, financing, securities, taxation, intellectual property and dispute resolution/litigation. Many of our clients self-insure, so in addition to handling operational and transaction matters such as contracts with sales representatives and vendors, and warranty issues, we handle their product liability matters. We also oversee the legal needs of several of our clients' operations on an international basis.

Entrepreneurs, Start-Up Companies and Private Investment Funds
Our firm has a long history of leading entrepreneurs, high growth companies and investors through the business start-up and capitalization process. Through our experience, we have found that our clients value us for our sound business advice, practical approach to resolving business issues and network of business leader and investor contacts, as well as our legal counsel. Our counsel and advice covers a variety of issues including creating the appropriate entity structure, evaluating intellectual property to ensure its protection, developing executive compensation and benefits plans, and facilitating private placements of debt and equity, as well as taking a company through an initial public offering or public debt offering.

Real Estate Owners and Developers
Our real estate practice is truly national in scope. Our work involves multi-site and multistate acquisitions, sales, development, construction, leasing and financing projects. In addition, our work with developers has included the development, leasing and sales of large multi-use development projects. Our clients include national retailers, developers, investors, lenders and municipalities. In addition to the transaction-oriented real estate counsel we provide property owners and developers, we also handle environmental and land use issues, as well as landlord, tenant and property owner disputes.

Financial Services Entities
We provide counsel to several of the Chicago area's major banks as well as other lenders with respect to commercial loans, real estate loans and asset-based financing projects. Our work has also included structuring leveraged ESOP loans. In addition to handling commercial loan matters, the firm has served as counsel for borrowers, lenders and credit enhancers for a number of tax-free bond deals. Pedersen & Houpt is also retained to handle non-lending matters for our banking clients such as probate and trust administration disputes and employee benefits counseling.

High Net Worth Individuals
The work we perform for our business clients has yielded the need to address business succession, tax planning, wealth preservation and estate transfer issues for the owners and executives of these entities as their companies grow and prosper. Our wealth preservation services are comprehensive and designed to protect business owners and their families. We protect the assets of high net worth individuals through premarital or post-marital agreements. We also protect the assets of high net worth individuals by representing such clients in complex family dispute matters, including business valuation as it relates to dissolution of marriage or family shareholder matters. Our work also includes using sophisticated estate planning tools to address intergenerational wealth transfer matters, as well as the administration of decedents' estate.

Why We Think We Are Different
Pedersen & Houpt lawyers distinguish themselves by being immersed in our clients' businesses. We get to know the people, culture, business and industry in which our clients work and operate. The value of partnering with our clients in this way delivers legal advice that not only addresses a specific issue or problem, but advice that also works within a company’s business strategy and bottom line goals. 

Pedersen & Houpt clients also benefit from the value a personalized relationship with their attorney and/or attorney team provides. Our projects are staffed with partners and associates that clients meet and get to know. Further, our legal representation is based on staffing projects appropriately with just the right level of experience.