Karen A. Tobin

Karen’s exposure as a corporate liaison to three outside law firms in dealing with company formations, commercial lease negotiations, and working with governmental organizations relating to planning and development of real estate intrigued her so much that she decided to become an attorney herself. Today, Karen is a member of the firm’s Corporate and Real Estate, Zoning & Public Finance Service Groups, assisting small and mid-sized companies in the areas of business formation, reorganization, corporate maintenance, and qualifications in multiple jurisdictions.

Having practiced corporate law for more than a decade, Karen has significant experience assisting with corporate governance, commercial contract law, mergers and acquisitions, along with commercial and residential real estate transactions. Through the start-ups and reorganizations of many companies, she has worked on many shareholder agreements and operating agreements for her clients. She is well versed in multi-jurisdictional areas and can assist clients with maintaining and qualifying their entities throughout the United States. Karen advises clients in shareholder matters and shareholder rights. She is also well versed in negotiating vendor agreements, master service agreements, license agreements, and distributor agreements.

Karen is familiar with the process of raising of capital through Regulation D and Regulation A, preparation of private placement memoranda and associated agreements, and is familiar with the filing process of the Illinois Secretary of State, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

Karen has in-depth knowledge and experience with not-for-profit corporate formation and qualification of tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service for both 501 (c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations. She is instrumental in qualifying organizations for Women Business Enterprise Certification, Minority Business Enterprise Certification, and Disadvantaged Business Certifications as well as annual recertification’s. Karen has experience in small claims contract litigation, shareholder dispute settlement negotiation, and litigation involving breaches of fiduciary duty and fraudulent conveyance.

Prior to her legal career, Karen served as development director for a commercial and residential development company. She was directly responsible for the initial start-up of new residential and commercial developments, commercial leasing efforts, and monitoring advertising and promotional efforts. Included in her responsibilities were site selection, pro-forma analysis and due diligence, rezoning, as well as proposal submissions to the City of Chicago of Requests for Qualifications (RFQs) and Requests for Proposals (RFPs) in the planned unit development process.