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Ruth A. Schoenmeyer

Partner

Ruth focuses her practice on commercial real estate. 

She advises clients on a variety of transactions, including leasing, redevelopment, disposition and acquisition matters.

Her clients include retailers, developers, quick service restaurant chains and logistics companies. Ruth has extensive experience, both in-house and in private practice, representing landlords and tenants.

Ruth advises clients on all aspects of real estate leasing and other transactions, including lease negotiations, purchase agreements, CAM disputes, easements, and tenant-landlord disputes.

She also frequently speaks and writes about commercial real estate leasing issues. Recent topics include redeveloping shopping centers (seminar for ICSC Law Conference), drafting and amending reciprocal easement agreements for mixed-use and redeveloped projects (article in Probate & Property) and attorney-client privilege issues presented by hiring third-party service providers (seminar for ALI CLE).

Before joining Eversheds Sutherland, Ruth was a Partner in the real estate and merger and acquisition practice of a major global law firm. She also worked as Senior Counsel at one of the world’s largest quick service restaurant chains.

  • Advised Symetra Financial Corporation on the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary, Medical Risk Managers, Inc., a managing general underwriter and health care consulting firm, to BCS Financial Corporation.
  • Negotiated, on behalf of a commercial real estate firm, the lease for a technology tenant's flagship store on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago.
  • Negotiated, on behalf of a landlord, a 200,000 square foot department store lease.
  • Negotiated a 600,000+ square foot build-to-suit industrial lease for a real estate management investment firm.
  • Negotiated dozens of retail leases for an American multinational technology and e-commerce company opening brick and mortar locations.
  • Negotiated numerous office leases for a co-working company.
  • Doing More with Less: Generating Value from Existing Corporate Assets in Today’s Post-Pandemic Workplace, September 14, 2023, Chicago Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel
  • The Not-So-Standard, Not-So-Retail Shopping Center: A Negotiation, April 27, 2022, ABA, Section of Real Property Trust & Estate
  • Beat It or Never Surrender? Real Estate Lessons Learned from the Pandemic, March 30, 2022, Chicago Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel
  • From Billy Idol to Billie Eilish: Repurposing a 1980s Shopping Center, November 3, 2021, ICSC Law Conference
  • Negotiating Commercial Leases 2021, February 25-26, 2021, Practising Law Institute
  • The Three R’s of Retail Redevelopment: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, October 14, 2020,
    International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
  • Hot Desks and Cool Hotels: Co-working, Pop-up Hotels and Other Non-traditional Uses of Real Estate, October 7, 2020, American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) 
  • Getting Into the Weeds - Assignment/Subleases; Ethics Issues: Hackers and Agents and Closings, Oh My! April 2020, American Law Institute's Commercial Real Estate Leases 2020
  • Commercial Leases: Building Today's Tenant Improvements; Hot Issues in Retail Leasing in the Current Environment, February 2020, PLI's Negotiating Commercial Leases 2020 
  • Square Peg in a Round Hole: Restaurant and Entertainment Leases in New and Existing Mixed-Use Developments, October 2019, International Council of Shopping Centers, US Shopping Center Law Conference
  • Letters of Intent: You've Already Signed What?; Retail Leases: A Totally Different World; and Other People's Money: The Role of Lenders, June 2019, American Law Institute's Commercial Real Estate Leases 2019
  • REAdy to Draft and Amend REA Documents? Pointers for Drafting and Amending REA Documents in Connection With the Development or Redevelopment of a Project, May 2019, ABA, Section of Real Property Trust & Estate Law National CLE Conference
  • What’s Different About Retail Leases, Ground Leases and Other Special Types of Leases? April 2019, ABA's 2018-2019 Mastering the Art of Commercial Real Estate Deals
  • How to Negotiate Lease Construction, Default, Insurance, and Other Common Provisions Today, March 2019, ABA's 2018–2019 Mastering the Art of Commercial Real Estate Deals
  • How to Negotiate Lease Economics, Maintenance and Transfer Provisions Today, February 2019, ABA's 2018-2019 Mastering the Art of Commercial Real Estate Deals
  • I Surrender, But I'm Not Giving Up! Drafting and Negotiating Effective Surrender Provisions, October 2018, International Council of Shopping Centers, US Shopping Center Law Conference
  • Hot Issues in Retail Leasing in the Current Environment, June 2018, Practising Law Institute, Negotiating Commercial Leases 2018
  • Where Tomorrowland Meets Adventureland: How to Create and Maintain a Practice That Will Attract Great Clients and Employees Into the Future, May 2018, ABA, Section of Real Property Trust & Estate Law Spring Symposia
  • Five Calculations Every Leasing Attorney Should Know How to Make, May 2018, ABA, Section of Real Property Trust & Estate Law Spring Symposia
  • Commercial Leases: Dealing with Large Hidden "Big Ticket" Items, March 2018, Practising Law Institute, Negotiating Commercial Leases 2018
  • Putting the FUN in the Fundamental Concepts of Commercial Leases, January 2018, ABA Section of Real Property Trust & Estate Law
  • Received the Connect CRE “Lawyers in Real Estate Award,” which recognizes attorneys for “excellence in their practices as well as their contributions to the community.” Ruth was one of 10 attorneys spotlighted for the Chicago & Midwest region.
  • Recognized by Chambers USA: Guide to Leading Business Lawyers in the area of real estate, 2022-2023
  • Recognized by GlobeSt's Women of Influence in the category of CRE Legal Counsel, 2022
  • Recognized by Legal 500 United States in the area of real estate, 2021
  • Probate & Property magazine: Best Practical Use Article, 2019
  • American College of Real Estate Lawyers: Fellow, Class of 2018
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rated
  • Member, ICSC US Law Conference Program Planning Committee, 2021-present
  • Member, American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education (ALI CLE) Real Estate Law Advisory Panel, 2021-present
  • Member, Advisory Board, Georgetown University Law Center, Advanced Commercial Leasing Institute, 2019-2022
  • Member, Programs Committee, American College of Real Estate Lawyers, 2019-2023
  • Member, Ely Chapter, Lambda Alpha International, 2018-present
  • Member, International Council of Shopping Centers, 2013-present
  • Chair, American Bar Association, Leasing Group, Section of Real Property Trust & Estate Law, 2017-2019
  • Vice Chair, Leasing Group, American Bar Association, Section of Real Property Trust & Estate Law, 2015-2017
  • Member, Editorial Board, Shopping Center Law & Strategy, 2017-2018
  • Acquisitions Editor, American Bar Association, Section of Real Property Trust & Estate Law, 2015-2017
  • Chair, Retail Leasing Committee, American Bar Association, Section of Real Property Trust & Estate Law, 2011-2015 
  • Member, Board of Directors, Illinois Legal Aid Online, 2011-2015
  • Illinois
  • A.B., with highest honors, University of Michigan
  • J.D., University of Michigan Law School
Ruth Schoenmeyer

Partner

Ruth Schoenmeyer

Partner

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