Tim Hammersmith is an experienced real estate lawyer and Chair of the firm’s Real Estate practice. He is focused on the sale, purchase, new construction and leasing of commercial, industrial, retail, multi-family dwelling and other types of real property. Tim also advises on real estate-related tax matters, litigation and dispute resolution. In his third decade of practice, he represents domestic and international businesses and individuals with a primary focus on supporting and facilitating their operational objectives and underlying business goals.
Tim represents both landlords and tenants with respect to a variety of leasing matters, not only including lease negotiations, but also regarding complex construction/tenant build-out contracts. Additionally, Tim advises on real estate litigation involving disputes over title, property boundaries, easements, rights of ingress and egress, title insurance matters and landlord tenant contract disputes. Tim also provides tax counsel on real property tax matters, including contesting real estate tax assessments on commercial, industrial and multi-family investment grade properties and representing not-for-profit entities in the area of real estate tax exemptions, representing industrial use clients in obtaining real estate tax incentives, as well as advising on real estate tax leasehold issues.
Tim is consistently valued for his ability to get clients into the right property where they can quickly, efficiently and legally conduct their businesses. Clients also appreciate that Tim understands the importance of helping them maximize the return on assets in the event of a disposition. Because Tim has been involved in resolving a range of real estate litigation and disputes, he brings a wider viewpoint to real estate transactions and often better positions his clients throughout the negotiation process. Likewise, Tim’s depth of substantive knowledge and experience in real estate transactions allows him to better represent his clients in disputes and litigation matters concerning real property issues.
In May of 2018, Tim lectured on U.S. law to undergraduate law students at Waseda University School of Law. A frequent author and lecturer on real estate issues such as site selection and real estate development incentives, landlord/tenant matters and tax challenges, Tim has served as an adjunct professor for the John Marshall Law School in Chicago.