Lawrence C. Eppley

Larry Eppley is a partner in the Corporate Practice Group in the firm's Chicago office. He is also the Leader of the firm's Hospitality Team.

Areas of Practice

Larry concentrates his practice on acquisitions, real estate finance, development, public and private finance, joint ventures and raising equity, particularly in the hospitality sector.

Previously, Larry was general counsel at Potbelly Sandwich Works, one of Chicago's fastest growing companies, and his clients rely on him as their principal outside legal counsel. He often works with middle-market and emerging growth companies, including those in the hospitality and restaurant sectors, and with structured and institutional finance.

Larry was named as one of Law360's Hospitality MVPs in both 2013 and 2016 for his extensive work in major transactions geared towards hotel development.

Experience

Representative Experience

• Represent clients in connection with the acquisition, development and financing of hotel projects throughout the U.S.
• Represent foreign investors in connection with U.S. real estate assets.
• Represent emerging growth restaurant companies.
• Represent major financial service institutions in connection with real estate financings.
• Served as General Counsel of Potbelly Sandwich Works.  

Representative Transactions

• Godfrey Hotel, Detroit, MI

• Westin Book Cadillac, Detroit, MI

• 5 Hotel Portfolio in San Francisco, Palo Alto, and Los Gatos, California
• 4 Hotel Portfolio in San Francisco, California
• Hotel Indigo, New York, New York
• Godfrey Hotel Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
• ARLO Hotel, Chicago, Illinois
• 850 North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois
• The View, Jersey City, New Jersey
• Bay Harbor Hotel, Tampa, Florida
• Ventana Inn, Big Sur, California
• Viera Manor, Melbourne, Florida
• Carmel Valley Ranch, Carmel-By-The-Sea, California
• Mondrian Soho, New York, New York
• Essex Inn, Chicago, Illinois
• 29-26 Northern Blvd., Long Island City, New York
• 45-40 Vernon Blvd., Long Island City, New York
• B Ocean Hotel, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
• Trump Soho, New York City, New York
• Commune Hotel, New York City, New York
• CAA Building Hotel, Chicago, Illinois
• Hotel Lincoln, Chicago, Illinois
• Crown Miami Beach Hotel, Miami, Florida
• LondonHouse Hotel, Chicago, Illinois
• 330 North Wabash (former IBM Building), Chicago, Illinois
• Godfrey Hotel, Chicago, Illinois
• Temple Building Hotel, Boston, Massachusetts 
• Wyndham Chicago, 633 St. Clair, Chicago, Illinois
• Doubletree Metropolitan Hotel, New York City, New York
• Radisson Lexington Hotel, New York City, New York
• Hotel Cass Chicago, Magnificent Mile, Chicago, Illinois
• Felix Hotel, River North, Chicago, Illinois

Honors

Leading Lawyer, Leisure & Hospitality, Chambers USA, 2022-2024

Hospitality Editorial Advisory Board, Law360, 2017-2023

Illinois Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers, 2014-2018

Best Lawyer in America, Best Lawyers, 2013-2025

Hospitality Sector Lawyer of the Year in Illinois, Corporate Intl, 2018

Real Estate, Legal 500 US, 2014-2016, 2021

Hospitality MVP, Law360, 2013, 2016

Designated a "Distinguished Graduate of the College of Law" by the University of Illinois School of Law, 2002

Articles

Larry writes articles on subjects of commercial real estate for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education and has lectured for CLE International, Inc. He is a contributing author for IICLE's Commercial Landlord-Tenant Practice, 2023 Edition.

Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law Blog Posts

• "Hotels Provide Sanctuary on the Front Lines; Saving Grace in the Time of Crisis", March 30, 2020
• "Total Vacancy: Hotels Searching for Answers in Wake of COVID-19", March 23, 2020
• "Commercial Real Estate Tips of the Week: Practical Answers from Sheppard Mullin’s Coronavirus Task Force", March 16, 2020
• "California Executive Order Permits “Commandeering” Hotels", March 13, 2020

Media Mentions

Speaking Engagements

• Speaker, "Chicago’s Start-up Landscape," The Economic Club of Chicago on October 4, 2022 
• Larry moderated the "Developing and Designing Hotels for a Changing World" panel at Bisnow's Chicago Hotel and Restaurant Real Estate conference on August 18, 2022.
• Larry moderated the "Resilience of the City" panel at Bisnow's Escape & Ascent Digital Dealmaking Conference on December 8, 2020.
• He moderated "Alternative Investment Opportunities: How to Make Money in 2020" at Bisnow’s Multifamily Annual conference on November 14, 2019.
• He moderated “Hotel Investment, Finance & Development” at the Bisnow Los Angeles Hotel Summit on March 14, 2019. He also presented on "Purchases, Sales, and Closing" at PLI’s Annual Commercial Real Estate Institute on November 15, 2016, October 25, 2017, and October 24, 2018, and he moderated "Bisnow Chicago Repositioning & Adaptive Reuse 2017."
• He also moderated "Fireside Chat: The Opening of the ACE Hotel Fulton Market," at Bisnow Chicago Hotel Investment & Development Series 2017. Lawrence was the keynote speaker at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management’s Business Law Conference in February 2012.
• He has also served as a faculty member and lectured for the National Association of Bond Lawyers. Lawrence has also been a speaker and panelist at various National Association of Bond Lawyers seminars and conferences, and served as a panelist at real estate industry seminars.

Events

Memberships

Law360 Hospitality Editorial Advisory Board Member, 2016-2022

Advisory Board, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2018-2022

Board of Directors, Metropolitan Capital Bank and Trust, a Chicago-based private bank

Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center/1871, a not-for-profit that operates the world's top-ranked business incubator that provides programming and services for entrepreneurs and start-ups

Board of Directors, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce

Member, Economic Club of Chicago, 2014 - present

Member, City Club of Chicago, 2015 - present

Member, Governing Board of Trustees, University of Illinois, 2001 - 2009

Chairman, University of Illinois, 2003 - 2008

Founding Board Member, IllinoisVENTURES LLC, 2003 - 2009, a University/owner venture capital company

Digital Media