Mike Rechtin
PartnerMike has more than 30 years of sophisticated and broad-based real estate experience representing clients in buying, selling, developing, leasing, joint venturing and financing real estate assets in all asset classes. Since 2010, he has been at the forefront of the expanding, multi-disciplinary data center, digital infrastructure and IT commercial contracting fields that straddle real estate and technology. Mike has been named to Chambers USA for Real Estate in 2023 and 2024 and was named the 2023 "Lawyer of the Year" in Chicago for Privacy and Data Security Law by The Best Lawyers in America. He is in-demand for presentations at digital infrastructure conferences and is often quoted in trade periodicals.
Mike's clients include developers/providers of data center and digital infrastructure projects, insurance companies, Fortune 500 companies, pension funds, investment advisers and office and industrial real estate developers. His recent transactions include representing multiple platform data center companies in acquiring land for development, developing and financing data centers and entering into sophisticated leases and master services agreements with major technology companies for AI and cloud deployments; representing the developer of the world’s first commercial quantum computing facility in the Chicago area; acquiring operating data centers for private equity-backed real estate and technology funds; and negotiating joint venture agreements related to the development of data centers and multi-family developments.
EXPERIENCE
- Represents a data center development platform company in the purchase and financing of nine sites around the US for hyperscale development, as well as in leases with hyperscalers and AI platform companies, joint ventures and contributions from landowners and joint venture equity funding arrangements with equity investors.
- Represent several data center developers in the purchase of land and financing of data center developments and ultimate lease to hyperscale tenants of build-to-suit, powered shell and full service facilities, with individual facilities in excess of 100 MWs of power draw.
- Represents several private equity infrastructure and technology funds in the acquisition and financing of operating data centers in the US.
- Represented landlords opposite most hyperscale tenants in build-to-suit lease and lease/master service agreement (MSA) negotiations.
- Represented an Australian-based investment bank in performing due diligence on a portfolio of US data centers for purposes of a possible equity investment.
- Represents a cable company on its entire data center portfolio, including a 12 megawatts build-to-suit Tier III+, single-occupant data center lease with purchase options opposite T5 data centers in Hillsboro, Oregon, as well as advised on numerous regional colocation data center leases and licenses ranging from 250 kilowatts to 1.2 megawatts.
- Represented a mortgage loan provider in the sale and leaseback of a data center facility in Detroit, Michigan.
- Represented several colocation providers in creating a master service agreement (MSA) and service order forms, as well as entering into colocation agreements with customers.
- Represented numerous enterprise companies in negotiating colocation data center leases and licenses.
- Advised various clients on all related and tangential agreements in their data center work, including service level agreements (SLAs), tax abatement and exemption agreements, vendor agreements, indefeasible right of use (IRU) agreements, telco and fiber licenses, master service agreements (MSAs), service orders and meet-me-room-related agreements (MMR).
- J.D., University of Notre Dame
cum laude - B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
Chambers USA
- Band 4, Illinois Real Estate (2023-2024)
The Legal 500 United States
- Recommended, Real Estate (2017-2020)
Additional Awards
- "Lawyer of the Year" for Privacy and Data Security, The Best Lawyers in America® (2023)
- Recognized, Real Estate Law and Data Privacy & Data Security Law, The Best Lawyers in America® (2019-2024)
- Recognized, Real Estate Law: Commercial, Illinois, Leading Lawyers (2010-2020)
Seminars
- Moderator, "Finding Opportunity For Expansion in the Eastern Region and Beyond," Bisnow's Datacenter Investment Conference & Expo (DICE) East Summit: Expansions, End User Requirements, and Growth Strategy for Data Center Alley, Tysons Corner, Virginia, November 2021
- Moderator, "Building and Investing In Infrastructure To Support The New Age of Chicago Facilities," Bisnow's Datacenter Investment Conference & Expo (DICE) Midwest Digital Summit: New Data Center Expansion Opportunities, Chicago, September 2021
- Co-presenter, "Data Center Development: Specialized Security, Communications, Cooling and Power Needs; Service Agreements," Strafford Webinar, July 2021
Memberships and Affiliations
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, Illinois Bar Association
- Secretary and Board of Directors, North Branch Works
