Deborah Huerta advises domestic and international clients on commercial real estate matters, including real estate private equity fund formations, joint ventures and programmatic joint ventures (GP and LP), restructurings and recapitalizations, acquisitions and dispositions of real estate, and leasing of retail, office, logistics, and industrial space, including ground leases and sale-leasebacks. She also advises clients on the real estate aspects of M&A, energy, and bankruptcy transactions and assists the Firm's Fortune 500 clients with management of their real estate assets.
Deborah regularly works with clients such as Whitman/Peterson Partners, Henderson Park Capital Management, Mill Creek Residential Trust, NW1 Partners, MARK Capital Management Limited (f.k.a. Meyer Bergman Limited), Navistar International Corporation, Bally's Corporation, The Carlyle Group, Blackstone Group, and NRG Energy. Other notable representations include assisting The Ohio State University in connection with a P3 (public-private partnership) infrastructure transaction for the monetization of its energy assets.
In addition, Deborah leverages her real estate knowledge and prior clerking experience to counsel clients on transactional and litigation pro bono matters. Her pro bono work has included representing Anixter Center, Family Focus, and Landmarks Illinois, as well as assisting a juvenile sentenced to life without parole in obtaining a reduced sentence under the Miller v. Alabama decision.
Deborah also has been actively involved in programming with partner organizations of the Firm including After School Matters, the Anti-Defamation League, the Chicago Bar Foundation's Investing in Justice Campaign, and Working in the Schools.
Experience
"Deborah is an amazing partner with great attention to detail."Chambers USA
- University of Michigan (J.D. magna cum laude 2013, Order of the Coif, Executive Editor of Incorporation — Michigan Law Review; M.A. 2009; B.A. with highest distinction 2006)
- Illinois
Chambers USA: Real Estate, Illinois, "Up and Coming" (2024); "Associates to Watch" (2021-2023): described as "a real estate attorney with particular experience in the private equity sector" and "incredibly diligent and careful" (2021), "a great attorney" with "superior attention to detail in drafting and reviewing documents" (2023), and "an amazing partner with great attention to detail" (2024)
Best Lawyers: Real Estate Law, "Ones to Watch" (2024-2025)
Illinois Super Lawyers: "Rising Star" (2023-2024)
- Law Clerk to Judge John J. Tharp Jr., U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (2014-2015)