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Mike Rechtin

Partner
Chicago
About

Mike has more than 30 years of sophisticated and broad-based real estate experience representing clients in buying, selling, developing, leasing 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 was named the 2023 Lawyer of the Year in Chicago for Privacy and Data Security Law by Best Lawyers. He is in-demand for presentations at digital infrastructure conferences and is often quoted in trade periodicals.

Mike's clients include insurance companies, Fortune 500 companies, pension funds, investment advisers, enterprise companies, financial institutions, real estate developers, high-tech companies and data center developers/providers. His recent transactions include representing multiple platform data center companies in acquiring land for development, developing data centers and entering into leases and master services agreements with major technology companies; acquiring operating data centers for private equity-backed real estate and technology funds; representing a financial services client in the outsourcing of all of its legacy IT infrastructure supporting its banking operations and applications, including mission-critical banking applications; negotiating joint venture agreements related to the development of data centers and multi-family developments; and representing a real estate investment company in the sale of a carrier hotel/data center in a major US market.

Areas of FocusReal EstateFinanceHealthcareLife SciencesTechnology
Bar admissionsIllinois

EXPERIENCE

  • Represents a data center development platform company in the purchase of nine sites around the US for hyperscale development, as well as in leases with hyperscalers, joint ventures and contributions from landowners and joint venture equity funding arrangements with equity investors.
  • Represents a private equity infrastructure and technology fund in the acquisition and financing of operating data centers in the US.
  • Represented landlords opposite most hyperscale tenants in 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.
  • Represented a private equity-backed, US data center platform company in a joint venture (JV) with a landowner for property in Nashville, Tennessee for hyperscale development, as well as in greenfield purchases for data center development in Virginia and Texas.
  • Represented one of the world's largest technology companies in the acquisition of existing buildings and land for the development of data centers and in build-to-suit leases.
  • Represented a leading global developer in the purchase from an insurance company and partial leaseback of a six megawatts data center facility and a vacant development parcel in Columbus, Ohio.
  • 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 leading financial institution in an eight megawatts build-to-suit Tier II+, single-occupant lease with purchase options in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as well as represented a healthcare company in its two megawatts wholesale lease in the same park.
  • 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 an IT infrastructure company in the sale-leaseback of a 12 megawatts Tier III+ data center facility in Elk Grove Village, Illinois to a leading provider of data center colocation.
  • Represented a data center solution provider in its sale of a six megawatts data center located in Chicago to a leading developer and operator of custom-designed data centers.
  • 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).
Education
  • J.D., University of Notre Dame
    cum laude
  • B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Publications

  • Co-author, "Health Care IT Outsourcing: A Conundrum for Providers," American Health Law Association's Journal of Health and Life Sciences Law, October 2020
  • Author, "In Focus: Increased Data Center Growth Driven by the COVID-19 Pandemic," Area Development Online, August 2020
  • Contributor, "Coronavirus Pandemic Highlights Value Of Data Centers," Law360, April 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

Teaching Experience

Mike was an adjunct professor in the masters in project management program at the Engineering School at Northwestern University.

Memberships and Affiliations

  • Member, American Bar Association
  • Member, Illinois Bar Association
  • Board of Directors, Special Gifts Theatre
  • Secretary and Board of Directors, North Branch Works

My latest insights

News

DLA Piper welcomes Michael Rechtin as a partner in the Real Estate group

16 May 2023 .3 minute read

Connect

Phone

+1 312 368 4069
(Work, Chicago)
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