Jenner Provides Counsel for the University of Illinois System’s Discovery Partners Institute

Partner Michelle McAtee leads a team that is advising the University of Illinois on a milestone project: a permanent home for the university’s Discovery Partners Institute (DPI).

DPI helps people jumpstart their tech careers, research initiatives, and companies in Chicago. It focuses on applied research and development, business building, and tech talent development.

Later this year, the university will break ground on DPI’s headquarters at The 78, Chicago’s 62-acre neighborhood on the Chicago River. DPI will have a state-of-the-art home for education and applied research programs and collaborative work with industry partners.

Learn More Button

The Jenner real estate team represented the university in a true public-private partnership: The university acquired the parcel of land where DPI will built, and additional land that will serve as an access road, from the developer of The 78. With the developer, the team negotiated a complex declaration that will govern uses and restrictions on the land. Jenner also counseled the university on the myriad City of Chicago agreements and with funding requirements of the State of Illinois Capital Development Board.

Michelle is a Co-Chair of the firm’s Real Estate Transactions Practice. She has extensive experience guiding clients through every aspect of a transaction, from acquisitions and finance deals through project construction, development, and dispositions.

Along with Michelle, the team representing the University of Illinois includes
Practice Counsel Katya Lewandowska, Associate Abe Salander, and Partner Sheila Kailus.

 

Related Capabilities

Related Locations

© 2026 Jenner & Block LLP. Attorney Advertising. Jenner & Block LLP is an Illinois Limited Liability Partnership including professional corporations. This publication, presentation, or event is not intended to provide legal advice but to provide information on legal matters and/or firm news of interest to our clients and colleagues. Readers or attendees should seek specific legal advice before taking any action with respect to matters mentioned in this publication or at this event. The attorney responsible for this communication is Brent E. Kidwell, Jenner & Block LLP, 353 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654-3456. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Jenner & Block London LLP, an affiliate of Jenner & Block LLP, is a limited liability partnership established under the laws of the State of Delaware, USA and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority with SRA number 615729. Information regarding the data we collect and the rights you have over your data can be found in our Privacy Notice. For further inquiries, please contact dataprotection@jenner.com.

Jenner Provides Counsel for the University of Illinois System’s Discovery Partners Institute

Partner Michelle McAtee leads a team that is advising the University of Illinois on a milestone project: a permanent home for the university’s Discovery Partners Institute (DPI).

DPI helps people jumpstart their tech careers, research initiatives, and companies in Chicago. It focuses on applied research and development, business building, and tech talent development.

Later this year, the university will break ground on DPI’s headquarters at The 78, Chicago’s 62-acre neighborhood on the Chicago River. DPI will have a state-of-the-art home for education and applied research programs and collaborative work with industry partners.

Learn More Button

The Jenner real estate team represented the university in a true public-private partnership: The university acquired the parcel of land where DPI will built, and additional land that will serve as an access road, from the developer of The 78. With the developer, the team negotiated a complex declaration that will govern uses and restrictions on the land. Jenner also counseled the university on the myriad City of Chicago agreements and with funding requirements of the State of Illinois Capital Development Board.

Michelle is a Co-Chair of the firm’s Real Estate Transactions Practice. She has extensive experience guiding clients through every aspect of a transaction, from acquisitions and finance deals through project construction, development, and dispositions.

Along with Michelle, the team representing the University of Illinois includes
Practice Counsel Katya Lewandowska, Associate Abe Salander, and Partner Sheila Kailus.

 

Related Capabilities

Related Locations

© 2026 Jenner & Block LLP. Attorney Advertising. Jenner & Block LLP is an Illinois Limited Liability Partnership including professional corporations. This publication, presentation, or event is not intended to provide legal advice but to provide information on legal matters and/or firm news of interest to our clients and colleagues. Readers or attendees should seek specific legal advice before taking any action with respect to matters mentioned in this publication or at this event. The attorney responsible for this communication is Brent E. Kidwell, Jenner & Block LLP, 353 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654-3456. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Jenner & Block London LLP, an affiliate of Jenner & Block LLP, is a limited liability partnership established under the laws of the State of Delaware, USA and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority with SRA number 615729. Information regarding the data we collect and the rights you have over your data can be found in our Privacy Notice. For further inquiries, please contact dataprotection@jenner.com.

News and Insights

Event

Amanda Shafer Berman to Speak on Energy and Administrative Law at WEN-DC Webinar

As the Supreme Court's new Term begins, Jenner & Block Partner Amanda Shafer Berman will join a Women's Energy Network of Washington, DC (WEN-DC) webinar on how the Court's decisions are shaping the energy sector.

October 14, 2026

Publications

Partner Amanda Shafer Berman Quoted in Bloomberg Law on Senate Permitting Overhaul Bill

Partner Amanda Shafer Berman was quoted in an October 5 Bloomberg Law article, "Permitting Deal Gives Projects Defense Against Litigation Delays," on the Senate's new permitting overhaul package and its expected impact on litigation over federal permitting reversals.

October 2026

Event

Partner John Storino to Speak at Sandpiper Partners' “AI and Outside Counsel Guidelines Roundtable”

On October 8, Partner John Storino will serve as a panelist at the “AI and Outside Counsel Guidelines Roundtable,” hosted by Sandpiper Partners in Chicago.

October 8, 2026

Event

Partner Meghan Greenfield to Speak on Supreme Court Climate Case at Edison Electric Institute's Fall Legal Conference

On Wednesday, October 7, Partner Meghan Greenfield will speak on a panel titled "Boulder County v. Suncor Energy: What the Supreme Court's Climate Case Means for the Energy Industry" at the Edison Electric Institute's Fall Legal Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.

October 7, 2026

Publications

The Form Rules Everything: A Seventh Circuit Ruling on ERISA's Substantial Compliance Doctrine

Partner Joseph Torres and Special Counsel Jennifer Beach authored an article for Employee Relations Law Journal examining the Seventh Circuit's decision in Packaging Corp. of America Thrift Plan for Hourly Employees v. Langdon, a ruling that addresses both the standard of review in ERISA interpleader actions and the continued viability of the substantial compliance doctrine for changing plan beneficiaries.

October 5, 2026