Michael St. Peter

Michael St. Peter, 38, is one cool customer.

A corporate attorney at Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC and University of Michigan Law School graduate, St. Peter  helps his clients structure and negotiate complex business transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, recapitalizations and securities offerings.

Clients not only appreciate his business acumen and communication skills, but also note that it is his ability to remain calm and focus on their primary business objectives in getting deals done that truly sets him apart.

“Michael is that rare breed of attorney who can keep the noise to a minimum and focus on achieving the points of agreement and compromise that are important to us,” said Matthew McCulloch and Michael Crandall of Syndicated Equities, who St. Peter has worked with since 2008, handling a variety of complex real estate structuring and securities matters. They added that St. Peter also possesses a keen and sophisticated understanding of their business and commercial needs. “Rather than spending inordinate time with him explaining every nuance of a transaction, we can immediately focus on the substance of an issue, knowing that Michael innately grasps the business side of the equation.”  For McCulloch and Crandall, St. Peter has earned that rare and  valuable role  of “reliable and trusted advisor”.

Marc Brenner, President of Kovitz Investment Group and another of St. Peter’s clients, concurs, noting that, “Michael is very much a “deal and business perspective” attorney.  He is responsive to our needs, whether a transaction requires unusually harsh time demands, or thoughtful negotiations.  He never loses sight of protecting us against true risks, and looks out for our best interests at every turn, but always does so with an eye on the overall deal and the obstacles that must be cleared on the way to a successful to closing.

James Jann, president of JAB Real Estate, Inc., has been a client for the last four years and has been similarly impressed with St. Peter..

“My company, JAB Real Estate, is now on its fourth real estate fund, and Michael has been our legal counsel for the last two. In addition to his critical contributions to helping to create these funds, he has also counseled us on the many questions and issues that have arisen surrounding the first two ventures,” Jann said. “Our financial success has come from one simple formula: find the right people for a job and follow their advice. Michael has been a shining example of that.”

Jann said he has relied on St. Peter to help navigate through complicated legal and business issues that are critical in helping the company to reach its goals.  “In our business we continue to look for talent until we find the right person,” Jann said. “We didn’t need to look any further than Michael to know that we had found the ideal individual to represent our legal interests.”

Yet another impressed client, Christian Bigelow, general counsel at Fuchs Lubricants Co., also notes the high caliber of St. Peter’s work, but says that it’s something else that truly makes him stand apart from the crowd:

“I would be remiss if I did not mention Mike’s integrity and high character,” Bigelow says. “He is extremely professional and it is clear that he takes the cannons of ethics very seriously. This is particularly important to our corporation as it is consistent with our core values, and it means a great deal to me on a personal level.”

Not one to focus solely on helping his for-profit business clients succeed, St. Peter also leads Levenfeld Pearlstein’s charitable grant and volunteer program with Chicago’s Community Kitchens, a job training and placement service for disadvantaged individuals administered by the Greater Chicago Food Depository.