Legal giant consolidating its Chicago offices at BMO Tower
By Danny Ecker
Crain’s Chicago Business
September 4, 2025
A legal giant that debuted in Chicago and bolstered its local footprint over the past two years by snapping up a pair of law firms is combining their workspace at one of the city's newest office towers.
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton has signed a lease for just more than 29,000 square feet on the 45th floor of BMO Tower at 320 S. Canal St., a spokesman for the Atlanta-based firm confirmed. Kilpatrick will consolidate its Chicago offices in the 52-story building in October 2026 from roughly 37,000 square feet it occupies today at 500 W. Madison St. and 34,000 square feet it leases at 175 W. Jackson Blvd.
The smaller combined footprint is poised to add even more available office space to a downtown market already teeming with it from the rise of remote work. That's irritating news for landlords, who are collectively grappling with decimated property values as they try to shore up their tenant rosters.
But Kilpatrick notches a victory for the joint venture of Riverside Investment & Development and Convexity Properties, which developed the 1.5 million-square-foot, BMO-anchored skyscraper next to Union Station during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chicago-based real estate firms have been gradually landing new tenants for the building, which was 78% leased before the Kilpatrick deal, according to data from real estate information company CoStar Group.
Kilpatrick's pending move to the tower "is an exciting new chapter in the evolution of Kilpatrick's Chicago office and commitment to Chicago," Kilpatrick Chicago Co-Managing Partners Sean Auton and Jerry Haberkorn said in a joint statement to Crain's. “This beautiful new space will reflect Kilpatrick’s brand reputation as a technology-focused firm and help us attract the type of clients and talent that will reinforce and further build that brand in Chicago."
Kilpatrick entered the Chicago market in 2023 through its acquisition of L&G Law Group, which was based out of 175 W. Jackson. Then last year, Kilpatrick dramatically grew its local presence by acquiring Chicago firm HMB Legal Counsel and its 55 Chicago attorneys, bringing its headcount in the city to 70 lawyers.
The firm has close to 100 attorneys and staff combined in Chicago today, according to a Kilpatrick spokesman. Kilpatrick ranked 93rd on Law.com's most recent annual ranking of the highest-grossing law firms nationwide, generating nearly $583 million in revenue in 2024.
"We're obviously thrilled to (have BMO Tower) be chosen as the place for their new home," Riverside Senior Vice President Christy Domin said of the Kilpatrick deal. "We want to keep adding more great tenants like them to our building roster."
On the losing side of the consolidation are Kilpatrick's two current landlords, which now have more space to fill amid record-high downtown office vacancy.
Kilpatrick is set to leave behind the former HMB space on the 37th floor at 500 W. Madison, which is owned by a venture of Newport Beach, Calif.-based KBS Realty Advisors. The firm's lease expires in October 2026 at the 40-story building, which is 89% leased today, according to CoStar data.
A spokeswoman for KBS did not provide a comment.
Kilpatrick's imminent departure from 175 W. Jackson, where its lease is due to expire in January, comes as the building works its way through a lengthy foreclosure process.
The 1.4 million-square-foot property is owned by a venture of Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management, which was hit with a foreclosure lawsuit in 2022 alleging it had defaulted on its $280 million loan backed by the building. That case, which was one of the biggest examples of financial trouble amid rampant downtown office distress, is still pending.
Kilpatrick is set to exit as the property's second-largest tenant, proprietary trading firm Wolverine Trading, is also on its way out of about 88,000 square feet.
The building was just less than 50% leased at the end of May, according to the most recent quarterly legal filing by a receiver overseeing the property. CoStar data on Brookfield's loan shows the building was appraised in November at $84 million, down from a $210 million appraisal in March 2022 before federal interest rates spiked.
The loan was sold off to commercial mortgage-backed securities investors, making much of the property's financial performance data publicly available. A spokesman for Miami Beach, Fla.-based LNR Partners, which is overseeing the loan on behalf of bondholders, declined to comment on Kilpatrick's pending departure.
Cushman & Wakefield brokers Steve Schneider, Chris Wood and Presley Norby negotiated the new lease at BMO Tower on behalf of Kilpatrick. Domin and Riverside's Drew Nieman oversee leasing at the building. Please Click for Article