Akin Launches in Chicago with Market-Leading Real Estate Funds and Infrastructure M&A Team

(Chicago) – Akin announced today the opening of its Chicago office. The firm’s expansion brings its premier investment management and corporate practices to a major market for private capital managers and an economic hub. The launch is led by a four-partner team that recently arrived at Akin from Mayer Brown, including Wendy Gallegos who will serve as partner-in-charge of the Chicago office.

Akin’s Chicago team has a sophisticated real estate funds practice advising on complex investment vehicles. The group provides comprehensive advice and delivers bespoke solutions to prominent investment managers and companies pursuing investments and transactions in real estate. The infrastructure mergers and acquisitions (M&A) team works with infrastructure, private equity and other investors on complex infrastructure investments, joint ventures and other transactions. They have market-leading experience in transportation, including short line, railcar and other railroad transactions and ports, steel manufacturing and digital infrastructure, including data centers.

“Our opening in Chicago adds elite talent to our growing investment management and M&A teams with the addition of a highly talented real estate funds team and leading infrastructure M&A practice. The group is a perfect complement to our transactional offering, and our clients will benefit from their skillsets. We are thrilled to build an on-the-ground team to support our clients in Chicago,” said Abid Qureshi, Akin’s co-chair.

“With our new office in Chicago, we’re expanding the reach of Akin’s premier integrated platform while delivering bespoke solutions for clients,” said Gallegos. “We’re excited to continue to grow these relationships in this vibrant market.”

Akin’s Chicago team includes:

Wendy Gallegos joined Akin in May 2025, advising many of the largest real estate private equity firms and sector-specific operators and allocators in forming open-end and closed-end private equity funds with a wide range of real estate and real estate related investment strategies across the U.S., Asia-Pacific and Europe.

Jason Wagenmaker joined Akin in May 2025, bringing nearly 20 years of experience advising clients in complex M&A transactions across transportation, social infrastructure, digital infrastructure, energy, real estate, steel, chemicals and technology.

Jessica Pan joined Akin in June 2025, advising fund sponsors on the formation, marketing, management and regulatory compliance of private investment funds, including real estate and private equity funds.

Joshua La Vigne joined Akin in June 2025, advising clients on M&A, divestitures, joint ventures and corporate governance matters. He has advised on transactions in a variety of industries with a particular focus on infrastructure, as well as financial services technology, automotive and consumer finance, commercial finance, chemicals, technology and real estate.

The Chicago office will be located at 190 S. LaSalle Street.

About Akin’s Investment Management Practice

Akin’s investment management practice, comprising over 100 lawyers, is a recognized leader in the representation of large institutional and entrepreneurial fund sponsors and managers. We also serve as lead counsel to the world’s premier investors and help them access opportunities in markets worldwide. Through its representation of a broad range of investment managers and institutional investors, Akin has great insight on emerging trends across the private equity, credit and hedge fund industries. This knowledge and experience are particularly valuable to clients as convergence across asset classes continues to play out in the marketplace.

The firm’s real estate funds practice draws on over 30 years of experience advising global fund sponsors and investors on the legal and structural complexities of real estate investments. With a focus on strategic fund formation, governance and cross-border structuring, we support clients across the full life cycle of real estate funds, including open-end and closed-end vehicles, separate accounts, joint ventures and operating platforms. Our work spans core through opportunistic equity and debt strategies and covers all primary and secondary asset classes reflecting a deep understanding of market trends, investor priorities and regulatory developments shaping the real estate sector.

About Akin’s Corporate Practice

Our market-leading corporate lawyers work with clients to structure and execute complex transactions and devise creative debt and equity capital solutions around the world. Our team of 300+ transactional lawyers, in major financial centers on three continents, works across borders, industries and the capital structure.

We provide counsel to alternative capital providers, including private equity, private credit, infrastructure, sovereign wealth and other investment funds, public and private companies, boards of directors and family offices, in connection with M&A, capital solutions and other investments, debt financings and capital markets transactions, energy & infrastructure transactions and corporate governance matters worldwide.

Akin is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

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