40 Under Forty 2022

2022 ILLINOIS ATTORNEYS TO WATCH

SCOTT SCHONFELD S ome attorneys just have the secret sauce. At only 36, Scott has already

Ateet Adhikari, Chief Operating Offi- cer and General Counsel with Chicago’s ShopRunner, said that Schonfeld has been invaluable to him as he works to help grow his company. Schonfeld’s legal advice played a key role in helping ShopRunner negotiate a contract with a major blockchain part- ner. This contract included complex busi- ness and intellectual property elements. Adhikari said that Schonfeld “was a wiz- ard” in helping ShopRunner navigate this business relationship. “Scott has been an incredible thought partner on a number of business and le- gal matters over the past several years,” Adhikari said. “His real estate and cor- porate guidance was invaluable through- out our growth as a company, includ- ing employee growth, location growth, fund-raising and ultimately the sale of the company.” Despite his busy career, Schonfeld also serves his community. He is passionate about assisting start-up companies, work- ing with The Garage, Northwestern Uni- versity’s start-up accelerator, where he counsels start-ups at every stage of the corporate lifecycle. Pro bono work is also important to Schonfeld. Frank Eichenlaub, a Partner at Polsinelli PC, said Schonfeld has made a big impact through this work. “Scott has devoted a meaningful por- tion of his legal practice to pro bono work, creatively combining his expertise in the hospitality industry with the needs of the community,” Eichenlaub said. “ The need for his pro-bono representation was mag- nified during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Scott Schonfeld clearly has a recipe for success.

established himself as one of the top “go- to” transactional attorneys representing major hospitality companies and celebrity chefs in Chicago and across the country. His restaurant clients rely on Schonfeld not only for his exceptional legal talent but also his unique ability to structure and close creative transactions. Ethan Samson, Vice President and Dep- uty General Counsel at Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants, said that Schonfeld has a knack for identifying key issues that hospitality and restaurant businesses face and finding the most efficient solutions to their problems. “Scott has expressed a unique talent for understanding our industry and busi- ness, and weaves that wonderfully into his position as outside legal counsel,” Sam- son said. “His knowledge of our industry paired with his exceptional talent as a legal mind gives me extreme comfort that I am working with the right person when I’m working with Scott.” In addition to being a leading hospital- ity lawyer, Scott maintains an expansive general transactional practice, with an emphasis upon mergers and acquisitions, securities matters, general corporate matters, emerging company representa- tions, and commercial real estate transac- tions. It’s proven to be a winning formula. “Scott has uniquely distinguished him- self in the area of hospitality law as one of the leading attorneys in that space in Chicago,” said Donovan Borvan, Partner at Chicago’s Webster Law Partners. “That itself would be sufficiently impressive at his age, but he also maintains a sophisti- cated and expansive general practice.”

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His knowledge of our industry paired with his exceptional talent as a legal mind gives me extreme comfort that I am working with the right person”

AGE 36

FIRM Fox Swibel Levin & Carroll LLP

LAW SCHOOL The University of Chicago Law School AREA OF PRACTICE Corporate, real estate, and hospitality transactions

40 Under Forty 2022 CHICAGO LAWYER & CHICAGO DAILY LAW BULLETIN