2026 ILLINOIS ATTORNEYS TO WATCH
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BENJAMIN ALTSHUL AGE: 38 FIRM : Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC LAW SCHOOL : Chicago-Kent College of Law What distinguishes Benjamin from his peers is his ability to operate as both lawyer and business advisor. ”
AREA(S) OF PRACTICE: Real estate
B enjamin Altshul has built his career in real estate law around one truth: Clients don’t hire lawyers to paper deals, they hire advisors they rely on to help them make better business decisions. That philosophy has helped this partner in Levenfeld Pearl- stein’s Real Estate Group become a trusted advisor to institu- tional investors, private equity sponsors, developers and en- trepreneurial real estate operators across the country. The numbers tell the story: During the past two years alone, Altshul has handled transactions totaling more than $500 mil- lion in value, representing clients in acquisitions, dispositions, financings, joint ventures and leasing matters involving multi- family, retail, office, industrial and self-storage properties. “What distinguishes Benjamin from his peers is his ability to operate as both lawyer and business advisor,” said Deb Knupp, managing director with GrowthPlay. “He underwrites the economics of his clients’ deals alongside the legal docu- ments, anticipates the issues that will matter most at closing and beyond, and tailors his approach to each client’s invest- ment strategy.” His practice spans borrower-side financing, purchase and sale negotiations, title and survey review, liability structuring and complex leasing matters. Clients seek him out specifical- ly for his work negotiating nonrecourse carve-out guaranties, highly technical loan provisions.
Recent engagements show how that approach plays out. He served as lead attorney on the financing for the acquisition and redevelopment of a 615,000-square-foot landmark Chi- cago riverfront property, structuring a financing package that included an equity pledge, completion guaranty, carry guaran- ty, recourse carve-out guaranty and deferred equity guaranty. He also represented a real estate investment firm in a $173 million Florida multifamily acquisition. He guided one of the nation’s largest residential real estate owners through the acquisition of a Texas apartment complex. Altshul has also become one of Levenfeld Pearlstein’s lead- ers in the use of generative artificial intelligence. As a member of the firm’s AI Ambassadors program, he builds AI skills and transactional playbooks that compress the mechanical parts of the work, title and survey review among them, and pass the resulting time and cost savings to clients. His work in the field has earned recognition beyond his firm. In 2025, he was invited to speak at the Chicago Bar Associa- tion’s AI 2025 Symposium, where he shared practical insights on integrating AI into sophisticated transactional practices. Outside the office, Altshul is committed to community lead- ership. He serves on the board of the Jewish Council for Youth Services and became its board president in July 2026. It is the same role he plays for clients — the person in the room ex- pected to see the whole picture, not just his piece of it.
16 40 Under Forty 2026 CHICAGO LAWYER & CHICAGO DAILY LAW BULLETIN
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