Peter Friedman
General Counsel
Elrod Friedman LLP
Peter Friedman has an accomplished and broad real estate and government law practice, representing both private and public sector clients in all phases of government operations, real estate finance, acquisition, development, zoning and land use matters. He is the co-founder of Elrod Friedman LLP and serves as the firm’s General Counsel.
Peter represents numerous Illinois local and state government agencies, municipalities, and counties on all aspects of government law, real estate, and development. Peter serves as City Attorney for the City of Des Plaines; as Village Attorney for the Villages of Lake Bluff and Winnetka; and as General Counsel to the Waukegan Port District (including the Waukegan Harbor and Marina and the Waukegan National Airport). He is General Counsel to the Chicago Association of Realtors and special outside counsel to the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois. He has represented the state of Illinois and the Illinois Medical District on significant public-private partnerships involving large multiuse developments as well as infrastructure and public transportation projects. He has also handled cyber security and related technology issues.
On real estate and transactional projects in Chicago, throughout Illinois and nationwide, Peter’s private sector clients include property owners, pension funds, tenants, developers, and private equity groups. For these clients, Peter works on a broad range of real estate and transactional projects, including annexation, zoning, and development agreements, TIF and SSA financing, tax incentive and abatement agreements, mixed-use and multi-family developments, and public-private partnerships.
Peter has special knowledge and experience in environmental law as well as internal investigations related to procurement matters, regulatory compliance, employment issues, fraud, corporate governance, and criminal misconduct.
Peter has defended numerous lawsuits challenging local zoning and land use controls. He has handled several local government lawsuits involving civil rights, annexation disputes, contract actions, environmental enforcement, and numerous First Amendment claims. For both public and private sector clients, Peter has argued cases in Federal District and Appellate Courts and at all levels of state court including successfully before the Illinois Supreme Court.
Peter served as co-counsel and ethics officer for the transition team of former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner. As part of this representation, he advised the administration on all issues related to Illinois ethics, procurement, personnel, employment, and government law.
Appointed by Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle, Peter serves on the board and as vice-chairman of the Cook County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA) and as Chairman of the CCLBA’s property acquisition committee.
Chambers USA 2022 placed Peter in the highest band in Illinois (Band 1), and included the following observation: Peter “provides wise and sage counsel on a variety of matters” and “is exceptionally knowledgeable, a sophisticated businessman and a master of interpersonal relations.”
