Ulmer & Berne Poised for Growth in Chicago: Signs Lease for More Than 18,000 Sq. Feet of Office Space in Citigroup Center

CHICAGO (February 2, 2010) - Ulmer & Berne LLP, a 101-year old Midwest regional law firm headquartered in Cleveland, is making an aggressive push into the Chicago market, today announcing that it has signed a lease to occupy more than 18,000 square feet of office space in Chicago's Citigroup Center at 500 West Madison St. The new space in the Citigroup Center can accommodate 30 attorneys, plus legal staff, and represents the second phase of the 175-attorney firm's Chicago expansion strategy. Ulmer & Berne is scheduled to occupy its new Chicago office in April.

In September 2009, Ulmer & Berne substantially expanded its presence in Chicago, increasing the office's attorney headcount from two to eight with the addition of a group of litigators that included partners Randall Lehner from Reed Smith LLP and Scott Meyers and David Porteous from Levenfeld Pearlstein LLC. Now with the move to a much larger space, the firm is positioned for significant additional growth across a broad spectrum of complementary practices in Chicago, including business transactions, litigation, real estate, intellectual property, product liability, bankruptcy and tax, to help service and expand the firm's client base throughout a variety of industries.

"We are excited to continue Ulmer & Berne's expansion into the Chicago legal market and our move into this new, larger office space will facilitate the anticipated rapid growth and diversification of our Chicago practices through highly targeted lateral recruiting," said Kip Reader, managing partner of Ulmer & Berne. "We believe that we are perfectly positioned to provide our clients with superior legal counsel at a much better value than many Chicago firms are able to offer. We have long been innovators in the area of alternative fee structures and continue to offer these arrangements where appropriate," added Reader. "In addition, our financial performance in 2009 was strong and we were fortunate that in a challenging economy, we were able to avoid attorney layoffs. We anticipate an even stronger year in 2010."

Ulmer & Berne will occupy 18,374 square feet of space in the Citigroup Center. David J. Gelfand, executive vice president and David G. Miller, senior vice president of Colliers Bennett & Kahnweiler Inc., represented Ulmer & Berne in the transaction, while Ann Tomlinson, senior vice president of MB Real Estate represented Citigroup Center.

"Ulmer & Berne had a wide selection of direct and sublease space in the market that would work well for a growing law firm," said Mr. Gelfand, who has represented law firms in their office leases and other real estate transactions for the last 23 years. "The choice of 500 West Madison best accommodated Ulmer & Berne's flexibility for growth, provided very aggressive economics and as a bonus, included furniture and telecommunications systems. The building amenities and proximity to transportation, with the Ogilvie Transportation Center in the building and Union Station access across the street, were an added plus." Mr. Gelfand added, "In today's real estate and legal environment, the mantra for savvy law firms is the creation of more favorable rent-to-revenue ratios, the industry benchmark for healthy real estate transactions. Ulmer & Berne has definitely accomplished that here."

About Ulmer & Berne LLP
Ulmer & Berne, established in 1908, is a full-service Midwest regional law firm with 175 attorneys in Chicago, Illinois and Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio. Ulmer & Berne represents publicly traded and privately held companies, financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies, family businesses, international joint ventures and affiliations, investor groups, start-ups and emerging businesses, public bodies and nonprofit organizations. For more information, visit www.ulmer.com.

About Colliers Bennett & Kahnweiler, Inc.
Colliers Bennett & Kahnweiler Inc. is an independently owned and operated business and a member firm of Colliers International Property Consultants, an affiliation of independent companies with over 294 offices throughout more than 61 countries worldwide. The full-service real estate company offers office, investment, retail and industrial brokerage; development; and property and facility management services to entrepreneurial, corporate and institutional clients. For more information, visit the company website at www.colliersbk.com.