Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP

One of our most challenging areas of practice is helping to forge durable partnerships between the private and public sectors in connection with important community projects. From convention centers to sports facilities to performing arts theatres and entertainment districts, these projects require us to pull disparate elements together into a cohesive project.

We determine the legal limits on the authority of the public partners to pursue the project, and assist them in obtaining any necessary approvals, including in some cases voter approval.

We assist in planning and implementing what is typically a complex and intertwined financing package, and interact with counsel for the multiple financing entities to ensure that they are as creative and flexible as possible in structuring the package in a prompt and cost-effective manner.

We focus on the unusual real estate acquisition, zoning, land use and environmental issues that these projects frequently raise.

We help in structuring the transaction to satisfy other applicable requirements such as competitive bidding and IRS "private use" rules that apply to facilities financed with tax-exempt bonds.

In the early stages, any public/private joint venture is a delicate balance. The public relations issues are typically as important as the legal ones. Our lawyers who regularly work on these projects combine knowledge from various fields - such as municipal law, real estate law, corporate law and tax laws governing both nonprofit and for profit organizations - with experience in dealing with the complex dynamics of these arrangements. We attempt to perform our duties with minimum visibility and maximum effectiveness.

Our Commitment to Diversity

Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP is committed to attracting, retaining, and promoting individuals of diverse backgrounds to ensure that our firm reflects the clients we represent and our values of inclusion.  We believe that embracing differences in ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, age, socio-economic status, religion, and other characteristics, helps us consider the full range of perspectives our clients face and the goals they seek to achieve, allowing us to provide more creative, insightful, and complete guidance and counsel.  By affirmatively embracing and appreciating those differences, we create a supportive working environment at Shumaker for all individuals of the firm.

Diversity in Action

Shumaker's commitment to diversity is reflected in the following measures:

1. Creation of a Diversity & Inclusion Committee to coordinate and direct our diversity initiatives. Our committee is made up of partners (including at least one member of the Firm’s management committee), associates and administrative personnel.
2. Recipient of the 2013 Gold Standard Certification by Women in Law Empowerment Forum, which is given only to firms that have demonstrated that women represent a meaningful percentage of their equity partners, are involved in the highest leadership positions and have meaningful representation in the ranks of the firm’s most highly compensated partners. Shumaker was one of only 42 firms in the country to have received this prestigious award in 2013.
3. Creation of Shumaker’s Women’s Leadership Initiative, a firm-sponsored group dedicated to promoting, developing and fostering the potential of our female attorneys, helping them to navigate a path to a successful and satisfying legal career at the Firm, and to serve as leaders within the legal and business communities.
4. Membership and active participation in organizations that support diversity initiatives in our communities. Such organizations include, without limitation, racial, ethnic, disability, gender/LGBT and age initiatives.
5. Diversity in our hiring, advancement and leadership practices, for attorneys as well as staff members, including our Summer Associate Program.
6. Annual participation in the Toledo Bar Association’s Minority Clerkship Program.
7. Annual participation in the Ohio State Bar Foundation Law and Leadership Program, a program to establish a pipeline into the legal profession for disadvantaged students from underserved schools.
8. Membership in Partners in Education, a program in which our employees serve as tutors and mentors and provide ongoing financial support to area schools and students in need.
9. Cultivation of leadership opportunities among all attorneys and staff, recognizing the importance and benefit of diversity in leadership.
10. Firm-wide participation in periodic diversity education seminars or training programs.
11. Informal programs implemented firm-wide to enhance our awareness and understanding of the importance and benefits of diversity among our workforce and promote inclusion.