Derek is uniquely qualified to understand how financial services institutions and nonbank lenders approach legal challenges.
In his role as Client Liaison, Derek helps clients think through how legal solutions can be applied to their business and operational challenges, particularly in the area of real estate transactions and project development. He knows Husch Blackwell and its clients and how they interact, and he works to get the right resources from the firm deployed at the right time and place.
Prior to leaving private practice, Derek was a partner at the firm and routinely counseled both financial institutions and non-bank lenders in a broad variety of projects, including real estate loans, commercial lending, agricultural lending, new market tax credits and other tax financing. In addition, Derek represented owners and developers of and investors in commercial real estate, overseeing a transaction’s full life cycle, from land acquisition through to disposition.
Derek relies on his extensive experience with clients to apply big picture thinking and problem-solving skills to their day-to-day business challenges. He has built a strong reputation for possessing an excellent business sense, and firm clients appreciate his talent for connecting them with business opportunities. Derek adds value to Husch Blackwell client relationships by identifying quickly what is needed and getting the right teams involved to achieve client objectives in the most efficient and timely fashion.
Derek is also a business owner and executive who understands the pressures and responsibilities of running a business. He currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of a regional real estate investment firm and is the co-owner of a small business manufacturing company in Crivitz, Wisconsin. Additionally, he is President-Elect of NAIOP, Wisconsin Chapter, and serves on the boards of multiple companies, including certain firm clients.