Greenberg Traurig office. Photo: J. Albert Diaz

Greenberg Traurig has boosted its real estate practice in Chicago with a pair of new partners—including one who spent more than three decades at her former firm.

Elizabeth Friedgut said Greenberg Traurig made "an offer I couldn't refuse," persuading her to leave DLA Piper after 32 years.

Speaking to the American Lawyer on Friday, Friedgut said Greenberg's pitch included the chance to lead a new affordable housing practice group. The new practice group will be a subset of the firm's global real estate practice group, she said.

"I think change is good, and they have given me the opportunity to build an affordable housing practice," Friedgut said. "I know a lot of the people here, I like a lot of the people here, and I thought, what the hell, you know?"

Friedgut wasn't able to give details about how large her new practice group would be, in terms of the number of clients it will work with or how many lawyers will be in it. She noted that her first day was Dec. 2, she is still getting the "lay of the land" at Greenberg Traurig, and it's the holiday season.

However, Friedgut's new colleagues have told her that their clients have "affordable housing needs which the firm has never been able to meet," she said.

Friedgut joined DLA Piper in November 1987, after spending seven years at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C., where she rose to the rank of senior attorney.

While at DLA Piper, Friedgut developed a sizable real estate practice, representing various parties as they looked to acquire, finance and manage residential properties, health care facilities and commercial resale estate projects. She also called on her HUD background in advising clients when they are involved in government real estate financing programs.

Also joining Friedgut at Greenberg Traurig is Andrew Ryerson, who spent six years at Polsinelli and then seven years before that at McGuireWoods, according to his LinkedIn profile. Ryerson's transactional practice is centered around commercial real estate loans.

Both Friedgut and Ryerson are joining Greenberg Traurig as shareholders. In a joint statement, Rita Alliss Powers and John Gibbons, the co-managing shareholders of the firm's Chicago office, described their new colleagues as having a "Chicago-specific savvy."

"Quality real estate law practitioners are key to meeting clients' needs for the coming decade," they said.