Lawrence C. Eppley

Retired - Of Counsel
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Profile

Overview

Larry Eppley is retired from the firm and is now Of Counsel. As the former leader of the firm’s vertically integrated Hospitality industry team, Larry Eppley concentrated his practice on acquisitions, dispositions, finance, joint ventures, capital raising, development and operational matters in the hospitality sector throughout the United States.

Recognized by Chambers USA with a nationwide ranking in Leisure & Hospitality, Larry was a leader in his field, recognized by clients not simply for extensive knowledge of the hospitality industry but for his ability to unpack and understand a client’s business needs and goals, develop workable options for addressing them, and assemble a team with the expertise needed to achieve them. A creative thinker and consensus builder, Larry knew how to remove obstacles to help clients achieve their goals.

Larry spent time as general counsel at Potbelly Sandwich Works during it’s early high-growth years. He also gained valuable real world executive experience when he served as chairman of the University of Illinois System and currently as board chair of 1871, Chicago’s highly regarded and internationally known digital start up incubator. Larry leveraged this rich management and entrepreneurial background as principal outside legal counsel for his clients. He also often worked with middle-market and emerging growth companies.

In his free time, Larry enjoys channeling his energy into creating abstract paintings and sculpture—engaging his right brain through creating art.

Education

J.D., University of Illinois College of Law, 1985, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif

B.S., University of Illinois, 1982, with high honors

Master of Accounting Science, University of Illinois, 1982

Passed Certified Public Accountant Exam, 1982

Leading Lawyer, Leisure & Hospitality, Chambers USA, 2022-2025

Hospitality Editorial Advisory Board, Law360, 2017- 2023

Illinois Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers, 2014-2018

Best Lawyer in America, Best Lawyers, 2013-2026

Hospitality Sector Lawyer of the Year in Illinois, Corporate Intl, 2018

Real Estate, Legal 500 US, 2014-2016, 2021

Hospitality MVP, Law360, 2013, 2016

Designated a "Distinguished Graduate of the College of Law" by the University of Illinois School of Law, 2002

Larry Epley - Chambers 2024
Larry Eppley - Chambers 2025

Speaker, "Chicago’s Start-up Landscape," The Economic Club of Chicago on October 4, 2022 

Larry moderated the "Developing and Designing Hotels for a Changing World" panel at Bisnow's Chicago Hotel and Restaurant Real Estate conference on August 18, 2022.

Larry moderated the "Resilience of the City" panel at Bisnow's Escape & Ascent Digital Dealmaking Conference on December 8, 2020.

He moderated "Alternative Investment Opportunities: How to Make Money in 2020" at Bisnow’s Multifamily Annual conference on November 14, 2019.

He moderated “Hotel Investment, Finance & Development” at the Bisnow Los Angeles Hotel Summit on March 14, 2019. He also presented on "Purchases, Sales, and Closing" at PLI’s Annual Commercial Real Estate Institute on November 15, 2016, October 25, 2017, and October 24, 2018, and he moderated "Bisnow Chicago Repositioning & Adaptive Reuse 2017."

He also moderated "Fireside Chat: The Opening of the ACE Hotel Fulton Market," at Bisnow Chicago Hotel Investment & Development Series 2017. Lawrence was the keynote speaker at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management’s Business Law Conference in February 2012.

He has also served as a faculty member and lectured for the National Association of Bond Lawyers. Lawrence has also been a speaker and panelist at various National Association of Bond Lawyers seminars and conferences, and served as a panelist at real estate industry seminars.

Larry writes articles on subjects of commercial real estate for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education and has lectured for CLE International, Inc. He is a contributing author for IICLE's Commercial Landlord-Tenant Practice, 2023 Edition.