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Chicago & Midwest  + Downtown  + Office  |  December 22, 2025
Jasmine Kilman
By: Jasmine Kilman

Law Firm Benesch Expands Firm’s Chicago Office Footprint

Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff, a Cleveland-based law firm, is making a significant expansion of the firm’s Chicago office.

The firm has signed on for an additional full floor at 71 S. Wacker Drive, adding approximately 33,000 square feet to bring the total footprint to over 130,000 square feet in downtown, reported Crain’s. Cushman & Wakefield’s Ari Klein, Scott Shelbourne and Jeff Skender negotiated the lease expansion on behalf of Benesch. CBRE’s Greg Tait and Maggie Brophy oversee leasing on behalf of Irvine. The property was 94% leased prior to the Benesch expansion.

Benesch has approximately 500 attorneys and offices in Cleveland, Columbus, New York, San Francisco and Wilmington. Owned by California-based Irvine Company, 71 S. Wacker Drive is a 48-story trophy building with 1.5 million square feet of workspace.

Earlier this year, international law firm Akin announced it was opening a Chicago office with four partners who joined from Mayer Brown at 190 S. LaSalle Street.

Read More News Stories About: CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield
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Cushman & WakefieldCBREIrvine Company

About Jasmine Kilman

Jasmine Kilman is Content Director of Connect Commercial Real Estate, covering Chicago and greater Chicagoland, the Midwest, Seattle, and the Pacific Northwest. She covers industry trends, transaction deals, market research, and produces daily news stories. With experience in marketing and communications for academic nonprofits and corporate clients, including Hearst Media, Hilton, and Coldwell Banker, Kilman has written about commercial real estate, environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG), technology, healthcare, and philanthropy. She was born and raised in California and graduated with a degree in public relations. In her spare time, Kilman enjoys hiking and traveling to new locations with her family.
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