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Jim Dillon

Jim Dillon

Partner

St. Louis
314 552 6330 314 552 6330 direct
314 552 7330 fax


  • OVERVIEW
  • EXPERIENCE
  • INSIGHTS
  • NEWS & EVENTS

INDUSTRIES

PRACTICES

  • Education

    • Vanderbilt University Law School,

      J.D., 1992

      Moot Court Board

      National Moot Court Team – Second Place, National

      Dean’s List

      Ewing Scholarship Finalist

    • Davidson College,

      B.A., 1989

      Charles F. Myers Burlington Scholar

      Agnes Sentelle Brown Award for Leadership

  • Admissions

    • Illinois

    • Missouri

  • Affiliations

    • International Council of Shopping Centers

      Former Member

    • American Bar Association

      Member

    • Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis

      Member, Real Property and Development Committee

  • Recognitions

    • Listed in "Chambers USA" for Real Estate in Missouri; St. Louis & Surrounds, 2023 (by Chambers & Partners)

  • Employment

    • Thompson Coburn LLP

      Partner, 2004-Present

    • Foley & Lardner, LLP

      Partner, 2000-2004

    • Moore & Van Allen, PLLC

      Associate and Counsel, 1992-2000

  • Community

    • Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

      Executive Committee, Board of Directors, 2009-Present

      President, Board of Directors, 2011-2014

      Vice President, Board of Directors, 2010-2011

    • Leadership St. Louis

      Class of 2010-2011

    • Community Housing Development Corporation

      Board of Directors, 1997-2000

Jim is an experienced real estate strategist and negotiator who counsels companies on a broad range of real estate matters, including acquisitions, dispositions, development, financing, leasing, and workouts of distressed properties.

He has negotiated complex leases across the country for both landlords and tenants, principally in the retail, office and industrial context, but also for energy concerns, radio and television stations, data centers, educational institutions, health care facilities, restaurants, billboards and other uses. Because leases are anything but boilerplate— particularly "build-to-suit" leases or leases involving proposed developments or projects under construction —clients trust Jim to handle all aspects of leasing agreements correctly and efficiently and alert them to any major issues.

Frequently clients involve Jim at the letter of intent stage, where he can provide strategic guidance on a proposed development or address lease or sublease questions, allowing negotiations of binding documents to begin with major issues resolved and an agreed-upon framework for final documents in place.

Jim draws on his extensive knowledge of state and federal low income housing tax credits to counsel lenders, developers, and equity investors on the development of low income housing. His team has handled dozens of such transactions across the country.

Jim also has unique experience handling health care-related real estate matters, often involving the development or disposition of medical office buildings and surgery centers that may be affiliated with a hospital system.

Jim has led work on real estate transactions involving such diverse assets as retail centers, office buildings, multi-family developments, warehouse and industrial sites, hospitals, health care centers, affordable housing and senior living projects, hotels and resorts, agriculture, wind energy projects and mixed-use developments.

In March 2014, the Wall Street Journal's "Deal of the Week" column featured a major housing redevelopment in New Orleans' historic Treme neighborhood in which Jim represented U.S. Bank, whose $22.2 million bridge loan was part of the Bank's significant involvement in a 23-acre project designed to transform the former Ibervillle public housing project, one of New Orleans' last deteriorating housing projects, into a $663 million mixed-use development. Jim has since been involved in representing U.S. Bank in two additional phases of that project.

In August 2015, Jim concluded work for Rabo Agrifinance, Inc. on a build-to-suit lease which will result in Rabo's relocation of its U.S. headquarters to 75,000 square feet of space in a newly constructed office building in Chesterfield, Missouri.