Donna Pugh
Foley & Lardner LLP
Donna J. Pugh is a zoning and land use attorney in the Chicago office of Foley & Lardner LLP where she focuses her practice on obtaining governmental approvals related to land use and zoning on behalf of her retail, health care and corporate clients. With her approach of bridging the gap between client, civic and municipal needs, Ms. Pugh has an exceptionally high success rate of securing necessary entitlements for land development projects in the Chicago area.
Ms. Pugh served as 2009-2010 Chair of the American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of State and Local Government Law.
A consensus builder, Ms. Pugh works to unite property owners, elected officials and community groups to achieve approvals that maximize flexibility of future land use and benefit all involved stakeholders. A member of the firm's Real Estate Practice and Senior Living Industry Team, she was selected for inclusion in the 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2010 Illinois Super Lawyers(R) lists for her zoning and land use work.
She has also been selected for the list of Leading Lawyers in the area of land use, zoning & condemnation law from 2003-2010. Most recently, Ms. Pugh was recognized as a Top Business Lawyers in Illinois in 2010 Leading Lawyers Magazine, Business Edition, and the 2011 edition of The Best Lawyers in America(R) in the area of land use and zoning law.*
Ms. Pugh has experience in securing rezoning, variations, text amendments and other land use approvals for the following project types:
-- Retail, including regional shopping malls, retail shopping centers, and strip malls
-- Health care, including hospitals, clinics, physician groups, nursing homes, outpatient treatment centers, senior living facilities, medical schools and others
-- Mixed-use development, including projects that may contain apartment, office, hotel, retail, senior housing and other land uses
-- Public way, including securing approvals for private use of skybridges, tunnels, canopies, monuments and others
* The Illinois Supreme Court does not recognize certifications of specialties in the practice of law and no award or recognition is a requirement to practice law in Illinois.
- Real Estate Law
- Commercial Real Estate, Condominiums, Easements, Eminent Domain, Homeowners Association, Land Use & Zoning, Mortgages, Neighbor Disputes, Residential Real Estate, Water Law
- Land Use Law
- Zoning Law
- Illinois
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- Foley & Lardner LLP
- Current
- Loyola University Chicago
- J.D.
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- University of Florida
- B.A. | Political Science and Environmental Studies
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- Number One Ranking
- The BTI Consulting Group
- Foley & Lardner LLP took top honors in client service among law firms serving the Fortune 1000 and has been ranked number one on the BTI Client Service 30 list.
- Illinois State Bar
- Member
- Current
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- Saint Joseph Hospital Development Council
- Chair
- Current
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- Greater North Michigan Avenue Association (GNMAA)
- Secretary
- Current
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- Foley & Lardner LLP
- Form-Based Codes
- Current
- Activities: Ms. Pugh coordinated a seminar on this topic in May 2010.
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- Foley & Lardner LLP
- The Bottom Line on Going Green: Evaluating Sustainable Projects
- Current
- Activities: Ms. Pugh sponsored this breakfast seminar in November 2010.
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- University of Illinois at Chicago
- Legal Issues Related to Zoning and Entitlements
- Current
- Activities: Ms. Pugh spoke at this event in November 2010.
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- ICSC Deal Making Conference
- Successful Zoning Approvals: Creating Consensus
- Current
- Activities: Ms. Pugh spoke at this event in October 2010.
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- The John Marshall Law School
- Legal Issues Related to Zoning and Entitlements
- Current
- Activities: Ms. Pugh spoke at this event in October, 2010.
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- ABA Section Officers Conference
- What I Wish I Knew When I Was Chair-Elect . . .
- Current
- Activities: Ms.Pugh spoke at this event in September 2010.
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- International Council of Shopping Centers
- Member, State Committee
- - Current
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- Greater North Michigan Avenue Association (GNMAA)
- Co-Chair, Planning & Advocacy Committee
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- The New England Alliance of the ACHCA Winter Regional Conference & Annual Meeting
- "Overcoming Challenges in the Zoning Process"
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- Activities: Ms. Pugh spoke on the topic "Overcoming Challenges in the Zoning Process: How to Garner Needed Consensus from Stakeholders and Municipal Leaders," at the New England Alliance of the ACHCA Winter Regional Conference & Annual Meeting in Vermont on January 14, 2010.
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- Foley & Lardner LLP
- Zoning from a Municipal Perspective
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- Activities: Ms. Pugh moderated a seminar on this topic in February 2010.
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- Foley & Lardner and Irgens Health Care Facilities Group
- Increasing the Likelihood of Success on Obtaining Zoning Approvals
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- Activities: Ms. Pugh spoke on this topic at a firm seminar in May 2010.
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- American Bar Association
- Chair, State and Local Government Law Section
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- American Planning Association and DePaul University
- "Legal Pitfalls in the Planning Process"
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- Activities: Pugh was a speaker at a Nov. 17 joint meeting of the APA and DePaul University's Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development. Her presentation was titled, "Legal Pitfalls in the Planning Process."
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- Beware the Public Way
- Real Property, the newsletter of the Illinois State Bar Association
- Website
- Website
