Rachel S.K. Bates

Rachel S.K. Bates is a nationally regarded real estate attorney who advises clients on sophisticated transactions involving a wide range of property assets. Her practice focuses on real estate, hospitality, gaming, leisure, private equity, and restructuring matters. She works with investors, developers, operators, family offices, REITs, and other institutional participants on significant business opportunities.

Rachel earned a BA from the University of South Carolina in 2003, graduating magna cum laude. She later received a JD from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 2007, graduating summa cum laude. Her academic background provided a strong foundation for a career focused on complex real estate transactions, business strategy, and legal problem-solving.

Rachel advises clients on acquisitions, dispositions, development projects, joint ventures, preferred equity structures, and a variety of financing arrangements. Her work includes mortgage, mezzanine, construction, and bridge financings. She also assists with management, franchise, and development agreements, helping clients structure transactions that align with their long-term commercial goals.

Rachel has extensive experience in the hospitality sector and regularly represents both property owners and brand-side participants. She has handled matters involving luxury hotels, hotel portfolios, operating companies, and hospitality platforms. Her work also includes distressed debt acquisitions, recapitalizations, negotiated workouts, and strategies designed to reposition challenged assets for future success.

Rachel has played a key role in major transactions involving large real estate portfolios, public-private development projects, mixed-use developments, multifamily housing ventures, healthcare-related projects, and corporate restructurings. She has also advised on transactions involving industrial facilities, public companies, and significant real estate investment structures across diverse market sectors.

Rachel S.K. Bates is recognized for delivering practical, business-focused guidance while helping clients navigate complex transactions and achieve strategic objectives. Rachel frequently provides pro bono legal services, including child guardianship matters, U Visa cases, and affordable housing-related work on behalf of the Chicago Community Loan Fund. She is also a member of CREW Chicago, an organization for senior-level executive women in the Chicago real estate field.

Law Office Affiliations

• Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP
• Member, Illinois State Bar Association

Licensed State

• Illinois

Education

• University of Tennessee College of Law
  Juris Doctor (JD)
• University of South Carolina
  Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Awards & Badges