Janet Wagner

Principal

P 312 855 4316

Practice areas

Janet Wagner focuses her practice on banking and commercial financing transactions. She provides trusted counsel, exacting documentation and clear communication to commercial banks, credit unions, institutional lenders, insurance companies and other lenders in a wide range of commercial and real estate financing matters.

Overview

A highly skilled attorney with extensive experience in analyzing transactions in the banking, corporate and real estate areas, Janet enjoys creating documents that reflect the exact intentions of the transaction, especially when the transaction is challenging and more unusual. With her comprehensive knowledge of all phases of a loan or credit transaction, she is able to chart the progress of a matter while explaining the technicalities and route to a successful closing.

Janet feels that the path to a successful transaction is through well-crafted documentation. In addition, she will always look ahead to consider what might be needed during the implementation process and any regulatory audits or exams that may arise. She takes pleasure in working with her clients to construct language that is clear, precise and transparent. She values listening to her clients and not only providing what they need at that moment, but thinking ahead, talking through the structure of a deal and smoothing over any troublesome issues. She offers the solutions to problems, but also provides an analysis of the issue.

She takes great pride in getting to know her clients on a personal as well as professional level, learning from them as well as striving to share her knowledge. She defines client service as responsiveness and truly looking out for her clients’ interests.

Janet has been accepted as a fellow of the prestigious American College of Mortgage Attorneys (ACMA). Formed in 1974, ACMA is comprised of lawyers in North America who are authorities in mortgage law. The members of ACMA or fellows share a commitment to giving back to their profession, improving and reforming laws and procedures affecting real estate secured transactions and raising the level of performance of lawyers practicing in this area. Fellows have distinguished themselves as practitioners in the field of real estate mortgage law through their skills and practice experience, knowledge, professionalism and related accomplishments that are significant to mortgage transactions.

Active in firm activities, Janet currently serves as a member of the Diversity Equity & Inclusion Council and was a member of the Website Committee.

Janet’s work with not for profit companies includes providing fundraising counsel and other representation to the Retired Professional Football Players of Chicago, a nonprofit that primarily raises funds for its annual academic scholarship program for local youth.

Representative Transactions
  • Led a transaction team representing a credit union in a $39M loan to a Delaware statutory trust borrower to acquire a condominium student housing property with a ground lease in Texas. Negotiated documents; resolved title and survey issues involving a “phantom” easement running under the improvements.
  • Led a transaction team representing a credit union in a $10M loan to a private equity borrower acquiring an RV park in Oregon. Negotiated documents; resolved title and survey related to tidewater issues and lots with discrepancies with real estate tax numbers.
  • Led transaction teams representing a credit union in numerous note-on-note transactions to various private equity borrowers.
  • Led transaction teams representing a credit union in numerous transactions involving assignments of prior loan documents to effect tax savings for borrowers on properties in Florida and Tennessee.
  • Led a transaction team representing a credit union in a $30M loan to a borrower to refinance a multifamily development in New York state. Drafted and negotiated documents including those assignments and other instruments required for tax savings under New York law in consultation with local counsel.
  • Led a transaction team representing a credit union in a $32M loan to a private equity borrower to refinance a multi-family development in Alabama in which borrower separately acquired the ownership interests of the fee owner of the property resulting in a continuity of the entity in title.
  • Led a transaction team representing a credit union in a $35M loan to a private equity borrower to refinance a mixed-use development in Alabama in which borrower separately acquired the ownership interests of the fee owner of the property resulting in a continuity of the entity in title.
  • Led a transaction team representing a credit union in a $39M loan to borrowers to refinance a multi-family development in Illinois with six entities owning the property as tenants-in-common.
  • Led a transaction team representing a credit union in a $13M loan to a borrower to refinance a mixed-use development in Oregon with four entities owning the property as tenants-in-common and with a carve out for a retail grocery store subject to a ground lease.
Credentials

Education
Loyola University Chicago School of Law, LL.M., Child and Family Law, 2013
Loyola University Chicago School of Law, J.D., 2000
Mundelein College (now Loyola University Chicago), Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, cum laude

Bar Admissions
Illinois, 2000

Memberships & Associations
  • American College of Mortgage Attorneys
  • Chicago Bar Association, Domestic Violence Committee co-chair
  • Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law
  • DuPage County Bar Association
Noteworthy
  • Fellow, American College of Mortgage Attorneys
  • Leading Lawyer (2024-2025)
Community Involvement
  • Chuhak & Tecson’s Women Helping Women program, ambassador

What our clients are saying.

I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Janet Wagner, principal at Chuhak Tecson, P.C. in Chicago, for more than fifteen years. Janet has assisted me, my team and the organizations I have worked for on numerous commercial and business loan closing and legal matters. Way too many challenging commercial lending situations to call out here, but always with an incredibly helpful and business savvy approach. She has the right balance of firmness and commercial reasonableness that often differentiates risks for her clients. Janet knows when a request is a non-starter and when a matter comes down to a business decision and defers to me or my team. It is rare to find someone that approaches legal matters with the attitude of how we can find a reasonable approach forward that protects my client but progresses the conversation past a standstill. In fact, I have only known two other attorneys that take this approach in my 30+ years lending career. If you want the assurance of having quality counsel on your side, I will highly recommend you consider Janet Wagner for all your commercial and business outside legal work. You will not be disappointed!
– Senior Executive, Banking Commercial Credit & Specialty Finance