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Professional background
Biography image

RickTomsick

Counsel

As counsel in the firm’s Real Estate practice, Rick’s practice focuses on commercial real property law matters, including shopping center development, negotiation of office and retail leases and related development drafting with a concentration on restaurant, office, health sciences and mixed-use retail leasing.

He has significant experience representing owners of commercial properties. Prior to joining Thompson Hine, Rick worked as an assistant general counsel for a real estate investment trust company based in Cleveland.

Focus Areas

Examples of Rick’s experience include:

  • Involved in the due diligence and acquisition of cellphone towers across the country on behalf of a client investor in the telecom industry
  • Representation of a NYSE-listed REIT in connection with shopping center outparcel acquisitions, restructurings and dispositions
  • Representation of landlords in negotiation of office, big-box retail and ground leases at regional and super-regional shopping centers across the nation
  • Representation of landlords in office building leases, including laboratory offices within health-sciences research parks for major universities in Baltimore, Maryland and Cambridge, Massachusetts
  • Representation of a NYSE-listed REIT in connection with the negotiation of its headquarters’ office lease
  • Oversaw the legal negotiation aspects of all retail and office leasing for a NYSE-listed REIT
  • Representation of local churches on leasing and disposition of diocesan church properties
  • Chairman (2005 – 2007) and member (1999 – 2016) of the planning committee of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania Retail Development and Law Symposium
  • Panel moderator and speaker for a variety of presentations at national and regional professional symposia since 1999, including CREW Network and ICSC presentations discussing terrorism insurance, and real property leasing and development practice and principles
  • Adjunct professor at Ursuline College (Pepper Pike, Ohio) teaching undergraduate courses in real property law (introduction and intermediate), business and contract law and religious studies (2003 – 2015)
  • Presentations to the North American Patristics Society annual meetings (Chicago, 2005 – 2015), the International Conference on Patristic Studies (Oxford, England, 2007, 2015), and the Canadian Society of Patristic Studies (2005)

Professional Associations

  • International Council of Shopping Centers
  • North American Patristics Society

Community Activities

  • President’s Council member, Cleveland International Piano Competition
  • Member, chairman and co-creator of parish finance council for an inner-city church, Immaculate Conception Parish, Cleveland, Ohio (2008-2018)
  • Member, Oblate Council, Saint Meinrad Archabbey, St. Meinrad, Indiana (since 2019)

Education

  • John Carroll University, M.A., 2005
  • Case Western Reserve University School of Law, J.D., 1984
  • Case Western Reserve University, B.A., 1981

Bar Admissions

  • Ohio

Court Admissions

  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
  • U.S. Tax Court