Hinshaw Adds Seasoned Commercial Real Estate Partner and Former In-House Cannabis Lawyer to Minneapolis Office

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP today announced that Mitchel C. Chargo has joined the firm's commercial transactions practice group as a partner in the Minneapolis office. With more than 25 years of experience with commercial real estate matters, Chargo was also previously in-house general counsel for a Minnesota-based medical cannabis manufacturer and will expand the firm's capabilities in the industry.

"Many of us at Hinshaw have worked closely with Mitch over the years and are excited to have him on board," said Kevin Coan, partner-in-charge of the Minneapolis office. "He is highly regarded for his legal knowledge and business acumen, not only in the commercial transactions and real estate sector but also in the cannabis industry. His experience with a vertically integrated cannabis manufacturer will benefit our clients in that sector at a critical time when Minnesota is seeing significant growth and potential legislative changes."

Chargo represents clients in commercial real estate loan transactions and in acquiring, disposing, and leasing retail, office, industrial and multi-family properties. He also advises clients in a wide variety of business and corporate transactions, including purchasing and disposing of non-real estate asset classes, executive employment agreements, commercial contract review, and compliance.

According to Chargo, "In addition to decades of private practice experience, my work as in-house general counsel transformed how I represent clients. I am able to assess issues from a very unique position and experience which was based upon being right in the middle of a business and its ongoing operations and navigating the legal issues facing the client accordingly. That experience provided me with a heightened sensitivity to understanding what a client wants and needs. It also gives me a basis from which to raise and address business and legal issues that might otherwise not be addressed. This experience and vantage point transcends the cannabis industry and applies to any industry in which a client may operate. I joined Hinshaw because it is an ideal platform on which to expand my practice, including in the cannabis space."

"I've had the pleasure of working with Kevin Coan, Tony Antognoli, Tom Luetkemeyer, and a number of other Hinshaw attorneys over the years and have always been impressed by the quality of service they provide," Chargo added. "Hinshaw allows me to return to private practice at a firm with a highly regarded national and regional commercial real estate and business practice, a team approach, and a collegial environment."

Prior to joining Hinshaw, not only did Chargo work as in-house general counsel for a licensed manufacturer of medical cannabis, he also worked at two of Minnesota’s largest law firms, including Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly (now Fox Rothschild) and was an owner in a multi-state law firm. He received his B.A. in history, magna cum laude, from the University of Minnesota and his J.D., magna cum laude, from William Mitchell College of Law (now Mitchell Hamline College of Law).

In addition to his active law practice, Chargo is a member of the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics and he is a member of the International Cannabis Bar Association. He also is the founder, President and Board Chair of The Institute for Holocaust Research and Education, a Minnesota non-profit corporation which is a bold non-partisan education-based organization committed to raising awareness about the Holocaust and its impact on the world, and to fighting antisemitism.

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