Colleen McNitt Ruiz

In today’s legal climate where practices tend to be highly specialized, Colleen Ruiz has a broad base of experience spanning real estate, finance and corporate law.  

Early in her career, Colleen was part of a team that represented management in leveraged buyouts of manufacturing companies in the rust belt. As counsel to these companies after the completion of the acquisitions, she saw firsthand the myriad issues faced by companies in their everyday operations.  Through her representation of these and other businesses over the last 25 years, Colleen witnessed the many ways that companies creatively meet their challenges - whether via corporate organizational issues, financing, environmental, downsizing or upsizing their businesses or contracting issues. She draws on those lessons to provide innovative, forward-thinking solutions for her clients. 

As a natural extension of her corporate practice, Colleen’s practice has expanded to include the many facets of real estate such as development of new projects, both private-public partnerships and private development. 

Colleen is known for her ability to find solutions to challenging problems for clients in many industries, including gaming, hospitality, health care, manufacturing and retail. Her clients attest to the high level of service she provides, stating that they “consistently turn to Colleen for her legal expertise… because she is intuitive, seeks cutting edge solutions, has excellent turnaround time and follow up and is dedicated to her clients.”  Clients have described her as “a professional you can count on” and “absolutely wonderful to work with in every aspect of business… she cares about our company and the people who work there just as much as we do, so we always feel completely comfortable coming to her with any kind of problem or question.”

Representative Experience:

Real Estate

• Represent real estate developers from start to finish on new projects. This includes advice on development proposals, negotiating agreements with public partners and utilities, property acquisition, usage of minority and women businesses, zoning, signage and other development issues.
• Serve as outside counsel to a publicly traded gaming company which has developed casino and mixed use projects in St. Louis County and the City of St. Louis, Missouri for an aggregate investment in excess of $1 billion.  Participated on a team of lawyers, sometimes as lead, on the following related projects, among others:
• Respond to requests for proposal made by St. Louis County and St. Louis City for gaming and mixed use projects.
• Negotiated and drafted redevelopment agreement and the lease and development agreement and related amendments for the projects.
• Drafted plans for the use of minority and women owned businesses in both projects.
• Negotiated and drafted intergovernmental agreements among five governmental entities for an access road to the St. Louis County project.
• Negotiated and drafted agreements with the City of St. Louis, MODOT, the St. Louis Rams, the Regional Convention and Visitor's Commission and the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority for an underground pedestrian link from Baer Plaza to the casino complex in downtown St. Louis.
• Vacated five streets.
• Drafted legislation for St. Louis County on large signage for casino.
• Acquired properties through negotiated purchases, options, back up options, eminent domain and leases.
• Regularly represent clients in lease negotiations with respect to stand alone buildings and complexes.
• Represent clients in financing of projects:
• Represented a benevolent association with HUD insured financing for construction of a new assisted living and skilled care facility.
• Counsel to seller of a 4-star hotel in downtown St. Louis, including a loan assumption.
• Counsel to developer in connection with a Management Agreement and License Agreement for a hotel to be located in Clayton, Missouri.
• Counsel to buyer of a building in the heart of the Bottle District which included numerous title issues.
• Counsel to buyer of commercial office building in the Route 40 corridor.
• Serve as Missouri counsel to a publicly traded REIT in connection with acquisitions, dispositions and lending activities.
• Served as counsel to nationally recognized financial institution in Missouri branch acquisition enabling the bank to conduct business in Missouri.
• Represents national bank in forbearance agreements and loan restructurings with troubled loans and with respect to real estate loans.
• Represent both lenders and borrowers in traditional bank financings.

Corporate

• Represent a nationally recognized local author and artist in connection with all legal matters.
• Regularly represents clients on negotiations and drafting of development agreements, manufacturing agreements, distribution agreements, terms and conditions, supply contracts, tolling agreements and other contracts.
• Advise businesses on entity selection, corporate governance issues, shareholder and member agreements, and transitional issues.
• Managed projects for a privately owned client in the steel industry with annual sales of $200 million.  The projects included the structuring of its debt, corporate governance issues, acquisitions and dispositions, employee benefit matters, contract issues, employment and consulting agreements.  Responsible for overseeing all work product generated for client with up to 50 projects at any given time over a seven year period.
• Regularly represent private corporations in connections with acquisitions, mergers and business combinations:
• Represented business in the sale of a drug store.
• Represented business in the sale of an ambulance service.
• Managed the due diligence review process of the sale of stock of an International Fortune 500 company having a transaction value of $300 million in the railroad industry.
• Co-led the negotiation and structuring of the acquisition of a minority interest in a managed care company in the mental health and substance abuse area by a nationally recognized health insurance plan.
• Led the negotiation and sale of a St. Louis company in the railroad track supply business.
• Led the negotiation and sale of a rental car company to a nationally recognized company for $40 million.

Court Memberships

• Missouri
• Pennsylvania

Professional Affiliations

• Civic Entrepreneur’s Organization, President, 2004
• Civic Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO), Member of Board of Directors and Executive Committee
• Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, Member of Finance Committee
• Commercial Real Estate Women
• Urban Land Institute

Publications

• St. Louis Commercial Journal: Colleen Ruiz and David Barnard on Protecting Design Copyrights
• St. Louis Commercial Journal: Colleen Ruiz on Proactive Construction Progress

Presentations

• Master of Ceremonies - Lathrop & Gage, Views of St. Louis Metropolitan Development, April 2008
• St. Louis Business Journal, Downtown Report Panelist, March 2008
• Speaker on Institutional Investors and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for the National Business Institute, 2001
• Speaker on Multidisciplinary Practice for Women Lawyers’ Association Continuing Legal Education Program, April, 2000
• Guest on KTRS 550, Career Line Show hosted by Randy E. Hayman