Laura S. Peck
About
Laura Peck, a partner in Axley, focuses her practice on commercial lending, real estate transactions, non-profit organizations and general business matters. Her clients are small and large banks, for-profit and non-profit corporations, insurance companies and small businesses. All benefit from her specialized expertise in complex financial transactions and real estate.
Ms. Peck has worked in the world of finance for more than 25 years. Her experience as in-house counsel at several large and mid-sized institutions gives her deep industry knowledge and a unique ability to understand and respond to her clients’ needs and concerns.
Ms. Peck’s approach to her work is simple: get to know the client and the client’s projects, and serve as part of a team of trusted advisors. That means walking construction sites, touring manufacturing facilities, attending board meetings and building relationships with the many professionals involved in bringing a project to life.
Because she has worked for many years in finance, insurance and real estate, Ms. Peck is accustomed to helping her clients through both the upswings and the downturns. Ms. Peck specializes in finance, real estate and business transactions, including commercial lending; portfolio and securitized commercial mortgage finance; construction finance; loan servicing; the acquisition, financing, leasing, management and disposition of real estate assets; and the workout and resolution of distressed debt. Clients rely on Ms. Peck to give practical advice in structuring deals and innovative guidance in resolving underperforming properties.
Ms. Peck was a Women in the Law 2014 honoree, recognized by the Wisconsin Law Journal for her excellence in the legal field, as well as her commitment to creating opportunities for women to succeed within the profession. Ms. Peck was named the 2022 Banking and Finance “Lawyer of the Year” in Madison by Best Lawyers® and is frequently recognized for her industry knowledge as a top banking and finance attorney.
Admitted to practice in the State Courts of Wisconsin and Connecticut.
Education
J.D., with high honors, University of Connecticut
B.A., magna cum laude, University of Connecticut
Involvement & Recognition
Involvement:
- Member, State Bar of Wisconsin
- Member, Dane County Bar Association
- Member, Connecticut Bar Association
- Scholarship Chair, Former Board Member, Rotary Club of Madison/Downtown Rotary
- Former Trustee and President, Madison Rotary Foundation
- Former Member, Maple Bluff Plan Commission
- Member, Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services Real Estate Contractual Forms Advisory Council
- President and Board Member, RootedGood
- Former President and Board Member, Pres House
Recognition:
- Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America© (2013-2024 Edition) – Banking and Finance Law
- Named Lawyer of the Year in The Best Lawyers in America© (2022 Edition) – Banking and Finance Law
- Named Lawyer of the Year in The Best Lawyers in America© (2017 Edition) – Banking and Finance Law
- Women in the Law 2014 honoree by Wisconsin Law Journal
Client Successes
Represented a community bank in a $3.6 million condominium construction loan.
Represented a hospitality developer in conventional and mezzanine loans in multiple phases of a resort facility.
Represented a national lender in a $20 million credit facility to fund an ESOP transaction for a multistate auto equipment wholesaler.
Acted as purchaser’s counsel in a veterinarian’s acquisition of its office building out of foreclosure.
Acted as lender’s counsel in a $15 million aggregate financing of three assisted living and memory care facilities.
Represented a regional leader in the refinancing of $130 million debt secured by a water park resort.
Represented the purchaser of a parking garage complex from a municipal authority
Represented the seller of a horse farm and stable operation
Acted as purchaser’s local counsel in a $300,000,000 multistate acquisition of shopping centers
Represented landlords and tenants in leases of retail, healthcare, office and hospitality facilities
Assisted as underwriter’s counsel in a $130 million bond issuance by a state authority
Represented a local lender in a $15 million leasehold financing of a public/private educational facility
Represented a national lender in a $37 million credit facility to fund an ESOP transaction for a multistate convenience store operator
Represented a regional lender group in an aggregate of $150 million in development and mini-permanent loans to hospitality industry borrower (hotel, timeshare and water park facility)
Represented a local bank in a loan workout of 23 business and real estate loans to 13 related entities in Wisconsin aggregating approximately $15 million