Rachel Kuipers Bates
Education
- B.A., University of South Carolina
- J.D., University of Tennessee
Employment
- Mayer Brown LLP, Chicago
Michigan native Rachel Kuipers Bates visited the College of Law during her senior year at the University of South Carolina and was impressed with the welcoming atmosphere and small classes. She decided to remain in the sunny south for her legal education and loved every minute of her Tennessee Law experience. Rachel joined Mayer Brown as a real estate associate in the Chicago office in the fall of 2007. Despite the economic downturn, Rachel has enjoyed what law graduates dream of—extensive client contact, working on challenging real estate financing deals, and mentoring from senior attorneys. Her work has included the sale of the Chicago landmark UBS Building, representing banks and real estate investment funds in financing ground up construction projects, hotels, and condominium buildings, structuring loan workouts to maximize value for both the lender and the owner of projects, and developing hospitals and medical office buildings for a prominent Chicago hospital.
“My three years at the University of Tennessee College of Law prepared me for practice in so many ways. My professors were not only incredibly accomplished academics but had also practiced law and were able to incorporate practical lessons and real life scenarios into the classroom. The small class size provided the perfect environment to interact with professors and other students in a way that prepared me to interact with clients and opposing counsel. UT was the perfect balance of theory and reality and provided me with a strong base to start my practice.”