Clients engaged in complex commercial real estate and corporate finance transactions count on Johns’ experience, insight, and commitment to help them anticipate issues, address challenges, and, ultimately, get to “yes.” A consummate dealmaker who balances business savvy and legal know-how with outstanding communication skills and a deep commitment to building long-term client relationships, Johns focuses her practice on complex commercial real estate and finance matters with a particular emphasis on public/private partnerships and the not-for-profit sector. Johns is also the Lead of the firm’s Business Transactions Practice Team.

Johns represents commercial and industrial clients in multimillion-dollar commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, real estate-based financings, workouts, development transactions, and complex commercial retail, office, and industrial leasing transactions in the United States and abroad. She has deep experience on counseling clients on the real estate aspects of corporate mergers and acquisitions transactions. She is certified as an Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP) by the U.S. Green Building Council.

When it comes to real estate-based financings, Johns advises borrowers and lenders in a variety of secured and unsecured financing transactions, including lines of credit, credit enhancement, and conventional mortgage loans. She is also well versed in governmental incentive-based transactions using vehicles such as tax credits, TIF, LIHTC, and NMTC to achieve her clients’ goals. 

Johns has been engaged to act as counsel in some of the nation’s largest public/private partnership infrastructure transactions. She served as lead real estate counsel to the City of Chicago in a $1.8B transaction in the privatization of the Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge, a $563M transaction in the privatization of the Chicago Parking Garage System, the initial $2.8B proposed privatization of Chicago's Midway International Airport, and multibillion-dollar projects like the Obama Presidential Library and O’Hare Airport Redevelopment.

Johns' experience with nonprofit and faith-based organizations includes advising on issues relating to federal and state law governance, local governmental politics and relations, governmental compliance and 501 regulatory issues, commercial real estate development (including expansion and leasing), real property gifts issues, unrelated business income, real estate property tax issues, foreclosure, and workouts. In addition, she has represented numerous faith-based lenders in connection with loans to faith-based borrowers and in the execution of loans for charitable purposes and missions.

Adept at handling the challenging crisis situations of her clients over the past 20 years, Johns is an effective crisis management lawyer for public executives, professionals, governmental officials, not-for-profits, and business entities facing challenging circumstances in high-profile settings. 

Johns has won many awards and accolades for her involvement in the legal community, mentoring successes, and efforts in diversity, equity, and inclusion. She most recently received America’s Best-in-State Top Lawyers (2025) by Forbes. Women of Influence Diversity Champion by ALM │ GlobeSt., Woman of the Year (2024) by the Illinois Real Estate Journal, 100 Top Women in Real Estate by the Illinois Real Estate Journal, Chicago Notable Black Leaders (2024) by Crain’s Chicago Business, Chicago Notable Women in Law (2024) by Crain’s Chicago Business, Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame by the Midwest Real Estate News, and Top Women in Law by the Law Bulletin Media. Johns is also ranked as one of The Best Lawyers in America in Real Estate Law by Best Lawyers®, an Illinois Leading Lawyer in Association & Non-Profit Law, Land Use, Zoning & Condemnation Law, Public Finance Law, Real Estate Law: Commercial, Real Estate Law: Finance by Law Bulletin Media Leading Lawyers, and an Illinois Super Lawyer in Real Estate, Banking and Business & Corporate by Thomson Reuters.

For the past 16 years, Johns continues to serve as an adjunct professor at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law teaching commercial real estate transactions law to the next generation of law firm professionals. She is a former president (2022) of the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education (IICLE). Johns is actively involved with the Monarch Award Foundation Inc. and the Greater Chicago Food Depository.