Michael (Mike) Rechtin advises clients on complex transactions at the intersection of real estate, digital infrastructure, and technology. 

Mike leverages more than three decades of comprehensive real estate and IT contracting experience across asset classes to guide data center and digital infrastructure project developers, investors, providers, insurance companies, Fortune 500 companies, pension funds, investment advisors, and office and industrial real estate developers on: 

  • Land acquisition, sales, development, and related financings (including project finance-based, hybrid, revolver facilities, borrowing-base facilities, and real estate finance) for data centers and AI environments
  • Data center leases and master service agreements (MSAs) for turnkey, colocation, and edge and powered shell AI and cloud environments
  • Acquisition and sales of developed properties and properties under construction (including data centers) 
  • Service level agreements (SLAs), tax abatement and exemption agreements, vendor agreements, indefeasible rights of use (IRU) agreements, telco and fiber licenses, service orders, and meet-me-room-related agreements (MMR), including those involving AI and cloud deployments
  • Joint ventures
  • Procurement of power for data center and digital infrastructure projects
  • Leading large portfolio due diligence projects

His proficiency in handling complex transactions and strategic acumen make him a trusted advisor in the industry. A recognized thought leader, Mike regularly speaks at digital infrastructure conferences and contributes insights to trade periodicals.

Before joining Latham, Mike was a partner at another international law firm.

Mike’s experience includes advising:

Land Acquisition, Sales, Development, and Financing

  • Edged Energy as borrower/developer on a bespoke hybrid project finance/real estate borrowing base construction loan for US$800 million across seven US sites*
  • Harrison Street on:
    • The sale of two hyperscaler-occupied facilities in Ashburn, Virginia to a private equity firm for US$145 million*
    • The sale of four hyperscaler-occupied facilities in Maryland to a private equity firm*
  • Harrison Street and fifteenfortyseven Critical Systems Realty (1547) on the acquisition of DRFortress in Hawaii from GI Partners* 
  • Harrison Street and American Real Estate Partners/PowerHouse Data Centers on a US$550 million project financing for a multi-building data center campus*
  • StratCap Data Centers and HMC Capital on:
    • The US$712 million purchase of a turnkey data center under construction and fully leased to a hyperscaler in Elk Grove Village, IL*
    • The US$250 million acquisition of two fully leased data centers in Kansas and Texas*
  • Several private equity infrastructure and tech funds on acquiring and financing operating data centers in the US*
  • A mortgage loan provider on the sale and leaseback of a data center facility in Detroit, MI*
  • An IT infrastructure company on the sale-leaseback of a 12 MW Tier III+ data center in Elk Grove Village, IL*
  • An Australia-based investment bank on due diligence for potential equity investment in a US data center portfolio*

Data Center Leases and Master Service Agreements

  • Akamai Technologies in a 40 MW turnkey lease and related sublease to a non-US based hyperscaler*
  • Chirisa and American Real Estate Partners on a hyperscale lease form for six full-building leases (300 MW total)*
  • Chirisa and Machine Investments on two build-to-suit turnkey leases with CoreWeave (up to 375 MW each)*
  • Comcast on a 12 MW Tier III+ lease and numerous regional colocation leases (250 KW to 4 MW)*
  • Edged Energy on:
    • 10 build-to-suit edge leases with a hyperscaler social media company*
    • A 15 MW lease in Atlanta, GA with a non-US based hyperscaler*
  • Fleet on potential lease deals for an AI campus in Reno, NV (up to 1 GW)*
  • Galaxy Digital on a series of leases for a converted crypto facility to CoreWeave for 350 MW in Texas*
  • Intersect Power on build-to-suit powered shell leases (1 GW and 360 MW) in Texas* 
  • Novva Data Centers on:
    • A 37.5 MW turnkey lease in Las Vegas, NV to a hyperscaler*
    • Turnkey leases with eBay in Reno, NV and Las Vegas, NV*
    • An MSA with a hyperscaler for build-to-suit centers in Salt Lake City, UT, Reno, NV, and Las Vegas, NV*
  • Northwestern Mutual and NorthPoint on Keystone Trade Center leases (720 MW, US$8 billion project)* 
  • Oppidan,1547, and Harrison Street on a build-to-suit turnkey lease in Cheyenne, WY with a hyperscaler*
  • Quantum Corridor on a potential 200 MW lease for quantum computing with a hyperscaler in Hammond, IN*
  • Related and Blue Owl on a 150 MW quantum computing lease with a quantum computing platform company in Chicago, IL*
  • StratCap and Quantum Connect on turnkey leases with Cloudflare*
  • Walgreens on a turnkey ease with Element Critical for data center/lab space in Wood Dale, IL*
  • A financial institution on an 8 MW Tier III+ lease in Minneapolis, MN and a healthcare company on a 2 MW lease*

AI and Cloud Deployment

  • A leading AI platform company on the equipment lease and financing of US$30 billion of AI chipsets in several tranches, as well as related turnkey colocation agreements in New York and Texas*
  • Service-level agreements, IRU agreements, and other telco contracts for AI and cloud environments*
  • Galaxy Digital on converting a crypto facility for AI workloads leased to CoreWeave*
  • Providing strategic advice on master planning of AI campuses and power allocation for flexible leasing, financing and ultimate sale*

Joint Ventures

  • Blackstone on a joint venture investment in Digital Realty developments for hyperscale users in Europe and Virginia*
  • Edged Energy in joint ventures for multiple data center developments*
  • Harrison Street and American Real Estate Partners in Ashburn, VA project*
  • NorthPoint and Blue Owl Capital JV on a hyperscaler campus in Pennsylvania (up to 10 buildings)* 

Power Procurement

  • Intersect Power on renewable-adjacent data center campuses:
    • Powered shell lease (1 GW)*
    • Powered land lease (360 MW)*
  • Procurement of power for digital infrastructure projects from numerous utility providers in the US*

Diligence Projects

  • An Australia-based investment bank on due diligence for an equity investment in a US data center portfolio*
  • Several private equity infrastructure, technology, and real estate funds on acquisition and financing diligence*
  • Leading large portfolio due diligence projects*

*Matter handled prior to joining Latham

Thought Leadership

  • Co-author, “Powering AI Data Centers: Government And Industry Leaders Scramble To Develop Energy Infrastructure To Meet Growing Demand,” Pratt’s Energy Law Report, January 2025

Bar Qualification

  • Illinois

Education

  • JD, University of Notre Dame, 1992
    cum laude
  • BS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1989

Practices