Rachael Motzkus, Associate at our Salt Lake City law office
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Rachael Motzkus

Associate
Biography

Rachael Motzkus is a real estate attorney focusing in commercial development, office and retail leasing, acquisitions and dispositions of real property, title insurance, entitlements and land use, partnerships and joint ventures, and real estate financing. She advises clients across the real estate spectrum, including developers, property owners, investors, landlords, and tenants, on large-scale commercial, mixed-use, and resort developments, including multi-property portfolio transactions, master-planned communities, major redevelopment projects, complex joint ventures, clean energy projects, and public financing initiatives such as PIFs.

In conjunction with her practice, Rachael is a member of the firm’s Hiring Committee.

Credentials

Bar Admissions

  • Utah


Court Admissions

  • Supreme Court of Utah


Education

  • University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law (J.D.)
    • CALI Awards: Legal Research, Mediation and Negotiation
    • Leary Scholar
  • University of Utah, David Eccles School of Business (B.B.A.)
    • Honors College
    • Pre-Law Leap Program Graduate
Experience

Awards & Recognition

  • The Best Lawyers in America®: Ones to Watch,
    • Real Estate Law (2024-2026)
  • Mountain States Super Lawyers®, Rising Stars Edition, Real Estate (2022-2025)
  • Utah Business Magazine, Utah’s Legal Elite (2024)
  • Utah Business Magazine, 30 Women to Watch (2022)

Representative Experience

  • Oversaw real estate diligence, drafting, and closing for the multi-billion-dollar sale of more than 50 automotive dealerships, involving hundreds of closing documents
  • Managed real estate diligence, drafting, and closing for one of the nation’s largest master-planned communities
  • Served as counsel to the master developer in a nine-figure joint venture loan financing to fund major infrastructure improvements and construction of an event center
  • Led real estate diligence and assisted in drafting a ground lease supporting the expansion of a globally recognized ski resort
  • Guided negotiations and documentation for purchase and development agreements in a ten-figure mixed-use redevelopment project
  • Prepared CC&Rs and related documentation for a large residential and commercial project on government land
  • Managed real estate diligence, drafting, and closing for a 180 MW utility-scale solar project
  • Led real estate diligence, contract drafting, and closing for the $153 million acquisition of a townhome community in St. George, Utah

Previous Professional Experience

  • United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Student Honors Intern (2016-2017)
  • University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law, Research Assistant (2016)
  • United States Bankruptcy Court, District of Utah, Judicial Intern to Chief Judge R. Kimball Mosier (2015)
  • Monument Title Insurance, Inc. (2010-2014)

Professional Memberships and Activities

  • Utah State Bar
  • Women Lawyers of Utah
  • Utah Bar Leadership Academy
  • Commercial Real Estate Women Network, Utah Chapter (CREW Utah)
  • NAIOP Utah