Professional Status:

Partner practicing at Evans Keane LLP, Ms. Nicholas is a business, real estate, and finance attorney, whose experience includes domestic and international transactions for large and small clients.  She counsels clients in contract negotiation, business formation, business acquisitions and sales, commercial transactions, real estate acquisition, development and leasing, finance transactions, and general business matters. In addition to serving as lead counsel to her clients, she often acts as local counsel in multi-state transactions to provide guidance to out of state parties on conformance of transaction documents with local law and to provide local counsel opinions in business and finance transactions.

Formal Education:

Ms. Nicholas received her B.B.A. in management from the University of Massachusetts School of Business Administration, cum laude in 1982 and her J.D. from the University of Idaho College of Law in 1985, where she served as Symposium Coordinator on the Board of Editors of the Idaho Law Review.

Ratings/Recognitions

• Martindale Hubbell – AV® Preeminent^TM 5.0 out of 5 Rating
• Business Today – One of the Top Ten Most Influential Corporate Lawyers in Idaho 2023
• Best Lawyers in America®, Corporate Governance Law
• Chambers USA – Corporate/Commercial and Real Estate
• Mountain States Super Lawyers – Business/Corporate
• American Bar Foundation, Fellow
• ACMA, American College of Mortgage Attorneys, inducted Fellow in 2015
• ACREL, American College of Real Estate Lawyers, inducted Fellow in 2015
• IBR Women of the Year Honoree, 2018
• IBR Leaders in Law Award, 2016 Firm Associated Partner
• Burton Award for Legal Excellence, 2009
• Woman of the Year Leadership Award, Boise Chapter, National Association of Women Business Owners, 2009
• Tribute to Women in Industry (TWIN) Award, Women’s and Children’s Alliance, Boise, Idaho, 2000

Professional Affiliations and Bar Membership:

• ACMA – Fellow, American College of Mortgage Attorneys
• ACREL – Fellow, American College of Real Estate Lawyers
• American Bar Association
• Idaho State Bar
• Oregon State Bar
• Washington State Bar

Publications/Professional Instruction:

• “I Might Be Liable for What?” Business Formations and what it means to “act like a corporation.” Zions Bank Business Resource Center. August 2016
• “To Lease or Not to Lease! Considerations for the Construction Financial Manager When Leasing Equipment,” Construction Financial Management Association, April 2016
• “Breaking up is (not so) hard to do – Tenant Evictions,” Institute of Real Estate Management, May 2015
• “Drones” and “Farm Leases” Leadership Idaho Agriculture, Idaho Ag Summit, February 2015
• “THE TIE THAT BINDS: Covenants and Equitable Servitudes,” January 2015 client alert
• “The ABC’s of the CISG,” seminar course materials, presented February 2014
• “International Data Privacy Laws – A Select Survey,” seminar course materials presented January 2013
• “Innovation and the Law: Entering New Markets – from Commercializing to Internationalizing,” seminar course materials, November 2011
• “A Comparison of the UN Convention for the International Sale of Goods and Idaho’s Uniform Commercial Code,” The Advocate, Vol. 52, No. 9, Sept. 2009
• “Teach an Old UCC Dog New Tricks, An Overview of the U. N. Convention on the International Sale of Goods,” Business Law Today, Vol. 18, No. 1, Sept./Oct. 2008
• “What is a Business Lawyer?” The Advocate, Vol. 49, No. 9, Oct. 2006
• “What’s a Director to Do?” The Advocate, Vol. 49, No. 9, Oct. 2006
• “Article 2A–Equipment Leasing,” seminar course materials, May 2005
• “Negotiating Difficult Clauses in Business Agreements,” seminar course materials, May 2002
• “Third-Party Legal Opinions – Secured Financing Transactions,” seminar course materials, Feb. 1993

Representative Matters:

• Represented lender in $90 million participated real estate-secured term loan.
• Represented lender in $60 million participated revolving line of credit facility.
• Represented borrower in $100 million participated term loan.
• Represented borrower in $250 million syndicated term loan.
• Represented lender in credit agreement providing for $6 million term loan, $4.5 million revolving line, and $2 million non-revolving line.
• Represented lender in credit agreement providing for $5 million revolving line with $1 million letter of credit sublimit, $2 million non-revolving line, and $6.25 million term loans.
• Represented borrower in $375 million syndicated credit facility providing for domestic and multi-currency commitments with lines of credit, swingline, and letters of credit facilities.
• Represented buyer in acquisition of frozen potato products manufacturing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
• Represented buyer in acquisition of turf-products retail distribution business with assets in 14 states, requiring compliance with requirements of federal anti-trust laws for pre-merger notification.
• Represented a buyer in multi-million dollar acquisition by three-member buying consortium of turf seed assets and intellectual property (including PVP varieties) located in multiple states, involving approval of a bankruptcy court and compliance with requirements of federal anti-trust laws for pre-merger notification.
• Represented borrower in $275 million syndicated revolver and $105 million term loan.
• Represented lender in operating loan to a large trout farming operation, a flooring line to a large group of automobile dealerships, construction loans to real estate developers, and agricultural loan work-outs.
• Represented lessee in $200 million leveraged lease of chemical plant, and lessee representation in other leveraged leases, synthetic leases and operating leases for rolling stock, railroad tank cars, and food processing line equipment.
• Lead counsel to large residential and commercial master planned subdivision, including covenant preparation (for residential phases and commercial components), development of form residential lot reservation and purchase agreements, negotiation and closing of commercial purchase agreements, build-to-suit leases, in-line retail leases, and pad site leases with local and national tenants.
• Lead counsel to mixed-use renovated warehouse development, including development of form leases for office tenants, retail tenants, and restaurant tenants; negotiated leases with local and national tenants.
• Lead counsel for the construction, financing, and operation of a condo project that included a 4-star hotel, residential condominiums, health club, events center with hospitality suites, restaurants, and public parking garage.