Nicole Carolan, Esq., General Counsel, Equinox Development Properties, Inc.

Nikki Carolan currently serves as General Counsel for Equinox Development Properties, Inc., a commercial real estate developer specializing in retail, mixed-use and boutique commercial development projects.  Nikki oversees all legal matters involving Equinox Development’s business operations and real estate activities. She is responsible for negotiating the purchase, sale, financing, leasing, and development of all commercial real estate projects.

Previously a partner and shareholder in Winderweedle, Haines, Ward & Woodman’s real estate department (and currently serving as Of Counsel for the firm), Nikki spent 15 years in private practice prior to joining Equinox. There she gained extensive experience representing landowners and developers while practicing primarily in the areas of commercial real estate, land use and development, government, and commercial real estate litigation.  She regularly represented land owners and developers in connection with the complex commercial real estate land developments, which typically involved complex zoning, permitting and other land use and entitlement related issues. 

She is widely recognized as a leader in her field and has earned many accolades including the following: Rated “AV Preeminent” by Martindale Hubbell, The Best Lawyers in America© in the practice area of Real Estate, Orlando Magazine Best Lawyers in practice area of Real Estate and Super Lawyers “Rising Star” in the practice area of Real Estate: Business.  She is an active member of CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) Orlando, a local chapter of CREW Network, serving as President of CREW Orlando in 2020.

She attended the University of Florida for both undergraduate and law school. While attending the UF College of Law, she was a Teaching Assistant for Legal Research and Writing and Appellate Advocacy and a member of the University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy, graduating with high honors in and receiving the Order of the Coif.

Nikki resides in Winter Park, Florida with her husband, former law firm partner and Chair of the WHWW Real Estate Department, Mike, and her two young sons, Penn and Myles.