Top best Trust Lawyers in Chicago | 569 available

Timothy J. Ritchey practices in the areas of estate and guardianship administration, probate and trust litigation, real estate litigation, and estate planning. Over 90% of Tim's practice is dedicated to litigation, with an emphasis on contested probate litigation. He represents individuals, families, financial institutions, medical institutions and governmental organizations in cases brought in State and Federal court. Tim has been appointed Special Assistant Attorney General in numerous matters to represent the State's interests in ongoing litigation.. Tim received his Bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before attending law school, he worked at Morgan Stanley as an analyst. Tim graduated with Honors from the Chicago-Kent College of Law where he interned at the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic. While in law school, he received a Merit Scholarship and was regularly named to the Dean's List. Tim was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 2005.. Tim authors numerous articles addressing elder law issues, including withdrawal rates from retirement funds, viatical and life settlements, and tax breaks for offspring who support their parents. He is a member of the American Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association, Chicago Bar Association and DuPage County Bar Association. Tim is a committee member of the Probate Practice Committee and Estate Planning Committee of the Chicago Bar Association. Tim routinely gives speeches addressing the pertinent topics within his legal field. He is also involved with the Illinois State Bar Association in organizing functions to raise money for charity.

The Law Offices of Marc J. Lane and its financial services affiliates offer successful people a strategic, multidisciplinary approach to tax, investment, corporate, estate and insurance planning.. Marc J. Lane, a nationally recognized business and tax attorney, Master Registered Financial Planner, Registered Financial Counselor and Certified Investment Specialist, is the author of 34 books and Founder of Marc J. Lane Wealth Group ().. He is an expert on entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial finance, and an influential advocate of best corporate governance practices. Twice a recipient of the Illinois State Bar Association's Lincoln Award, Marc, a “Leading Illinois Attorney” and “Illinois Super Lawyer,” has consistently earned an "AV® Preeminent™" rating in the Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory, the highest ranking awarded. Martindale-Hubbell also includes him in its Bar Registry of Preeminent Attorneys. By appointment of Gov. Pat Quinn, he is Chairman of the State ofIllinois’ Task Force on Social Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Enterprise, as well as Commissioner of the Serve Illinois Commission.. Marc is an innovator in helping social enterprises and social entrepreneurs leverage capital to maximize financial results while driving positive social change, and teaches Social Enterprise at Northwestern University School of Law. Marc is the pioneer behind the Advocacy Investing® approach to socially responsible and mission-related investing ().. Marc has drafted and successfully championed Low-profit Limited Liability Company (L3C) laws throughout the nation, authorizing the new hybrid business form which can leverage foundations' program-related investments to access trillions of dollars of market-driven capital for ventures with modest financial prospects, but the possibility of major social impact. Marc has served as a Director of Social Enterprise Alliance (SEA) and spearheaded the launch of its Chicagochapter, which he continues to serve as President and a Director. He has also chaired SEA’s affiliate, The Center for Social Enterprise Accreditation.

Robert E. Bloch is a 1984 graduate of Northwestern University School of Law. He served two years as a field attorney for the National Labor Relations Board before entering the private practice of law.. Robert represents a broad array of private and public sector labor unions. He has extensive experience in traditional labor law practice, including single and multi-employer contract negotiations, NLRB and Illinois State Labor Board proceedings, federal and state court litigation, prevailing wage enforcement, and arbitration of discipline and labor contract disputes. Robert advises labor organizations on internal matters, has implemented and monitored union trusteeships, and supervises local and international union elections. He also advocates for unions on regulatory and legislative matters.. Robert also represents individuals in the negotiation of employment and severance agreements, claims arising from employment discrimination and discharge, and recovery of underpaid wages.. Robert is admitted to practice in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the Federal District Courts for the Northern and Central Districts of Illinois (trial attorney), and the Illinois Supreme Court.

Representing individuals in Personal Injury and Workers Compensation matters throughout Illinois and Wisconsin.  Call for a FREE consultation.

My practice is concentrated in the areas of estate planning, trust and estate administration, charitable planning, and business succession planning. A significant portion of my practice is devoted to representing musicians, songwriters, entertainers and recording artists. Many of these clients have special estate planning concerns that include the valuation and disposition of intellectual property rights, royalty income, valuable memorabilia and artwork, and merchandising contracts. Many non-profit entities, including private foundations, charitable trusts, and publicly supported charities also rely on me for legal advice. In connection with this practice, I have represented several large charitable organizations in contested estate and trust matters, recovering millions of dollars of embezzled and misappropriated funds. In addition, I regularly advise executors, trustees and beneficiaries on all aspects of estate and trust administration. This representation includes tax planning, court filings, the collection and distribution of assets, the preparation of tax returns, and the resolution of trust and estate disputes. I am actively involved in several professional organizations associated with the estate planning community, including ACTEC (American College of Trust & Estate Counsel), the premier national organization of trust and estate lawyers. I also serve as the Vice President of the Chicago Estate Planning Council, an organization of more than 650 estate planning professionals. In addition, I previously chaired the Estate & Gift Tax Division of the Federal Tax Committee of the Chicago Bar Association. Finally, I am a member of Professional Advisory Committee of the Chicago Community Trust, one of the largest public charities serving the greater Chicagoland area. When not practicing law, I enjoy playing golf, reading historical fiction, biking, scuba diving, and spending quality time with my wife and three young daughters.

My legal practice focuses on tax and estate planning for individuals and families. I represent executives, physicians, lawyers, traders, farmers, business owners as well as family offices. My experience ranges from addressing routine estate planning matters to the most sophisticated estate tax and asset protection concerns for wealthy individuals including family limited partnerships, charitable remainder trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, sales to grantor trusts, private annuities, domestic asset protection trusts and other irrevocable trusts. I am a Certified Public Accountant and LL.M. in taxation graduate. As such, I focus a substantial portion of my practice helping clients navigate complex income, estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax issues. I have received the highest Martindale-Hubbell rating of "AV Preeminent" for professional expertise in estate planning and taxation. I am also the leader of the Chicago Iowa Club (). Please feel free to let me know if you ever have any estate questions or would like more information about the club.

Joseph is known for his ability to make sophisticated legal issues and tax planning understandable and is highly regarded for his devotion and commitment to the diverse needs of business clients. Joseph represents corporations, partnerships and tax-exempt entities, as well as family-owned and other closely-held businesses, and their owners. He also represents high net worth individuals, lottery winners and professionals, including doctors, lawyers, accountants and wealth management advisors.. Joseph advises his corporate and business clients on critical financial, tax and business matters, including entity structure and formation, and asset ownership for asset protection and tax savings. He also assists closely-held and family-owned businesses and their owners with business succession planning for wealth preservation and to transition the business/ownership to younger generations and key employees. Joseph offers his individual clients a full range of estate, trust and tax planning services, from the drafting of wills, complex trust agreements and advanced wealth-preservation plans, to the formation of family foundations and other philanthropic entities to accomplish charitable objectives.. In addition to income and estate tax planning, a significant portion of Joseph's tax practice involves representing individual, business and corporate clients in administrative tax-controversy matters before the Internal Revenue Service and the Illinois Department of Revenue. Joseph is frequently asked by banks and financial consultants in the Chicago area to speak on wealth preservation, tax and estate planning, and business succession.. When not finding solutions to meet his clients' needs, Joseph enjoys spending time with his wife Karen and children Dominic, Gianna, Mia, Isabella and Vincent.

John Yetter finished Northern Illinois University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Statistics, earning University Honors and NCAA Academic All-American status. He graduated in 1996 from the University of Dayton School of Law, earning University awards for his studies in Advocacy and Property Law while also giving time to the tax and disability law clinics.. Mr. Yetter’s practice is dedicated to complex litigation and appeals. In the last twenty years, he tried over forty jury trials as first chair counsel in addition to over one hundred bench trials and numerous administrative and regulatory hearings. This history includes capital, complex financial, transactional, health care and anti-trust cases.. He has written and argued dozens of appeals to Illinois Appellate Courts, the Illinois Supreme Court and the Federal Circuit Court. In 2007 he was the lead author of a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court.. Mr. Yetter is a member of the Illinois Bar (1996), the U.S. District Court of Northern Illinois Trial Bar (2001), Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (2003), and the United States Supreme Court (2005). He has been admitted, pro hac vice, in Indiana, Wisconsin and New Mexico.. An active member of the Chicago, Illinois and Kane County Bar associations, Mr. Yetter has written and presented Continuing Legal Education seminars on topics including jury selection, administrative hearing procedures and appellate practice.

I strive to be approachable and straightforward, and as a client you will deal with me directly. I enjoy working with individuals, estates and businesses to get legal results in a timely fashion, particularly during trying times for families.. I hold a BS from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a JD from Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. I am licensed in Illinois and a member of the Illinois State Bar Association. I am also proud to volunteer with Chicago Volunteer Legal Services, which provides free legal services to lower-income individuals.. Before law school, I worked as a marine biologist in Alaska, collecting fisheries data for the federal government aboard commercial fishing vessels between 59' and 270' in length. I currently live with my family near Chicago and enjoy distance biking, traveling, and reading.

I have practiced in estate planning, probate, and estate and trust litigation since graduating from law school in 2004.  After working at Urban & Burt, Ltd., in Oak Forest, IL, I joined Paul F. O'Keefe, P.C. in 2006 where I continue to practice in estate planning, probate, trust and estate litigation, and now commercial litigation.  I work out of both our Evanston and Chicago offices.  I grew up in West Michigan and came to the Chicago area to attend college at Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, IL.

I am the past president of the 22,000 member Chicago Bar Association (CBA) and founder of the Elder Law Committee of the CBA. I authored chapters on guardianship litigation and will contests for the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education and my firm was hired by the city of Chicago's Department on Aging to re-write the elder abuse and neglect act. I have been chosen as an Illinois Super Lawyer four years running and in 2007 was named "Jewish Chicagoan of the Year."

David C. Brezina is of Counsel in the Chicago office of Ladas & Parry LLP. As an Intellectual Property law practitioner he has developed well-balanced experience handling patent, trademark and copyright matters. His litigation experience includes multifaceted cases having issues of patent, trademark, trade dress, copyright, trade secret, advertising and competition, especially where those issues intersect and overlap. He has appeared in more than 100 lawsuits, and settled others without appearing. He has also taught graduate and undergraduate law courses and delivered continuing education presentations covering these topics. With this experience in prosecuting and litigating intellectual property matters as well as negotiating and strategic counseling, Dave enjoys helping clients solve problems at whatever level the solution is needed.. For more than 20 years, Dave has taught law courses. This includes, “Entrepreneurship: Basic Business Principles,” “Entertainment Law,” and “Legal Aspects of Entertainment, Publishing and the Arts,” which were taught at Columbia College of Chicago. Dave also has been an adjunct professor in the Center for Intellectual Property Law of The John Marshall Law School in Chicago for more than 10 years, where he currently teaches “Trademark Law” and has taught “Antitrust and Misuse Aspects of Intellectual Property Law.”. Dave has lectured frequently and published numerous articles on law and litigation, with the subject matter usually focusing on patents, trademarks, trade dress and copyrights. The articles have been published in both legal and trade publications, including The Trademark Reporter, Landslide and the Chicago Bar Record, with one scheduled to appear in the Spring 2018 Review of Intellectual Property Law.. Dave received his B.S.S. in political science from Cornell College with undergraduate scientific training concentrated in oceanography. Dave earned his J.D. with honors from the Illinois Institute of Technology – Chicago Kent College of Law in 1978, and an LL.M. in intellectual property law from The John Marshall Law School in 1988. The thesis, co-authored with partner Burt Ehrlich, was entitled “Antitrust and Misuse Aspects of Intellectual Property Law” and was used as Dave’s textbook for his LLM class of the same name.. Dave has been active in the Chicago, Illinois and American Bar Associations, as well as the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago including chairmanship of several committee. He has been active in the Bohemian Lawyers Association of Chicago (BLAC) where he is a Past President. He has been ranked on various lawyer listings including Superlawyers, The Best Lawyers in America, and Illinois Leading Lawyer by the Leading Lawyers Network and has a Martindale-Hubbell AV rating.. Executive and Board of Directors experience has included, in addition to the BLAC, above, Managing Partner at Lee, Mann, Smith, McWilliams, Sweeney & Ohlson; Commodore of the Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club and Board service for Project LEAP (Legal Elections in All Precincts), Lincoln Park Advisory Council and the Chicago Harbor Safety Committee. Dave was issued Merchant Mariner Credentials on July 9, 2020 as a Master Mariner, including sail endorsement, by the United States Coast Guard.. Dave is admitted to practice in Illinois, before the U.S. Supreme Court the Federal, Seventh and Ninth Circuits and a number of U.S. District Courts. He is registered before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.. REPRESENTATIVE CASES. In Custom Accessories, Inc. v. Jeffrey-Allan Industries, Inc., 807 F.2d 955, 1 USPQ2d 1196 (Fed. Cir. 1985), after winning this patent infringement for the defense in a one-day trial on the merits, the Federal Circuit remanded for further proceedings. This case involved cross-town rivals in automotive aftermarket accessories.. Mucha v. King 792 F.2d 502 (7th Cir, 1986) involved a ‘long lost’ painting was not really ‘lost’, the heirs of the artist recovering a painting placed in a bailment 70 years before. Because of the cultural importance of the artist, Dave has also discussed this case before an Art Law class and bar association groups.. In Plastiques Anchor v. Quinn David, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12535, (ND Ill 1992) a preliminary injunction motion was soundly defeated in this trademark and trade dress case involving plastic bicycle racks. The judge remarked that it appeared that the trademark might not be owned by plaintiff, instead being owned by Dave’s client, the US distributor.. After prove-up of damages, a half-million dollar judgment was entered in favor of the client, a Nicaraguan brewery, in this trademark infringement case Compania Cervecera De Nicaragua v. Cervezas Victoria y Tona Beers Inc. 28 USPQ 2d 1870 (MD Fla 1993). Ultimately a compromised amount was collected from the co-defendant private label brewer.. Rasmussen v. The West, Inc. 28 USPQ 2d 1958 (N.D.Ill, 1993) was a copyright infringement case in which the client, plaintiff, defeated a motion to dismiss on personal jurisdiction grounds, interpreting the Illinois Long Arm statute to be satisfied when defendant made two mail order purchases from plaintiff and then infringed the work obtained.. In Carbonara v. Olmos 1994 WL 370031 March 4, 1994. (CD Cal 1994) the published decision dealt with a novel procedural point in a deceptive trade practices and false advertising case arising out of bogus celebrity endorsements. After removal to, and transfer from the Northern District of Illinois, the case was remanded back from the Central District of California to state court in Cook County, Illinois, an unprecedented procedure at the time. Settlement was obtained for the clients after oral argument of Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment.. Storck USA, L.P. v. Farley Candy Co., Inc., 14 F.3d 311, 29 USPQ 2d 1431 (7th Cir. 1994) was decided after replacing counsel who lost two preliminary injunctions based on trademark and trade dress claims. An attempt at a third preliminary injunction was defeated and affirmed on appeal, in part because of the survey evidence offered for the defense.. In Respect Inc. v. Fremgen 897 F. Supp. 361; 889 F. Supp. 340; 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8864; 35 U.S.P.Q.2d 1278, (ND Ill 1995), a copyright infringement case, summary judgment successfully limited damage exposure to the point where the case settled.. Microsoft Corp. v. Logical Choice Computers, Inc., 42 UCC 727, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10972, 2000 WL 1038143 (ND Ill 2000) was a trademark and copyright infringement case, in which the defendant client, a software distributor, was dismissed from the third-party case.. In Trek Bicycle Corp. v. Alyx Fier, 56 U.S.P.Q. 2d 1527 (TTAB 2000) summary judgment in favor of the client was obtained in a trademark opposition in which fame of our client’s mark was established. The industry involved was sports products, specifically bicycles.. Holland Co. v. Zeftek, Inc., 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13015 (ND Ill 2001) was a case in which Dave’s client, the plaintiff, successfully defeated defendant’s motion for summary judgment in this patent infringement case. This lead to prompt settlement.. In Thane Int’I, Inc. v. Trek Bicycle Corp., No. 00-55293, 00-55599, 305 F.3d 894, 64 USPQ2d 1564, 2002 U.S. App. LEXIS 18344 (9th Cir. 2002) a successful appeal overturned summary judgment in this trademark infringement case. This was obtained after joining the team from the firm that was originally unsuccessful.. Home Raters, Inc. v. Blumenthal, 2005 Copy. L. Rep. (CCH) P29,038; 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24206 (ND Ill 2005) was a copyright infringement case that established that under copyright, distinguishing other areas of the law, there is a right to attorneys’ fees as costs after acceptance of an unconditional offer of judgment.. Waterloo Furniture Components, Ltd. v. Haworth, Inc., 467 F.3d 641; 80 U.S.P.Q.2d 1675 (7th Cir. 2006) summary judgment for Dave’s client, a defendant in a breach of contract case, was obtained based on the expiration of the license agreement and the subject patent, despite the presence of a most- favored-nations clause.. In Through the Country Door v. J.C. Penney Co., 83 USPQ2d 1538, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23975, (WD Wis 2007), a trademark, trade dress and copyright infringement case, a motion to dismiss was defeated. The trade dress count and state law unfair trade practices count, joined with a copyright infringement count for imitation and copying of retail catalogs survived the motion to dismiss. The case was settled on terms maintained confidentially.. AFFCO New Zealand v American Fine Foods 913 F. 1331 (S.D. Fla., 2012) denied the Defense motion for summary judgment on two counts seeking to enforce a breach of a contract settling a trademark opposition.

Daniel A. Edelman is a member  of the firm of Edelman, Combs, Latturner & Goodwin, LLC.  He is a 1976 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School.  From 1976 to 1981 he was an associate at the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis.   In 1981 he became an associate at Reuben & Proctor and was made a partner there in 1982.  From the end of 1985 he has been in private practice in downtown Chicago.  Virtually all of his 14-attorney firm’s practice involves litigation on behalf of consumers, including individual and class actions under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, and Truth in Lending Act, and debt collection defense.  Mr. Edelman argued for the consumer in Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U.S. 291 (1995), establishing  FDCPA coverage of attorneys.. Mr. Edelman is the author or coauthor of numerous publications on class actions and consumer protection law, including Predatory Mortgage Lending (Ill. Inst. for Cont. Legal. Educ. 2008), author of Chapter 6, “Predatory Lending and Potential Class Actions,” in Real Estate Litigation (Ill. Inst. For Cont. Legal Educ. 2008), Chapter 4-1, “Truth in Lending Act,” in Illinois Causes of Action (Ill. Inst. For Cont. Legal Educ. 2008), Predatory Lending and Potential Class Actions, ch. 6 of Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Practice (Ill. Inst. For Cont. Legal );  Predatory Lending and Potential Class Actions, ch. 5 of Real Estate Litigation (Ill. Inst. For Cont. Legal ); Illinois Consumer Law, in Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and Related Areas Update (Chicago Bar Ass’n 2002); Predatory Lending Litigation in Illinois (2001); Consumer Class Action Manual (2d-5th editions), National Consumer Law Center 1990-2002; Payday Loans:  Big Interest Rates and Little Regulation, 11 L.Rptr. 14 (1999); Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Update --  1999, Chicago Bar Ass’n 1999; An Overview of The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, in Financial Services Litigation, Practicing Law Institute (1999); Consumer Fraud and Insurance Claims, in Bad Faith and Extracontractual Damage Claims in Insurance Litigation, Chicago Bar Ass'n 1992; Chapter 8, "Fair Debt Collection Practices Act," Ohio Consumer Law (1995 ed.); Fair Debt Collection:  The Need for Private Enforcement, 7 L.Rptr. 89 (1995); The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act:  Recent Developments, 8 L. Rptr. 303 (1996); Residential Mortgage Litigation, in Financial Services Litigation, Practicing Law Institute (1996); Automobile Leasing:  Problems and Solutions, 7 L.Rptr. 14 (1994); Current Trends in Residential Mortgage Litigation, 12 Rev. of Banking & Financial Services 71 (1996); Applicability of Illinois Consumer Fraud Act in Favor of Out-of-State Consumers, 8 L.Rptr. 27 (1996); Illinois Consumer Law (Chicago Bar Ass'n 1996).  He has testified before the Federal Trade Commission and legislative committees on consumer related issues.. Mr. Edelman is licensed in Illinois state court and in all federal courts in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan, as well as others.

Attorney Elizabeth Demonte is a highly skilled litigator and author who has done significant work on pre-decree divorce, post-decree divorce, parentage, child custody, child support and grandparent visitation cases. She penned article, “Spotlight On: The Nurse-Family Partnership,” which was published in the prestigious Children’s Legal Rights Journal.. Demonte received her Juris Doctorate from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and graduated summa cum laude from DePaul University with a bachelor’s in Business Management. She also received the coveted Certification in Child and Family Law and was awarded a position as Editor on Loyola’s Children’s Legal Rights Journal, a major honor.