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David J. Alexander is a Principal in the Real Estate Practice Group at Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell, Ltd., in Chicago, where he advises clients in regard to complex real estate transactions, including the acquisition, disposition, financing, and leasing of shopping centers, retail, office, a industrial buildings, and residences. Prior to joining Masuda Funai, Mr. Alexander was in-house counsel for a publicly traded real estate investment trust in the Chicago area. Mr. Alexander is a member of the American, Illinois State, and Chicago Bar Associations, the International Council of Shopping Centers, and the Real Estate Investment Association. He has authored numerous articles on various real estate matters in publications such as the Illinois State Bar Association’s Real Estate Law Newsletter. Mr. Alexander received his B.A. from Eastern Illinois University and his J.D. from IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law.
William J. Anaya is a Partner at UB Greensfelder, LLP, in Chicago, where he concentrates in environmental law transactions and litigation. He is Past Chair of the Board of IICLE® and has received IICLE®’s Addis Hull Award for Excellence in Legal Education. Mr. Anaya is AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell and a member of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Real Estate Law Section Councils. He received his B.A. from Purdue University and his J.D. from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
Elizabeth A. Austermuehle is an associate at Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., in Chicago, where she is involved with all aspects of litigation, including discovery, depositions, motion practice, strategic planning, and trial preparation. With previous experience as an associate at a large international firm, she is well-versed in processes related to electronic discovery. Ms. Austermuehle’s litigation experience also includes consumer protection claims, securities litigation, and asylum matters. She is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and admitted to the bar in Illinois; the U.S. District Court; Northern District of Illinois; and the U.S. Supreme Court. Ms. Austermuehle earned her B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.
Richard F. Bales (2019) is Assistance Regional Counsel at Chicago Title Insurance Company in Lisle. He concentrates his practice in real estate law. He is a member of the American Land Title Association/National Society of Professional Surveyors liaison committee that drafts the national land title survey standards, was recognized as Northern Illinois University College of Law’s 2015 Alum of the Year, and the author of THE GREAT CHICAGO FIRE AND THE MYTH OF MRS O’LEARY’S COW. He received his B.A. from Illinois College and his J.D. from the Northern Illinois University College of Law.
Scott R. Borstein is a Partner at Neal & Leroy, LLC, in Chicago, where he concentrates his practice in zoning, land use, and real estate transactions. He is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and licensed to practice law in both Illinois and California. Mr. Borstein received his B.A. cum laude from Miami University and his J.D. from Georgetown Law, where he was Associate Editor of the Georgetown Immigration Law Journal.
Matthew E. Cohn is an Officer at Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., in Chicago, where he concentrates his practice in real estate and the litigation of environmental and insurance coverage matters. Before becoming an attorney, he worked as a hydrogeologist for a global environmental engineering and consulting firm for several years. He is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Environmental Law Section Council and the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources. Mr. Cohn received his B.S. in Geology with honors from Bucknell University, his M.S. in Geology from Indiana University, and his J.D. with honors from Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Paul J. Evans is the Principal Attorney of the Evans Law Firm, PC, in O’Fallon, where he concentrates his practice in the areas of agricultural law, real estate, and estate planning. He is a member of the Illinois State, Missouri, and St. Clair County Bar Associations and the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. He has served on the Agricultural Law Section Council of ISBA since 1995 in various capacities, including serving as Council Chair in 2002 – 2003. He has written articles for the ISBA Section Council’s Agricultural Law newsletter and has been a presenter for ISBA. He has spoken to nonprofit organizations on issues of land preservation. Mr. Evans earned his B.S. and his J.D. from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Michael Filipski is the President and Founder of Compass Surveying, Ltd., in Aurora, where he has been practicing as a professional land surveyor in northeastern Illinois for over 30 years. He focuses on construction surveying, land boundary problems, right-of-way determination, and land development for residential, commercial, and municipal projects. Having founded the company in 1983, Mr. Filipski has served as President of the Northeast Chapter of the Illinois Professional Land Surveyors Association and has been a member of the Illinois Land Title and the Illinois Professional Land Surveyors Associations, the Missouri Association of Registered Land Surveyors, and the National and Wisconsin Societies of Professional Land Surveyors. Mr. Filipski served as Editor of the book ILLINOIS LAWS RELATING TO SURVEYS, TITLE AND REAL PROPERTY and has also contributed to ILLLINOIS LAND BOUNDARIES and IICLE®’s RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE (2011).
Joseph P. Gattuso is a Partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP in Chicago, where he concentrates his practice in the areas of land use, zoning, historic preservation, and other regulatory matters; development incentives; acquisition of publicly owned property; liquor and business licensing issues; building and life safety code compliance; right-of-way adjustments; and subdivisions. He is a member of the American and Chicago Bar Associations. Mr. Gattuso received his B.A. from the University of Illinois and his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law, where he was a member of the law review.
Keith W. Groebe is a Principal at Masuda Funai in Chicago, where he focuses on real estate. He is a member of the American and Chicago Bar Associations and Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent in Real Property Law. Mr. Groebe received his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Illinois and his J.D. from the DePaul University College of Law.
Jack Guthman is Partner Emeritus at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP in Chicago, where his practice encompasses a broad range of activity before state and local boards, commissions, the Illinois General Assembly, and the Congress of the United States. He has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Real Estate and Land Use and Zoning Law annually since 2006. He was inducted into the Chicago Association of Realtors Hall of Fame for his achievements in the real estate industry. Mr. Guthman received his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and his J.D. from Yale Law School.
Timothy J. Hammersmith, Jr., is a Principal at Masuda Funai in Chicago, where his primary areas of practice include a broad spectrum of real estate disciplines. He is a frequent author and lecturer on real estate issues such as taxation, site selection and real estate development incentives, and landlord/tenant matters. For two years, he also served as an adjunct professor for the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law. He has served on the Illinois State Bar Association’s State and Local Taxation Section Council, serving as Chair of the Section Council from 1997 – 1998. Mr. Hammersmith earned his B.S. from the University of South Florida and his J.D. from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, where he was a member of the law review.
Robert M. Hill is an associate at Hodges, Loizzi, Eisenhammer, Rodick & Kohn LLP, in Arlington Heights. He was the Managing Editor of the Journal of Law, Technology & Policy at the University of Illinois College of Law and served as a clerk for the Honorable Michael T. Mason, District Court Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. Prior to law school, Mr. Hill graduated from the Honors Program at Baylor University and taught English at Heartland Alliance’s Refugee and Immigrant Community Services. Mr. Hill earned his B.S. from Baylor University and his J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law.
Dean W. Krone is a Partner at Hodges, Loizzi, Eisenhammer, Rodick & Kohn LLP, in Arlington Heights, where he focuses on local government law and real estate development. He is a member of the American and Illinois State Bar Associations and the Illinois Council of School Attorneys. Mr. Krone received his B.S. and his J.D. from the University of Chicago.
James S. Levi is a Partner at Hodges, Loizzi, Eisenhammer, Rodick & Kohn LLP, in Arlington Heights, where he serves as general counsel to school districts, municipalities, park districts, and other units of local government with a concentration in construction, real estate, and finance matters. Mr. Levi has extensive experience with public and private sector clients in these areas, within the realm of judicial and administrative proceedings, as well as alternative dispute resolution proceedings. Mr. Levi is the former Chair of the School Law Committee of the Northwest Suburban Bar Association. He is the coauthor of Selecting and Contracting with Construction Managers, From the Ground Up: Legal Issues in School Construction, a publication of the National School Boards Association Council of School Attorneys. Mr. Levi served on the Fort Sheridan Joint Plan Commission from 2010 to 2011 and as an Alderman to the City of Highwood from 2011 to 2015. While in law school, he served an externship for the Honorable Ruben Castillo, U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. Prior to entering law school, he worked for Kemper Financial Services in equity management. Mr. Levi previously was associated with the law firm of Arnstein & Lehr, where he was a Member of the commercial real estate practice group and concentrated his practice in the area of commercial lending. Mr. Levi is licensed to practice law in both Illinois and California. Mr. Levi earned his B.S. cum laude from Loyola University-Chicago and his J.D. with honors from Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Brian Patrick Listonis a Partner at Liston & Tsantilis, P.C., in Chicago, where he concentrates his practice in land use. He has been unanimously ranked the #1 Leading Lawyer in Land Use for 19 consecutive years and has earned Martindale-Hubbell’s highest ranking for 31 consecutive years. He is President of Liston Equities REIT and is a member of the John Purdue Club. Mr. Liston received his B.S. from Purdue University, his M.B.A. from Saint Xavier University, and his J.D. from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, where he was assistant editor of the Software Law Journal.
Kevin P. McKeown is an associate at Hodges, Loizzi, Eisenhammer, Rodick & Kohn LLP, in Arlington Heights, where he focuses on education law. He is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, the National Council of School Attorneys, and the Illinois Council of School Attorneys. Mr. McKeown received his B.A. with a double major from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law.
Jeffrey A. Mollet practices at Silver Lake Group, Ltd., in Highland, where he focuses his practice on banking and finance, real estate, and agriculture. He is a frequent speaker and published author on agricultural topics. He served as Chair of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Agricultural Law Section Council (2005 – 2006) and has been the Council’s newsletter editor for many years. He was also a speaker on venture capital and financing at the Illinois Coalition for Animal Agriculture Symposium (2002) and spoke on the topic of “Organizing New Generation Cooperatives” for the American Agricultural Law Association (2001). Mr. Mollet earned his B.S. from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and his J.D. from St. Louis University Law School.
Dennis J. Powers is a Partner at DLA Piper LLP (US) in Chicago, where he focuses on construction law and real estate and commercial litigation. He has been selected to Best Lawyers in America in the area of construction law, been designated an Illinois Super Lawyer in construction litigation, and is a member of the American and Chicago Bar Associations and the American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law. Mr. Powers received his B.S. from Western Illinois University and his J.D. from the DePaul University College of Law.
Jack H. Tibbetts is the Assistant Village Attorney for the Village of Oak Park, where he concentrates his practice in real estate law. Mr. Tibbetts has written for previous editions of IICLE®’s REAL ESTATE LITIGATION and RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE. He is a current member and former Chair of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Real Estate Law Section Council, was one of the drafters of the 1987 Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Law, and has lectured on the subjects of defense of mortgage foreclosure, land use, and zoning issues at many programs. He received both his B.A. and his J.D from Northwestern University.
Peter Tsantilis is a Partner at Liston & Tsantilis, P.C., in Chicago, where he concentrates his practice in real estate taxation, appeals, and incentives; real estate transactions/leasing; land use/zoning; and eminent domain. He is a member of the Institute for Professionals in Taxation and the NAIOP Chicago Legislative Committee. Mr. Tsantilis has been named a Leading Lawyer (2018 – 2020). He earned his B.B.A. summa cum laude from Loyola University Chicago School of Business Administration and his J.D. cum laude from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
Melissa M. Weiss is an associate at Hodges, Loizzi, Eisenhammer, Rodick & Kohn LLP, in Arlington Heights, where she concentrates her practice in all areas of school and municipal law. She was an articles editor and published member of the Washington University Law Review. Ms. Weiss also externed with the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services component of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and worked at Hodges, Loizzi, Eisenhammer, Rodick & Kohn as a summer associate. Ms. Weiss earned her B.A. and MSW from Providence College and her J.D. cum laude from Washington University.
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