Tonica Business Lawyers

I have practiced law for more than 40 years, concentrating in trials, appeals, arbitrations and mediations in a wide variety of matters such as contract disputes, fraud claims, employment issues, investment disputes, partnership issues, personal injury, homeowners association, collections and many other types of disputes. I graduated from the University of Chicago Law School and also have a MBA degree from Loyola University of Chicago. In addition to litigation experience in state and federal courts and administrative agencies, I have extensive training and experience in arbitrations and mediations. I represent businesses and individuals and have collected millions of dollars...

Jigar K. Patel is an Illinois licensed attorney with an office in Northbrook, Illinois, and practicing in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. The JKP Law Firm is a boutique law firm providing legal services related to Commercial and Residential Real Estate Transactions, Business Counseling and Commercial Transactions, and Commercial Litigation.

RKF Law Offices LLC serves as counsel to large and small companies as well as entrepreneurs and single family home purchasers in all aspects of real estate ownership. Over the years, Robert has represented some of the nation’s largest real estate developers, owners and operators, brokerage and property management companies, and construction and financial firms on real estate legal matters.  RKF Law Offices LLC provides assistance with commercial real estate matters including finance, sale and acquisition, leasing, development, construction, government entitlement programs, zoning and land planning.  RKF Law Offices LLC can assist clients with any type of real estate project...

EXPERIENCE Mr. Davis’ experience ranges from helping clients with all issues surrounding their start-up venture to assisting clients with the purchase or sale of multi-million dollar businesses. Mr. Davis concentrates his legal practice in the following areas: •representing corporations, limited liability companies and partnerships in connection with the legal matters these entities may face, including initial incorporation/organization, corporate governance issues, drafting and review of contracts and leases, licensing issues, securities issuances and debt financing transactions •representing clients with the sale or purchase of a business, including due diligence matters and the negotiation and documentation of the transaction •representing clients, both lenders and borrowers, in debt...

As a former senior tax consultant for a former Big Eight accounting firm, and as a business school graduate, Todd Black is uniquely qualified to advise clients on legal matters pertaining to estate planning and administration and corporate/business planning. A practicing attorney in Champaign-Urbana since 1987, Mr. Black joined Meyer Capel in 1993. Mr. Black received a bachelor of science in finance from the University of Illinois in 1983. He attended the University of Illinois on a full athletic scholarship and served as co-captain of the U of I's varsity tennis team. He was the recipient of numerous undergraduate honors, including...

Since joining the firm in 1970, Francis J. (Jerry) Jahn has been responsible for building and expanding the business practice of Meyer Capel. He served as President of the firm from January 1999 until December 2010. A 1967 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, Jerry was winner of the Frederick M. Green Moot Court Competition and the Horner Cup and Waterman Prize for Excellence in Moot Court Competition as a law student. He was also recipient of the Harno Scholarship. Jerry is a member of the Illinois State and Champaign County Bar Associations. He served on CCBA's board of...

Large corporations and small companies alike need sound legal advice from attorneys who understand the demands and dynamics of the business environment. Clients of Meyer Capel will find these skills in Matt C. Deering. A native of Champaign-Urbana and a graduate of Champaign Central High School, Mr. Deering holds a bachelor of arts in economics from the University of Kentucky and a juris doctorate from Ohio Northern University. He joined the firm in 1994 as a law clerk and became a full-time associate in 1996 and a shareholder on January 1, 2003. In addition to handling general corporate and business law concerns,...

Randy Green is a shareholder in Meyer Capel’s Business and Real Estate Practice Groups. His unique experience allows him to serve not only as legal counsel, but as a trusted business advisor to his clients. Experience Mr. Green has represented both public and private companies ranging from top U.S. financial institutions to single-member LLCs in a variety of transactions such as mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, private equity investments, financing, entity formation, franchising, and leasing. He has also helped organizational and individual clients sell, purchase and lease various types of real estate across the U.S. Before he began his legal career, Mr....

Grant Gulovsen, Esq. has been advising and representing technology startups since late 2017. The work he regularly performs in this role includes the following: • Managing clients’ day-to-day legal operations (e.g., corporate filings, SEC filings, USPTO filings, drafting and negotiating employment agreements, software license agreements, NDAs, etc.) • Handling compliance and regulatory questions/issues as they arise, including communicating with U.S. regulators (and occasionally regulators in other jurisdictions such as the FCA in the U.K. as appropriate); • Managing relationships with outside counsel for issues that are outside his wheelhouse (especially in non-U.S. jurisdictions); and • Constantly researching laws and regulations in the U.S. and...

Abigayle (Abby) Endress grew up in Pearl City, Illinois. She graduated from Highland Community College in 2018. In 2020, she received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She earned her Juris Doctor from Drake University Law School in 2023, with a certificate in Food and Agricultural Law. While in law school, Abby was selected as a teaching assistant for an introductory legal research course and worked as a student attorney in the Drake Legal Clinic. She was also a member of Drake Law Women, Drake Agriculture and Environmental Association,...

Charles is a shareholder at Lofgren & Wentworth, P.C. in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, where he practices business, property, and appellate litigation. After graduating in the top 3% of his law school class at the University of Utah, he clerked for Chief Justice John T. Broderick of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. He then became a litigation associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP before opening Wentworth Law Offices. Charles' experience as an officer and director of multiple closely-held companies also gives him practical business and real estate experience. He is active in the DuPage County and Illinois State Bar Associations, where...

Mr. Gerstein concentrates his law practice in the areas of insurance law, workers' compensation, negligence, business disputes and criminal defense. He has over 40 years of trial experience in the above areas of law. He has represented people and companies involved in complex business disputes; people and companies whose insurance claims were denied; people injured on the job or otherwise; and people accused of crimes. He has tried hundreds of cases to either juries, judges or arbitrators. As a result of the complexity of the law today, Mr. Gerstein believes every client matter requires thorough thought, investigation, research...

Barry Kreisler is a Chicago lawyer with more than 40 years legal and business experience, having served as partner in several law firms, as vice president of and legal counsel to the multi-billion dollar Chicago investment advisor of a group of Chicago based publicly held mutual funds and as president and CEO of a middle sized Chicagoland real estate brokerage, management and development company.

A highly experienced real estate developer, Kreisler has himself developed and supervised the legal work regarding acquisition, development, and sale of Chicagoland shopping centers, office buildings, mixed use buildings, and literally thousands of condominium units. Kreisler has...

Richard T. West has been practicing law for over forty-one years. He has been a shareholder of Meyer Capel for over half of his career, having practiced in other firms in the community prior to joining Meyer Capel in 1991 as a shareholder. Throughout much of his career, his focus has been in the areas of complex litigation involving, for example, intellectual property, construction, banking, products liability, contract disputes and corporate and fiduciary obligations, as well as business representation, construction law, and health care law. In recent years, he has begun to shift his focus from an active litigation practice...

David B. Sholem joined Meyer Capel in 1978 and was named as a shareholder of the firm in 1982. He graduated from Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Mr. Sholem attended the University of Illinois College of Law and Case Western Reserve University’s School of Law where he obtained his Juris Doctor degree in 1978. He was admitted to the Illinois State Bar in 1978. Mr. Sholem’s professional affiliations include Champaign County (Illinois) Bar Association (former President), Illinois State Bar Association (Real Estate Section) and American Bar Association. David Sholem has represented a number of real estate developers and...

Colleen C. M. Ramais joins Meyer Capel’s litigation team as a full-time associate after serving a two-year judicial clerkship with the Honorable Justice Rita B. Garman of the Illinois Supreme Court. Colleen graduated summa cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law with her juris doctorate in 2010. As a law student, she was named to the Dean's List for all six law school semesters and was awarded the Celia M. Howard Fellowship for graduate study from the Illinois Federation of Business and Professional Women. She is a ten-time recipient of the CALI Excellence for the Future Award for...

Evan Coobs is a shareholder in Meyer Capel's business and transactional practice group. A practicing attorney since 1989, he has been with Meyer Capel since 1996, and a shareholder of the firm since 1998. He regularly works with other lawyers as cost-effective and trusted co-counsel and local counsel. Experience There is no substitute for experience. Mr. Coobs' experience ranges from assisting developers of affordable housing, to in-house work for a multinational manufacturing company, to helping start-up clients negotiate their first commercial lease, to parsing through the details of complex financing arrangements, including syndicated loan transactions. Mr. Coobs' practice is focused in the...