Real Estate

Buying or selling real estate creates binding obligations long before the closing. Corey represents buyers and sellers throughout the Chicago area in residential, investment, and commercial transactions. He reviews the agreement, identifies issues that may affect title or the client’s ability to close, and explains the documents the client is asked to sign. Commercial matters require particular attention because contracts are often nonstandard and due-diligence obligations vary from one property to another.

• Residential purchases and sales
• Commercial and investment-property transactions
• Contract, inspection, and contingency matters
• Mortgage and lender-document review
• Title examination and plat surveys
• Lease review and commercial due diligence
• Municipal and transfer requirements
• Tax prorations, escrow arrangements, and closing documents

Business Transactions

A business acquisition or sale requires legal terms that accurately reflect the commercial agreement and allocate risk between the parties. Our team provides transactional counsel on the structure, negotiation, and documentation of the deal. Due diligence informs that work by identifying how existing contracts, employment obligations, intellectual property, and transition arrangements may affect the transaction. Throughout the matter, our advice remains focused on the client’s commercial objectives at closing and beyond.

• Purchases and sales of businesses
• Deal structure and negotiated terms
• Purchase and ancillary agreements
• Contract, employment, and intellectual-property diligence
• Closing conditions and transition obligations

Public Company Transactions

Privately held companies entering the public markets face legal requirements that extend beyond an ordinary business transaction. Corey advises companies and their owners on transaction structure, corporate authorization, governance preparation, and legal due diligence. Disclosure materials and closing requirements are addressed in coordination with the company’s financial and accounting advisers. The scope of the representation is determined by the form of the transaction and the company’s circumstances.

• Transactions involving companies entering public markets
• Transaction structure and corporate approvals
• Corporate records and governance preparation
• Due diligence and disclosure materials
• Coordination with financial, accounting, and other advisers

Formation & Governance

A company’s legal structure and governing agreements establish how ownership, control, and financial rights are allocated and how those arrangements may change over time. Our team advises founders and owners on selecting and forming corporations, LLCs, and partnerships and prepares the documents appropriate to the chosen structure. Operating, shareholder, and partnership agreements provide the framework for management authority, voting, capital decisions, and transfers of ownership. We consider liability and tax implications in coordination with the client’s accountant or tax adviser when appropriate.

• Corporations, LLCs, and partnerships
• Formation filings and organizational documents
• Operating and shareholder agreements
• Ownership, voting, and management authority
• Governance changes and transfers of interests

Employment Law

Employment agreements, handbooks, and workplace policies serve different purposes, but each must be written for the business that will use it. We draft and review agreements that define contractual rights and obligations, as well as handbooks and policies that communicate workplace expectations and procedures. Because their wording can have legal consequences, our review accounts for the business’s actual operations and the federal, Illinois, and local law that applies to its workforce. We also advise clients when workplace problems arise and represent them in selected disputes and administrative proceedings. Our experience includes discrimination and retaliation matters before the EEOC.

• Employment agreements
• Employee handbooks
• Workplace policies and acknowledgments
• Selected employment disputes
• Selected administrative proceedings

Estate Planning

Clients seek estate-planning advice when decisions about family, property, personal care, and decision-making authority need legal effect. Wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health-care directives are prepared as a coordinated plan rather than isolated forms. Together, these documents address authority during the client’s lifetime and the disposition of property after death. The plan may also address beneficiaries, charitable intentions, the possibility of family disputes, and relevant tax considerations. Financial and tax questions are coordinated with the client’s other advisers when appropriate.

• Wills and trusts
• Property powers of attorney
• Health care powers and advance directives
• Beneficiary and family arrangements
• Charitable intentions and adviser coordination

Probate & Estate Administration

When probate is required, an Illinois court authorizes an executor or administrator to act for the estate. That role carries court requirements and fiduciary duties involving the estate’s assets and claims as well as the interests of heirs and beneficiaries. Corey advises families and fiduciaries on those responsibilities and on questions involving the will or the representative’s authority. We also handle disputes that affect the administration. Representation remains focused on an orderly distribution and closing under the applicable governing instrument and Illinois law.

• Illinois probate proceedings
• Preparation and filing of probate court documents
• Executors, administrators, and fiduciaries
• Estate assets, debts, and tax matters
• Creditor claims and beneficiary disputes
• Estate distributions and closing