The attorneys at Reno & Zahm LLP are creative business advisors who enjoy excellent reputations as business law counselors. We understand the issues and opportunities facing businesses of all sizes – including concerns related to closely-held business ownership, the strong entrepreneurial influence of founders or owners, succession planning, fast growth, and growth funding. We are pro-active in our advice, and our clients are counseled on matters such as the nature of contract terms, insurance coverage issues, employment matters, warranty problems, trade secret protection, and hold harmless provisions.
Reno & Zahm LLP assists clients in the formation, restructuring, and dissolution of business organizations. We represent publicly-held corporations, privately-held corporations, not-for-profit corporations, newly formed businesses, limited liability companies, limited liability partnerships, partnerships, and joint ventures in a broad range of industrial, commercial, transportation, financial, and service sectors.
Reno & Zahm LLP provides advice to clients regarding the start up, acquisition, disposition, and combination of business units. We also assist with corporate liquidation, recapitalization, formation, and expansion of companies, as well as other structural changes in their business relationships. This involves participation in planning, negotiation, and consummation of business transactions through all stages of their development.
Reno & Zahm LLP advises clients in a variety of financial transactions. We provide assistance regarding financing for public and private corporations, partnerships, and other entities, including loans from banks, pension funds, insurance companies, and other financial institutions. Our work includes negotiating for loan terms, preparing loan instruments, and drafting legal opinions required by lenders, purchasers, or sellers.
R. Jerome Pfister
Robert A. Fredrickson
Jack D. Ward
Jan H. Ohlander
Jamie Swenson Cassel
Craig P. Thomas
Nancy Grimme Schilling
Rodney W. Kleitsch
Ian K. Linnabary
Reno & Zahm LLP provides proven and comprehensive litigation services. Our clients receive the benefit of active trial attorneys with diverse experience before juries, trial judges, administrative agencies, and appellate courts in all litigation matters. We enter the courtroom with the single-minded purpose of achieving the most effective and practical result for our clients.
Increasingly, disputes are resolved by way of an alternative dispute forum. Our attorneys are skilled negotiators with significant litigation experience, and we are regularly selected by attorneys as mediators and arbitrators in major cases. Regardless of the nature of the dispute, we are well-equipped to handle the prosecution or defense of any type of case from start to finish.
Jack D. Ward
Jan H. Ohlander
John H. Young
Jamie Swenson Cassel
Arthur G. Kielty
Craig P. Thomas
Reno & Zahm LLP counsels financial institutions, trustees, creditor committees, and debtors in bankruptcy, reorganization, liquidation proceedings, and out-of-court workouts. Our lawyers combine their extensive knowledge of bankruptcy law with good business judgment and their many years of experience to achieve exceptional results for clients in this area – one where it is often difficult to obtain good results for clients. Our representation covers pre-bankruptcy negotiations and court actions through the entire collection and debt relief process. We also assist clients in out-of-court payment and collection matters.
Jamie Swenson Cassel
Ian K Linnabary
Stacey M. Gamm
Reno & Zahm LLP offers a broad range of services related to both commercial and residential real estate transactions. Our representation expertise covers both purchase and sale, including financing, sales agreement, loan documents, leases, and title-holding instruments. We assist clients in annexation, zoning, eminent domain, and real estate taxation matters.
R. Jerome Pfister
Craig P. Thomas
Stacey M. Gamm
Attorneys working in this area of our firm assist employers in drafting employee handbooks, policy statements, and severance agreements. We represent our clients in all courts and agencies and help them conform their business practices to state and federal laws, including Title VII, the Illinois Human Rights Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and federal immigration issues. Our counsel includes providing assistance in structuring retirement, health, and disability plans, as well as the enforcement of rights under the law and helping employees obtain the benefits to which they are entitled.
Reno & Zahm LLP represents all types of sponsors, administrators, trustees, and other fiduciaries of retirement and welfare benefit plans, including qualified pension, profit sharing, 401(k) plans and non-qualified deferred compensation arrangements and Section 403(b) plans. We advise both employers and employees in resolving workers compensation disputes.
John H. Young
Craig P. Thomas
Arthur G. Kielty
Reno & Zahm LLP counsels individuals and corporate clients in the development and implementation of all elements of estate and succession planning. The legal instruments that we prepare are designed to secure our clients’ objectives, as well as fulfill post-mortem tax planning measures. We give careful consideration to buy-sell agreements, life insurance matters, marital deduction and credit shelter trusts, QTIP trusts, and related estate planning techniques. We advise our clients in estate and trust administration, retirement income planning, disability planning, and premarital property issues.
Craig P. Thomas
Nancy Grimme Schilling
Reno & Zahm LLP’s expertise in environmental law includes advising clients on matters of facilities auditing, site investigation and remediation, obtaining permits and approvals, and responding to both private and governmental actions relating to environmental compliance. In addition, we represent clients in matters of environmental litigation, including defense in enforcement and cost recovery actions, as well as prosecution of insurance claims. With our extensive background in administrative law and contested hearings, Reno & Zahm LLP has the necessary experience to effectively represent clients through all phases of the permitting and compliance processes.
R. Jerome Pfister
Reno & Zahm LLP offers client advice and representation on all issues related to family law and domestic disputes. Our family law practitioners have extensive expertise in divorce proceedings, post-divorce judgment enforcement proceedings, child custody cases, adoptions, surrogacy, premarital agreements, and paternity proceedings. With sensitive skill and judgement, we offer sound advice that yields exceptional results to clients during what is typically a very trying and difficult emotional event in their lives.
Stacey M. Gamm
Reno & Zahm LLP advises financial institutions on employee benefits, trusts, taxation, commercial lending, and litigation matters, as well as on mergers of and conversions from mutual to stock forms of ownership. Our attorneys also have strong backgrounds in banking practices and representing financial institutions in the negotiation and documentation of commercial loans. We can help our banking clients in the structuring of tax-exempt financing, as well as advise them on holding companies, regulatory, corporate, and commercial matters.
R. Jerome Pfister
Jamie Swenson Cassel
Craig P. Thomas
Ian K. Linnabary
Reno & Zahm LLP is available to serve as local counsel in the northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin areas. Our office is located in Rockford, Illinois – situs of the Federal District Court, Western Division for the Northern District of Illinois. Rockford is the county seat for Winnebago County and within reasonable travel time of courthouses located in neighboring Boone, Stephenson, Ogle, Whiteside, Lee and McHenry Counties (all in Illinois).
We have also been requested by out-of-state counsel to serve as local counsel in Chicago, both in State Court and the Eastern Division of the Northern District of Illinois.
We have a number of attorneys who are members of the Federal Trial Bar, and as such can appear as trial counsel of record for locally filed cases.
Our Wisconsin-licensed counsel are authorized to serve as local counsel in neighboring Rock and Walworth Counties in Wisconsin. Local counsel representation includes not only appearances in State and Federal Court, but also in Workers Compensation Commissions and Bankruptcy Court, including Section 341 meetings in bankruptcy.
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