Professional-looking office. One thing that threw me off a little was that he didn't introduce…read morehimself. I had to introduce myself and ask him if he was who he said he was. Other than that, very nice and friendly. He explained everything to me and was very helpful in the details.

It's now six years after my initial review and since then I've had occasion to refer David to many…read moreother close friends who needed a smart, hard-working, caring, and fair-priced divorce or real estate lawyer. I'm basically posting the same review as before -- my friends always thank me later for the referral, having had an excellent experience.

Brian is one of the best attorneys in Illinois Very…read moreprofessional and experienced. He won my case and I'm very satisfied with his service. Thank you so Much Brian you are the Best

Very professional with his free consultation services. He is a true fact driven, justice driven…read moreproblem solver. As an attorney, he is down to earth and easy to talk to. He doesn't fight with you, he fights for you.

While an event requiring an attorney is stressful enough, add to that the grueling task of picking…read morean attorney that actually cares more about their client than their bill rate is next to near impossible. Unfortunately, life is what it is, and I found myself in a dangerous situation with a neighbor whom I had to obtain an emergency order of protection against. I met with attorney after attorney to discuss my case and all but one seemed more focused on telling me/bragging how great they were, who they knew, and how my case was so simple and would be settled quickly. Thankfully, I knew better than to believe any of what I was being told and more importantly, discovered Michael Strauss. While he too believed my case was not exactly complicated, he recognized that the situation could change in a heartbeat and instead of making me promises he would never be able to keep just to sign me on as a client, he discussed best and worst case scenarios from the start so I could adjust my expectations. And as he predicted, my case grew more complicated and eventually put my own personal safety in jeopardy. Instead of focusing on billing me for every minute that he was working my case, he paused all of this to ensure I was safe. He took on aspects that an attorney would normally not and if they did, they would charge substantially more. Not only did Mr. Strauss not charge me anything extra, when there was a time that I had nothing left in me physically, mentally, and emotionally and decided to not pursue the legal matter any further, Mr. Strauss indicated that while that was my decision, he would not stop fighting on my behalf! What attorney continues to work a case even if the client has nothing left in them to fight???? When I could not fight anymore, Mr. Strauss stepped in and fought for me. I have never met an attorney or know of one that was so passionate about their clients and really made them the priority not the retainer or additional potential billing. He was a Godsend. He is the very type of attorney I believe the job was initially created for - someone who gets into law not for the fame nor money but to actually help those who have nowhere else to turn. I cannot recommend Michael Strauss enough. He was not only my attorney, but he also in a truly unforeseen way became my guardian angel. Because of him, his dedication, and ethics, I am now safe, and it did not financially drain me. While this world does not need more attorneys, they need attorneys like Michael Strauss.

You and Gary gave my child the life he truly deserves, bless both of you. Even though it's now been…read more15 years, words cannot express my gratitude. The child's mother to this day is caught up in endless court cases in another state with multiple parents, and never once did you hound me for money even when I owed it. I know you are selective about who you take on as clients, but you may have saved my child's life. Your work showed the courts the truth and protected him from drunk stepparents, and a neglectful mother. Know you have made a difference in someone's lives in ways you will never understand.

Thank you very much Mark Schondorf! Mark had the very difficult task of dealing with my case that…read moreis far from usual. I have already been divorced for several years, but moved out of state for a job teaching third grade. These circumstances made Mark's job extra complicated. Not only did he need to accommodate the fact that I live so far away, but he was left dealing with the most uncooperative ex-husband that walks the earth. To make matters worse, he was also left face to face with the worst, most unprofessional judge in the history of divorce court... Judge Trew. Mark did his very best to talk me through every step of the process involved in renegotiating my divorce agreement to accommodate the fact that I now live in another state than my children. When things in court did not go the way one would expect, he reassured me every step of the way that he would get us through the process with favorable results. When I was anxious and upset, he took the time necessary to keep me calm and explain what was going on in layman's terms. He was very patient with me and went above and beyond the call of duty to show me that he cared not only about my case but about my well-being. Mark was always professional, accommodating, informative, and proactive. He spent hours trying to negotiate with my ex who continued to be unrealistic and unreasonable. There is no doubt in my mind that Mark tried his very best on his own time to find resolution to my situation...... something he most certainly did not need to do. Mark often made time for my phone calls after hours and on weekends. He took time out of his busy schedule and time with his family and children to help me in the best way he could. Mark I can't thank you and your associate Eugene Bilmes enough for everything you've done for me. I highly recommend your services to anyone who is looking for a dedicated, hard-working divorce attorney that won't settle for anything but results. Put yourself in Marks Schondorf's hands... You will not be sorry.

An honest review by a recent client, not a friend or acquaintance posing as one! Let me be clear,…read moreSTAY AWAY FROM THIS FIRM! I have never been represented by such an incompetent lawyer as with Mr. Schondorf. This attorney brings a big fat zero to the table. You will most likely lose your case and waste your hard earned dollars in the process. You will also find yourself doing most of the litigating because Mr. Schondorf really struggles to articulate any type of defense while in the Court Room. He demonstrated little to no skill-set when working on my case. I take no pleasure in writing a negative review, but with my experience I feel that others absohave the right to know when services rendered are so bad that they are simply unacceptable. I wish more people did this, and this is one thing that Social Media and reviews are actually good for. I will not judge Mr. Schondorf, and instead try to provide some details around his professional abilities, or there the lack of. Let us start with the most basic items, Mr. Schondorf has terrible organization skills, he is likely to request information from you that you have previously provided him with on a multitude of occasions, this will not only drive up cost but also play on your frustration levels. His overall Legal skills are subpar, I personally found myself challenging Mr. Schondorf on Legal Statutes to the point where I had to directly point him to it. You are likely to find yourself arguing with your own attorney because his lack of skill and performance will be very frustrating to you. You will find yourself investing a lot of time in keeping a close watch on this attorney as a result of his lack of skill-set, knowledge, accuracy, and overall ability. You will also find that his communication is not timely, and his work often contains errors. Be prepared to spend hours looking over his paperwork, and countless emails, all of which is costing you money. The details of your case are likely to be forgotten, so you'll find yourself having to remind him of them. If you decide to go ahead and proceed with hiring him as a representing attorney, be prepared for a long haul! The one thing that this attorney is good at is prolonging even the simplest matters. He is likely to hide behind "this is the process", so be ready for it. Once the case has gone for some time, he will likely try and advise you on settling. This is especially true when the dollars start to run out! This attorney performed so inadequately that it was necessary for me to file a complaint with the ARDC. In addition, I am now forced to consider Legal Malpractice charges against him as I feel I was totally misrepresented. Honestly there are probably a thousand other lawyers that would yield a much better result for you. Good luck! In addition, do not be fooled by Mr. Schondorf's desperate attempt to save his reputation by posting the below rebuttal. Feel free to read other reviews across the World Wide Web about him and you'll quickly realize that other (real) clients have posted reviews with similar issues. Ask yourself this question, how good of an attorney can Mr. Schondorf be when dealing with a case of no marriage, no shared assets, and only a child custody took him over 2 years and over $25k later with no wins. In my humble opinion, Mr. Schondorf should probably just go back to dealing with cases involving Traffic Court. You can take take your chances with him, but I highly recommend against it. Get a more knowledgeable and competent attorney that will help yield a more successful outcome. By the way, the ARDC is still looking into whether or not there's a case of misconduct with this attorney, so clearly the below response is a lie. Nevertheless, I am in the process of filing a malpractice suit against him.

I have nothing but good things to say about Mike Goldsmith. My personal injury case was just…read morewrapped up last week. Mr. Goldsmith made sure that I got everything out of the case as possible. He is always pleasant to talk to, and always seemed to actually care about me, unlike other lawyers I've dealt with in the past. Everything he asked how I was doing, I could tell it was sincere. When it came down to anything dealing with the case, he was always professional and was looking out for what was best for me. He stayed in constant contact with me throughout the entire process, he even followed up after to see how i was. I could go on, but here is what you need to know. He is professional, kind, caring, and will fight for you. You can definitely trust him to get you the best possible outcome for your situation.

Goldsmith is fantastic, very friendly and considerate. He provided information during the free…read moreconsultation on the entire situation and my best course of action to take in my specific case. My accident is a very bad lose-lose, not my fault situation, but Goldsmith told me the facts of best course of action to take to minimize the continuous frustration caused.

Jim is one of few divorce attorneys that is NOT a POS. He is about quick resolution and doesn't…read moredrag things out to up his billable hours.

I almost find it difficult to write this review for James Kelly, as no words can express my…read moregratitude for his services. For one, Mr. Kelly took care of my father's will/estate papers with the utmost care and attention. He made it a priority to finish quickly as my father unfortunately did not have much time. Mr. Kelly also helped me with a very difficult divorce. With his extreme professionalism, expert knowledge and understanding the emotional toll it took on me, he patiently guided me thru and worked everything out perfectly. I find James Kelly to be now not only a friend, but even a family member, and definitely my lifelong attorney.

Mike helped me get an estate plan together during a very stressful divorce, and he was great to…read morework with. Patient, professional, I can't say enough good things about him and his staff. Keep up the good work, team!

My husband and I are both attorneys. Not even worth my time to write more than steer clear of…read moreMichael Otte if you value attorney client privilege or anything remotely related to good legal representation. Our 15 year old knew to stay away almost from the very start and asked why if I get multiple opinions with doctors why did I not do this with a lawyer. Money was Mike's main concern ie making it for himself. If he doesn't even give professional courtesy and consideration for a member of the bar and takes advantage of their emotional state in terms of a guardianship, I can just imagine what he's like to other clients. Kept repeating "we are all lawyers" and how everyone wasn't a "flamethrower" while laughing his way to the bank. The bill went up in one week @$7,000 ie $1,000 a day and nothing that was done was in the "best interests" of the "alleged disabled". What nerve! All I can say is karma is b-tch Mike! Should have never been advised to file especially in "Crook County". This was my second mistake. First was calling Mike!!! Stay away!!! "All the best" to you and your's Mike....

Mr. Hymen is a top-notch attorney, who has helped my family…read moreIn multiple ways. He took care of our first home purchase, and subsequent home sale. Joel's knowledge extends beyond real estate - he's very knowledgeable in estate planning and trusts, wills. Best choice all around!

Joel handled the sale of my wife's income property. He was very professional and responsive to…read morequestions. His staff was great and very helpful. If you need an attorney for real estate... Joel should be your top pick!