Elle Daley

Leah is chair of the firm’s Real Estate practice group and Co-Chair of the Firm’s Hospitality and Leisure Practice Group. She develops legal strategies for clients, both real estate investors and clients in other industries who are heavy real estate users, in a wide range of commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions and dispositions; mortgage and mezzanine financing transactions; commercial leases, hotel management and franchise agreements, co-living and property...

With a background in social work and the influence of a grandfather and uncle who were passionate lawyers, Gina Arquilla DeBoni naturally gravitated towards a career in law where she could put her strong people skills and passion for helping others to good use. After law school, Gina established a successful personal injury law firm with another partner. She left the practice after six years to join the prominent firm of Romanucci & Blandin, LLC in June 2010 as its managing attorney. In F...

Michael Melzer is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Public Finance Law. Michael, who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2027. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Michael is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

James H. Cundiff advises clients on family wealth and business planning, federal estate, gift and generation-skipping tax planning, and estate and trust administration. James represents entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and other business leaders and wealthy individuals on estate and tax planning matters. Counseling closely held businesses and family members, James is actively engaged in the structuring of family businesses as well as business control and succession planning, multi-generat...

Andy Gelman is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Chicago office. He concentrates his practice in estate planning and estate and trust administration and controversies and is the immediate past chair of the firm's Illinois Private Wealth Services Practice Group. He counsels individuals, executives and business owners on the use of wills and insurance and inter vivos or living trusts and powers of attorney for property and health care in their estate planning. Often his advice is in the are...

Monica H. Khetarpal is a principal in the Chicago, Illinois, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. and co-leader of the firm’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) resource group and Higher Education Industry Group. She is an experienced litigator and advisor, providing skilled advocacy and thoughtful advice, training, and strategic planning for her clients. Her litigation experience includes employment, civil rights, and education-related cases, including those involving allegations of di...

For five years, attorney Craig D. Brown worked as a Cook County prosecutor fighting for victims of violent crimes. The experience proved insightful, as Craig recognized the importance of representing people in need of justice and the devastating effects crime can have on victims. As a personal injury trial lawyer, Craig continues to use that perspective in his practice, representing clients who have been the victims of severe traumatic injuries, wrongful death , product liability , and medica...

Ziemowit T. Smulkowski is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Tax Law. Ziemowit T., who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Ziemowit T. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Timothy S. Schafer is the founding partner of Schafer & Schafer and a seasoned trial lawyer with more than four decades of experience fighting for the injured. Over the course of his career, he’s recovered more than $500 million in verdicts and settlements, including over 100 individual cases where he secured $1 million or more. Timothy has been consistently recognized as one of the top trial lawyers in Indiana and the country, earning honors like Best Lawyer of the Year by U.S. New...

Samantha Maxfield Lerner is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Intellectual Property. Samantha Maxfield, who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2019. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Samantha Maxfield is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.