Michael J. Hutcherson

James H. Whalen is the co-managing partner of Lipe Lyons Murphy Nahrstadt & Pontikis LTD, a Chicago, Illinois law firm. He practices in the areas of Litigation – Insurance, tort defense, commercial litigation, and product liability. Mr. Whalen represents clients in state and federal courts, as well as before state administrative bodies. His practice includes construction, business, commercial, product liability, employment discrimination, and premises liability litigation. Mr. Whale...

Taking the time to carefully listen to a client’s goals at the outset, Rob Taylor approaches each case with a strategic focus by charting the most effective and efficient path forward. His approach is both practical and realistic, focused on achieving meaningful results without unnecessary detours. Rob is a seasoned attorney who brings extensive expertise in real estate, corporate, and business law. His practice balances a mix of advising clients on a wide array of matters including rea...

Michael T. Fishman is Co-Chair of the firm's Chicago Real Estate Practice who focuses his practice on real estate, real estate finance, private equity and real estate fund formation. His clients include institutional investors, investment advisors, public and private real estate companies, REITs and financial institutions. Michael has worked to form domestic and cross-border real estate funds and joint ventures, and regularly represents lenders on real estate projects throughout the United St...

Jeralyn Baran is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management. Jeralyn, who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jeralyn is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Aurelija Fitzpatrick is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Family Law and Family Law Mediation. Aurelija, who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Aurelija is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Martin (Marty) Tish offers strategic counsel regarding asset ownership and structure, retirement planning and charitable planning for business owners, executives, entrepreneurs, traders, charities, family offices and individuals. He has administered estates and trusts ranging in size from $500,000 to more than $100 million. Clients rely on his aptitude for minimizing their tax burdens combined with the tact and discretion he employs in managing the sensitive human concerns that often arise du...

For the past two decades, Mike has been assisting clients develop and defend their patent portfolios. A former Army officer and Ford Motor Company design engineer, clients appreciate Mike’s organized approach to problems and his ability to communicate with inventors across a wide swath of technologies. Mike is a full spectrum patent attorney and is himself a patentee. On the prosecution side, Mike has procured patents in nearly every art group other than bio/pharma and has an almost per...

James Mayer is a senior counsel in Nixon Peabody’s Real Estate group and focuses his practice on all aspects of real estate law, with extensive experience in retail, office, and industrial leasing. My focus I focus my practice on commercial real estate law, including all aspects of real estate acquisition, development, leasing, operation, management, and disposition. My clients include real estate pension funds, investment advisory groups (for their own accounts and unrelated third part...

Julie Seymour represents and counsels banks and borrowers, including hospitals, health systems, educational and cultural institutions and long-term care providers; governmental issuers; underwriters; and trustees in connection with tax-exempt and taxable financings. Since 1990, Julie has been involved in billions of dollars of tax-exempt bond financings, including fixed and variable rate structures, as well as secured and unsecured lending transactions. What do you focus on? In my finance pra...

Mr. Levin has concentrated his practice on complex business transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, buyouts, private equity and venture capital investing, formation of private equity funds, debt and equity restructurings and workouts, and executive compensation, with emphasis on tax, corporate, SEC, and structuring aspects, handling transactions which range in size from several million dollars to more than $7 billion.