Richard B. "Rich" Lapp

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...

Bobbi J. Bierhals has built her practice by developing creative and customized solutions for her clients. Her experience centers on tax and business planning for high-net-worth individuals and families. Her clients range from executives and first-generation entrepreneurs to multi-generational families, with net worth from $40 million to many billions of dollars, and include a number of individuals listed in the Forbes 400. Bobbi’s breadth of experience across a wide range of client prof...

Mark E. Schmidtke represents clients in ERISA and Non-ERISA employee benefits matters in state and federal courts throughout the United States for nearly 30 years. He has been lead or co-lead counsel in ERISA litigation matters pending in the courts of 49 states. He has argued appeals in the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits, as well as the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the Minnesota Suprem...

G. Peter Nichols is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area of Patent Law. G. Peter practices law in Chicago, Illinois Best Lawyers has recognized G. Peter Nichols since 2025. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which G. Peter Nichols is held by other lawyers.

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...

Kevin R. Graff is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area of Franchise Law. Kevin R. practices law in Chicago, Illinois Best Lawyers has recognized Kevin R. Graff since 2027. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Kevin R. Graff is held by other lawyers.

Jonathan L. Schwartz is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Insurance Law and Litigation - Insurance. Jonathan L. practices law in Chicago, Illinois Best Lawyers has recognized Jonathan L. Schwartz since 2018. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Jonathan L. Schwartz is held by other lawyers.

Susan is highly regarded nationally in the area of health care reform and health and welfare benefits. She assists employers and health plans with their health care reform strategy and compliance with laws affecting group health plans, such as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the CARES Act, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, and the Internal Revenue Code. Susan also has extensiv...

Kristen E. Hazel has extensive experience representing clients in US and international aspects of federal tax matters, including international acquisitions and divestitures, international joint ventures, and capital plan design and implementation, including tax planning with respect to intellectual property. Her work includes both inbound and outbound transactions. Read full biography: https://www.mwe.com/people/hazel-kristen-e/

Norma Zeitler serves as outside labor and employment and litigation counsel to nonprofit, healthcare, hospitality and manufacturing clients. Norma is totally committed to helping each client focus on its mission and mitigate the potential for a dispute through proactive counseling and development of sound policies, practices and procedures. Norma represents employers in the defense of employment discrimination, retaliatory discharge, breach-of-contract, workplace torts and restrictive covenan...