Ryan A. Hiss

Attorney – Jason Williams biography Jason Williams is a Chicago personal injury attorney at Smith LaCien LLP, concentrating in catastrophic personal injury, medical malpractice and wrongful death. He joined the firm in December 2021 after eight years as a solo practitioner, litigating cases at the trial and appellate levels on complex computer matters, medical malpractice, healthcare, antitrust and commercial work, and trusts and estates. The firm regularly confronts powerful corporatio...

As an advisor and counselor to entrepreneurs, closely held businesses, and wealthy families and their family offices, Steve Gustafson draws upon multiple disciplines to provide integrated tax, business and financial advice. Steve’s practice has a substantial emphasis in the areas of tax and financial transactions, including structuring corporate, joint venture, commercial and real estate transactions, as well as assisting family businesses with tax and financial planning matters. He als...

Laura Hoey is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Criminal Defense: White-Collar. Laura, 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 Laura is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Seth is a partner in the firm’s Corporate & Securities practice group. Seth focuses his practice on representing large and middle market private equity and venture funds and privately and publicly owned companies in a wide variety of domestic and cross-border complex business transactions. These include mergers & acquisitions, divestitures, leveraged buyouts, venture capital investments, carve-out transactions, joint ventures, start-up financing, growth capital investments and c...

A highly skilled civil, criminal, and appellate litigator, Joel Bertocchi handles appeals in state and federal courts and represents clients in connection with criminal and regulatory investigations and proceedings, providing counsel on compliance policies and related issues. He has argued cases in the U.S. Supreme Court and multiple federal Circuits and state appellate courts, and served as Illinois’ Solicitor General, the chief appellate lawyer for the State. A former federal prosecut...

Dan Burnham has a comprehensive intellectual property practice that encompasses a diverse range of sophisticated technologies and legal issues. He is a registered patent attorney who represents clients in federal courts and at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. What do you focus on? I utilize my engineering experience to work closely with clients in the product development process, helping to avoid competitive patents and ensure commercial exploitation of new products through effe...

Stephen M. Fatum is a partner in the Chicago office of Barnes & Thornburg. He concentrates his practice in the Healthcare Department. Stephen's focus has been on legal and strategic matters affecting physicians, physician organizations and not-for-profit corporations. Stephen routinely negotiates employment agreements, stock transfer agreements, operating agreements and affiliation agreements. He also defends physicians subject to disciplinary proceedings.Stephen is the former general cou...

Dennis is a senior partner and a founder of Barack Ferrazzano. He concentrates his practice on commercial real estate and business planning matters. Dennis is the primary North American real estate counsel for Bernard Arnault, Agache, LVMH, and the LVMH brands in the Americas. Dennis is consistently ranked among the top lawyers in Illinois for his real estate practice. He has been Band ranked in Chambers USA for more than 20 consecutive years, named by Leading Lawyers as the #1 Real Estate La...

Neil T. Kawashima has a diverse practice, representing wealthy individuals and families on matters related to estate and gift planning, business succession and governance, and estate and trust administration. Neil’s clients include owners of privately-held businesses, beneficiaries of long-term trusts, fiduciaries and entrepreneurs. Neil has advised his clients regarding traditional and novel uses of trusts, wealth transfer strategies, business control mechanisms such as voting trusts a...

Howard has always understood that business involves risk. Howard works with his clients to understand their business, their goals, and their level of risk tolerance. That understanding enables him to craft solutions that work for his clients. It is one reason why he has represented many of his clients for decades. For more than 40 years, Howard has served as a trusted lawyer and adviser to clients ranging from some of the world’s largest and best-known real estate, tech, software, and o...