After spending years in traditional large Chicago firms, we concluded that we could provide better service and value to our clients in the independent small firm setting. Focusing our practice has allowed us to tailor all aspects of our client relationships.

We hand-picked, and continue to recruit, an exceptional group of estate planners, business advisors, and litigators to generate useful synergies for clients.

We pioneer advanced strategies for the ultra-wealthy designed to navigate and address a range of transfer tax issues.

We continue to litigate complex trust, estate, and business matters.

We work directly with our clients on business planning issues, including a variety of transactions, employment arrangements, and creative business structures.

We limit our clientele to those whose needs match our unique skill set so that we can provide them with our full attention.

We are pleased to offer alternative billing arrangements and lower hourly rates which are not achievable under the weight of large firm overhead.

Our practice currently includes:

• Litigating contested trust and estate matters
   
• Providing expert testimony and opinions
   
• Advising families on all wealth transfer tax issues, including estate planning, lifetime gifts, charitable planning, and advanced tax reduction strategies
   
• Creating succession plans for closely held businesses
   
• Administering decedents' estates, including post-mortem tax planning, and guardianship estates, including advanced estate planning for disabled adults
   
• Forming and advising not-for-profit entities
   
• Advising business owners and entrepreneurs on all business transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, sale of assets or stock, business structure, adoption of ESOPs, and other business planning issues
   
• Litigating general commercial matters, including contract disputes and commercial torts, bankruptcy-related litigation, disputes concerning closely-held corporations, banking litigation, environmental litigation, intellectual property disputes, construction litigation, trade secret litigation, and noncompetition litigation
   
• Handling complex real estate transactions, including the sale, purchase, 1031 exchange, development, financing, and leasing of retail, office, industrial, and other commercial properties as well as large residential properties
   

OUR HISTORY

In 2003, Lou Harrison, Rob Held, and Emily Kuo came over from Lord, Bissell & Brook, LLP, Monty Newlin came over from McGuire Woods LLP, and Ed Pacer came over from Williams Montgomery & John Ltd. Ed is now Special Counsel at the firm.

They were pleased to welcome Stuart Duhl and Mary-Ann Wilson from Michael Best & Friedrich LLP in 2004, as well as Canella G. Woyar from Lord, Bissell & Brook in 2005.

In 2006, Tim Carroll and Bernie Wall brought their practice from Carroll & Wall, the original Chicago estate planning boutique, to Harrison & Held. Before founding Carroll & Wall, Tim and Bernie were partners at Winston & Strawn LLP.

In 2007, George Vurdelja, Jr. and John Heaphy joined Harrison & Held from their litigation boutique, Vurdelja & Heaphy. George and John were partners with Mayer, Brown & Platt before creating Vurdelja & Heaphy.