Justia Legal Services & Lawyers Directory

I am a native Chicagoan, and moved to DuPage County in 1972.

I attended DePaul Law School full-time in the evening, while working for one of the major trust companies in the Chicago Loop. I therefore received extensive training and experience in Estate Planning, Probate and Tax matters, and have practiced in those areas for over 30 years.

My first employment after law school was with a Chicago law firm that specialized in Real Estate and Real Estate Development matters. I worked for them for several years, adding extensive experience in both residential and commercial real estate transactions and commercial real estate development to my legal expertise.

As a private practitioner in DuPage County, I continued practicing in these fields, and added representation of clients in divorce and other domestic and family related matters. I have now represented hundreds of clients relative to dissolution of their marriages. Several judges have also appointed me as Guardian ad-litem or attorney for children in troubled situations or in complex divorce cases.

I feel that my expertise in each of these areas compliment the other. For example, complex divorces often involve real estate or business holdings, with the accompanying valuation and ownership issues. Sometimes, a trust for the benefit of children is appropriate. In doing estate planning, there is often the need to plan appropriately for the second marriage situation. Real estate clients also often need to appropriately plan their estates, and to take title to their home in a manner that is consistent with their ultimate estate desires.

I was admitted to practice in the courts of Illinois in 1971 and the U.S. Federal Court in 1971, and admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court in 1992. I am a member of both the Illinois and DuPage County Bar Associations.

I have been a member of the Kiwanis Club of Glen Ellyn for some years, and am presently the President of the club. As such, I recently accepted, on behalf of our club, the Family Shelter Services Civic Partner of the year award. We work closely with Family Shelter Services and other organizations to provide benefits to children in need.

My primary hobby is the study of history, particularly of the American Civil War period. I am the past president of two Civil War Round Tables (Chicago and Salt Creek, which meets in Glen Ellyn, Illinois), and a member of three Round Tables (Chicago, Salt Creek and Milwaukee). I have also given presentations, on a number of topics, to round tables throughout the midwest.

Denice A. Gierach is a business lawyer with almost 30 years of experience representing business owners in the formation, franchising, and dissolution of businesses; representing employers in matters of employment and age discrimination in the workplace; and aiding individuals in matters of advanced estate planning, charitable giving, Medicare and Medicaid, and Social Security.

As a Certified Public Accountant with a Master's degree in Management, Ms. Gierach also practices in the areas of Income Taxation, Federal Estate Taxation, and varied Real Estate Law, including commercial real estate.

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
Ms. Gierach began her career in accounting working for several CPA firms, including Haskins & Sells and Friedman Eisenstein Fraemer & Schwartz in Chicago.

Ms. Gierach worked for the firm of Barnard & Barnard in Chicago for almost 10 years at the start of her legal career. For almost twenty years, she practiced as Gierach & Associates and recently founded The Gierach Law Firm to provide better service to her clients.

From the beginning of her legal career, Ms. Gierach provided legal services to individuals and small and mid-sized companies in the areas of business, estate planning, taxation, employment law, commercial real estate, succession planning. She continues to focus on these areas in her current practice.

Ms. Gierach is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, Chicago Bar Association, DuPage County Bar Association, and Arizona State Bar Association. She is licensed to practice in both Illinois and Arizona and practices before the Illinois circuit courts, Illinois Appellate Court, Federal Tax Court, Federal District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals for the Federal Court, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Business Ledger, a newspaper dedicated solely to the greater Chicago area, named Denice Gierach as one of twenty "Influential Women in Business" for 2008.

PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS
Ms. Gierach is a monthly contributor to the Dollars and Sense column of the Naperville Sun.

COMMUNITY SERVICE ACTIVITIES
As an active member of her community, Ms. Gierach is a past member of the Exchange Club and is a present member of both the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club of Naperville. Ms. Gierach also acts as the Director for both the Heritage YMCA and Naperville Area Humane Society.

Jigar K. Patel is an Illinois licensed Attorney with an office in Westchester, Illinois, and practicing in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. Mr. Patel's firm, The JKP Law Group, Ltd. is a full service firm. Practice areas include Real Estate Transactions, Bankruptcy, Business Counseling, Construction Law, Family Law, Immigration, Estate Planning, Personal Injury, and Litigation.