Justia Legal Services & Lawyers Directory

Daniel Lauber has been handling the most challenging land-use cases for decades. The skills developed in over 24 years of winning zoning approval for such LULUs (Locally Unwanted Land Uses) as group homes, halfway houses, and recovery communities have translated well to winning zoning approval for commercial uses adjacent to residential areas and multi-family housing in communities known for their resistance. Mr. Lauber's background as a city planner enables him to better understand and anticipate neighborhood objections -- and devise ways to prevent them. Mr. Lauber also practices Fair Housing law, especially for group homes, halfway houses, and recovery communities for people with disabilities. He has frequently served as a legal and planning consultant to jurisdictions to bring their zoning for group homes into compliance with the nation's Fair Housing Act.

Mr. Lauber has also served many times as an expert witness in zoning and fair housing cases before zoning boards and in court.

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.