Attorneys

John S. Elias is a founding member and the Chairman and CEO of the Firm. Mr. Elias can perhaps best be described as a leading middle-market business lawyer with a wealth of experience in the corporate, business planning, securities, tax planning, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) areas.

Mr. Elias is a graduate of Harvard Law School (J.D.); and earned a Masters of Law degree in Taxation from New York University. Mr. Elias also earned a Master’s degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from Oxford University, England (which he attended on a Reynolds Scholarship), and a BA degree in Economics from Dartmouth College (Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa).

Mr. Elias is AV-rated by Martindale Hubbell, and has for many years been selected as an Illinois Leading Lawyer in several business/tax related categories, and as an Illinois Super Lawyer in the Mergers & Acquisitions category. Mr. Elias is the author several articles in national publications such as the Tax Lawyer and the Journal of Corporate Taxation, dealing with income, gift and estate tax planning for closely-held businesses and their owners. Mr. Elias is also a past chairman of the Tax Section of the Illinois State Bar Association.

Prior to founding the Firm, Mr. Elias was partner-in-charge of the Peoria Office of Keck, Mahin & Cate, a Chicago-based national law firm that has about 400 lawyers. In addition to Illinois, Mr. Elias also previously practiced law as a bar member in New York, Massachusetts and Ohio. Mr. Elias is on the Board of Directors of the Daniel J. Elias Memorial Foundation, which is actively engaged in philanthropic activities.