MEMBERS OF FIRM
Case Hoogendoorn (Member) born Vinkeveen, Utrecht, The Netherlands, September 1, 1943; admitted to bar, 1969, Illinois; 1971, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois. Education: Calvin College (A.B., 1966); University of Chicago (J.D., 1969). Author: "Transfers of Opportunities - an Opportunity to Avoid Transfer Tax," The Tax Magazine, December 1993. Member: Chicago (Member, Probate Practice Committee, 1971; Division Chairman, 1975-1976; Executive and Legislative Committee, 1975-1977) and American Bar Associations; Chicago Estate Planning Counsel; Christian Legal Society. Practice Areas: Trusts and Estates; Tax Law; Business Planning; Charitable Trusts and Foundations.Email: Case Hoogendoorn
Earl A. Talbot (Member) born Chicago, Illinois, January 23, 1939; admitted to bar, 1964, Illinois and U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois. Education: Wabash College (A.B., 1961); University of Illinois (J.D., 1964). Lamda Alpha. Member: Chicago, Illinois State and American (Chairman, Title Insurance Committee of the Real Property, Trust and Probate Section, 1982-1984) Bar Associations; American College of Real Estate Lawyers. Practice Areas: Real Estate Law.Email: Earl A. Talbot
Thomas J. Godfrey, Jr. (Member) born Chicago, Illinois, June 7, 1934; admitted to bar, 1957, Colorado; 1959, Illinois. Education: University of Notre Dame (A.B., magna cum laude, 1954); Harvard University (J.D., cum laude, 1957). Adjunct Professor of Law, Loyola University Law School, 1978-1979. Member: Chicago (Member, Probate Practice Committee, 1968) and Illinois State Bar Associations; American College of Trust and Estate Counsel; Chicago Estate Planning Council; Legal Club of Chicago. Practice Areas: Estate Planning Law; Trust; Probate; Business Law.Email: Thomas J. Godfrey, Jr.
Kathryn E. Skelton (Member) born Fairmont, Minnesota, May 17, 1949; admitted to bar, 1976, Illinois. Education: Michigan State University (B.A., with high honors, 1971); University of Illinois (J.D., with honors, 1976). Phi Beta Kappa; Order of the Coif. Member: Chicago (Member, Corporate Law Committee) and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Business Law; Corporate Law; Tax and Business Planning Law.Email: Kathryn E. Skelton
Bruce J. Van Heukelem (Member) born Denver, Colorado, March 24, 1953; admitted to bar, 1979, Colorado; 1980, Michigan; 1982, Illinois.. Education: Calvin College (B.A., 1975); Valparaiso University (J.D., 1979). Articles Editor, Valparaiso University Law Review, 1978-1979. Judicial Clerk, Justice James L. Ryan, Michigan Supreme Court, 1980-1982. Practice Areas: Civil Litigation.Email: Bruce J. Van Heukelem
Brian L. Dobben (Member) born Detroit, Michigan, June 26, 1959; admitted to bar, 1984, Michigan; 1985, Illinois. Education: Valparaiso University (B.A., with high distinction, 1981); Duke University (J.D., 1984); DePaul College of Law (LL.M., Taxation, 1991). James F. Bidlake Writing Award. Author: "Estate Planning: The Initial Client Interview," 81 Ill. B. J. 261 (May 1993). Member: Chicago (Chairman, YLS Estate Planning Committee, 1989-1990) and Illinois State (Member, Trust and Estate Section Council, 1991-1994) Bar Associations; State Bar of Michigan; Chicago Estate Planning Council. Practice Areas: Estate and Business Planning Law.Email: Brian L. Dobben
Richard D. Boonstra (Member) born Argentina, January 3, 1957; admitted to bar, 1983, Illinois, including Trial Bar and U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois. Education: Trinity Christian College; Calvin College (B.A., 1979); John Marshall Law School (J.D., 1983). Member: Chicago (Member, Sections on, Family Law and Civil Practice) and Illinois State Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Domestic Relations; Commercial Litigation; Real Estate Law.Email: Richard D. Boonstra
Richard M. Sawdey (Member) born Buffalo, New York, January 8, 1943; admitted to bar, 1968, Illinois and U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois. Education: Michigan State University (B.S., cum laude, 1965); University of Michigan Law School (J.D., cum laude, 1968). Attorney, R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company, 1974-1988, Secretary, 1983-1985, Vice President and Secretary 1985-1988. Director, Lakeside Bank, 1981-1993. Member: Chicago (Chairman, Financial and Investment Services Committee, 1994-1995) and American Bar Associations; Chicago Estate Planning Council and National Association of Stock Plan Professionals. Practice Areas: Business and Corporate Law; Executive Compensation; Estate Planning.Email: Richard M. Sawdey
David G. Strom (Member) born Cleveland, Ohio, February 27, 1947; admitted to bar, 1974, Illinois and U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois; 1975, U.S. Tax Court. Education: University of Michigan (A.B., 1969; J.D., 1974). Phi Beta Kappa; Phi Sigma Alpha. Member: Chicago Bar Association. Practice Areas: Trusts and Estates; Probate; Contested Trusts and Estates; Family Wealth Transfer; Taxation.Email: David G. Strom
Kevin J. Todd (Member) born Wabasha, Minnesota, March 5, 1963; admitted to bar, 1988, Minnesota; 1989, Illinois and U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois; 1991, U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit; 1992, U.S. Supreme Court. Education: Cedarville College (B.A., cum laude, 1985); University of Minnesota (J.D., 1988). Author: Blaustein, Grant, Lohr & Todd, "The Role of Stare Decisis in the Reconsideration of Roe v. Wade," 15 Amer. J. L. & Med. 204 (1989); Linton & Todd, "Abortion Under the Illinois Constitution: The Framers Did Not Incorporate a Right to Abortion," 81 Ill. B.J. 31 (January 1993); Todd, ed., "Lex Vitae: A Reporter of Life and Death Issues in the Law," (quarterly, 1988-1992). Special Assistant Attorney General for the Territory of Guam, 1992. Member: Illinois State Bar Association; Christian Legal Society. Practice Areas: Civil Litigation; Medical Malpractice Defense.Email: Kevin J. Todd
Todd M. Van Baren (Member) born Chicago Heights, Illinois, December 17, 1967; admitted to bar, 1993, Illinois and U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois. Education: Calvin College (B.A., 1990); University of Chicago (J.D., 1993). Member: Chicago and Illinois State Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Estate and Tax Planning; Real Estate.Email: Todd M. Van Baren
Laurence J. Kline (Member) born Chicago, Illinois, August 10, 1946; admitted to bar, 1972, Illinois. Education: Northwestern University (B.S.B.A., 1968); University of Michigan (J.D., 1971). Frederick Austin Scholar. Author: "Disinheriting Uncle Sam: An Estate Planning Guide for Illinois Residents," Vireo Publishing, 1999; Chapter 1, "Creation of the Trust," Trust Administration in Illinois, 1976 IICLE, rev. 1979, 1983, 1987, 1992, 1995, 1999; "Jumping the Bandwagon of Probate Practice Automation," CBA Record, 1992. Member: Chicago Bar Association (Member, Trust Law Committee, 1976; Section Chair, 1991-1992; Chair, 1996-1997). [Sergeant, U.S. Army Reserve, 1969-1975.]. Practice Areas: Estate Planning; Probate; Trust Administration.Email: Laurence J. Kline
ASSOCIATES
Melissa Hoogendoorn De Vries (Associate) born Oak Lawn, Illinois, September 18, 1969; admitted to bar, 1994, Illinois and U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois. Education: Calvin College (B.A., 1991); University of Illinois (J.D., cum laude, 1994). Member: Chicago and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Estate Planning; Probate Law.Email: Melissa Hoogendoorn De Vries
Joseph Wright (Associate) born Cape May, New Jersey, November 19, 1964; admitted to bar, 1999, Illinois. Education: West Virginia University (B.S., 1987); DePaul University (J.D., 1998). Member: Moot Court Honor Society; Christian Legal Society. Author: "Skyrocketing Dollars and the Tax Reform Act of 1997: Estate Planning For Professional Athlete In A New Millenium," The Sports Lawyers Journal, Spring, 1999; "NFL Contract Negotiations In the Aftermath of White v. National Football League IV Depaul Journal of Art and Entertainment Law, Fall, 1997. Member: American Bar Association (Member, Sections on: Tax; Business; Entertainment and Sports). Practice Areas: Estate Planning; Business Planning; Sports Law.Email: Joseph Wright
Sally R. Wagenmaker (Associate) born Toronto, Ontario, Canada, December 31, 1966; admitted to bar, 1990, Georgia; 1994, Illinois. Education: University of Mississippi (B.A., summa cum laude, 1987); Emory University (J.D., with distinction, 1990). Order of the Coif. Managing Editor, Emory Law Journal, 1989-1991. Law Clerk to Hon. William C. O'Kelley, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia, 1990-1992. Author, "Trial by Certainty: Implications of DNA Fingerprinting," 39 Emory Law Journal, 309 (1990). Member: Chicago and American Bar Associations; State Bar of Georgia. Practice Areas: Employment; Labor; Family; Real Estate.Email: Sally R. Wagenmaker
Sharon M. Buccino (Associate) born Milwaukee, Wisconsin; admitted to bar, 1987, Illinois. Education: Marquette University (B.S., cum laude, 1984); Loyola University (J.D., cum laude, 1987). Beta Gamma Sigma. Certified Public Accountant, Illinois, 1984. Practice Areas: Estate Planning; Estate Administration; Premarital Agreements.Email: Sharon M. Buccino
LEGAL ASSISTANTS
Anne R. Decker, C.P.A., C.F.P.
Nancy J. Epstein
Linda W. Touhy
Kristin Towner