ATTORNEYS

DONALD T. RUBIN, Attorney

Don Rubin concentrates his practice in real property taxation, having particular knowledge in advising clients with regard to property tax assessment matters, tax incentives and local tax abatements for commercial and industrial developments. He has over 29 years of experience in the public and private sectors, having worked for the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (where he served as a Property Tax Assessment Specialist), and the Cook County States Attorney’s Office (Civil Division Real Estate Tax Unit), before entering private practice in 1982. Don has extensive experience representing clients at all levels of the appeals process, including local assessors, boards of review, state administrative review panels and circuit courts.

Don represents developers and owners and tenants of larger residential, commercial and industrial properties. He provides clients with a complete property tax analysis for proposed projects, as he can often find creative ways to minimize the property tax impact of our clients’ developments, making them more competitive in the marketplace. Don has negotiated multi-million dollar property tax incentive and abatement packages for a number of clients, enabling them to proceed with developments that otherwise would not have been economically feasible to undertake.

Don has twice been elected Chairman of the Real Estate Tax Committee of the Chicago Bar Association and has served as Chairman of the Board of Review/Property Tax Appeal Board Sub-Committee of the Illinois State Bar Association’s State and Local Taxation Section Council. He has been a featured speaker at numerous bar association seminars and has appeared before many business organizations to address property tax issues. Rubin & Norris is one of the founding firms of the Illinois Property Tax Lawyers Association, and Don serves as interim president of the group for the years 2003/2004. He also served as a Commissioner of the Highland Park, Illinois Zoning Board of Appeals for 10 years.

Don is currently the President of the Board of Youth Outreach Services, a not-for-profit children’s social welfare agency, providing substance abuse prevention, counseling and treatment programs to adolescents and their families in the Chicago area. In 2001, Don was one of the recipients of the Small Firm of the Year Award for his firm’s pro-bono efforts on behalf of the Center for Disability and Elder Law in Chicago.

JOHN K. NORRIS, Attorney

John Norris concentrates his practice in real property taxation, having particular knowledge in representing clients before assessors, boards of review, administrative review panels and the circuit courts. He brings 20 years of experience in private practice advising clients on a variety of issues concerning property matters. John has also served as a lobbyist on property tax matters in the state capital, and his relationships with municipal, county and state officials allows him to be an effective voice on behalf of our clients’ property tax issues before local and state agencies.

John is an active member of the Illinois State Bar Association and has served on its State and Local Taxation Section Council since 1993. Since his appointment, John has served on and chaired numerous subcommittees, including the Legislative Subcommittee, the Unauthorized Practice of Law Subcommittee and the Continuing Legal Education Subcommittee. John currently serves (2003/2004) as the Chairman of the State and Local Taxation Section Council and has been elected and now serves as a member of the ISBA Assembly, a representative body that reports to the ISBA Board of Governors. He is also a former chairman of the Chicago Bar Association’s Real Estate Taxation Committee.

John has had articles published on property tax matters in Tax Trends, an ISBA Newsletter, and in the Journal of Property Tax Management and is often quoted in major Chicago newspapers and magazines on issues pertaining to property tax law. He has lectured to various professional groups on the subject of tax assessment appeals, has appeared in public service videotapes for local cable stations and has been a presenter at the annual real estate tax seminar offered by the Illinois State Bar Association.

John is the former Justice (president) of the Chicago Alumni Chapter of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity International, a volunteer organization that promotes service to law students, law schools, the legal profession and the community. For the past 20 years, John has and continues to serve as chairman of the annual PAD judicial reception for state and federal judges.

The well-respected Martindale Hubbell Law Directory has awarded John the “(AV)” rating, its highest rating. An AV rating signifies John’s “legal abilities are of the very highest standard and that (his) professional ethics and conduct are above question as judged by his peers.”

DANIEL M. PIERCE, Attorney

Daniel Pierce concentrates his practice in government affairs, urban planning and zoning. He has extensive experience in state and municipal law, having served for 20 years as an Illinois State Representative, including two terms as Illinois Minority Whip, 12 years as Mayor of Highland Park, Illinois and as a partner in the law firm of Altheimer & Gray (retired). Now as counsel to our firm, Dan's unique understanding of and familiarity with all levels of goverment will provide our clients with insightful and seasoned representation.