Office Space

For the 29th year Santa has had help delivering gifts to local Chicago area children, thanks to the efforts of Dick’s Last Resort and the 18th District Community Policing Office.

Santa and his elves hosted a gift giving extravaganza at the local restaurant on December 11th; Dick’s closed their doors for the event and accommodated approximately 50 children who were bused in from area schools and churches. Festive face painters made the children laugh with delight as their faces were decorated with Christmas designs. Carolers from VanderCook College of music serenaded the crowd. Also attending were members of the 18th District police force and local politicians.

Toys, school supplies & books galore!

A Community that Cares…

Each child received multiple gifts from Santa, and while they received amazing toys, their gift piles also included more practical items, like school supplies and books. In the 29 years of this event, Dick’s Last Resort has spent more than $100,000 on gifts for Chicago area children.

“These are children who probably would not be getting much for Christmas,” said David Swann, regional manager of Dick’s Last Resort, “and in these challenging economic times, we wanted to provide an extraordinary afternoon.”

Ron Bockstahler, CEO of Amata Law Office Suites, added, “It’s a blessing and a privilege to assist the police and Dick’s Last Resort in providing gifts to these children. Dick’s has been helping the community for many years and with all the turmoil in our world, it’s heartwarming to know Chicago has corporate citizens that care about our children.”

And an Event Children Look Forward Too

The adults aren’t the only ones who appreciate being able to participate in this yearly tradition. This holiday event is an staple in the community and children are excited when they learn they are attending. Professor Robert Sinclair, Ph.D. Director of Choral Activities at VanderCook College of music said, “Having our students participate in this event is very meaningful for them. They so enjoy getting the children up, singing, dancing and laughing. We look forward to participating every year.”

The children were chosen by community volunteers and school officials in conjunction with the 18th District Community Policing Office, which is led by Sgt. Chris Schenk.

Taking Time to Educate

Local politicians and the police department use this event to educate children as well. Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, who has attended the party for the last 17 years, spoke to the children this year about the importance of staying in school and not getting involved with gangs.

Also in attendance were 42^nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly and 18^th District Police Commander Daniel O’Shea. Officer Ramona Stovall assisted with the party. The event is organized every year by Chicago civic leader Kathy Posner, a member of the 18^th District Community Policing District Advisory Council (DAC.)

Each year Amata Law Office suites staff head down to Dick’s Law resort to help wrap gifts. Thank you to our Amata admin Kara Fuss and receptionists Mirel Robles and Erica Morgan for your time and generous spirit this holiday season.

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According to legal consultants Altman Weil, law firms in every section of the market are interested in mergers. They said that, in 2018, there were 106 mergers, which exceeded the previous record of 102 in 2017. The reasons firms merge vary, but they include such objectives as increasing size or geographic reach, acquiring or expanding a specialty practice and succession planning.

Due Diligence

Even if your firm isn’t ready to think about a merger just yet, it’s important to understand what firms look for when they conduct due diligence. The goal of examining the financial records of both firms is twofold: (1) objectively ensuring that the numbers align and (2) identifying any potential problems. Essentially, these goals are the same as the goals for any business merger.

Once a preliminary agreement is signed, the firms should perform due diligence examinations in the following areas:

• Review of historical financial performance
• Examination of current financial status
• Future projection analyses
• Entity structure
• Tax implications
• Outstanding liens and litigation
• Existing contracts or leases
• Quality of work product

The firms should also talk through the following:

• Analysis of systems being used and how to align them (e.g., research, document management, client relationship management)
• Personnel policies (e.g., performance management, annual raises)
• Overlapping roles
• Severance packages, if any
• Nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements, if needed
• Announcements of the merger, both internally and externally
• Campaign for notifying clients
• Changes in any locations, including closures or combinations and how and when this will be done

Sticking Points and Projections

Each of these elements is important, but a particular sticking point is how the new entity will be structured. The rules are complicated, but the result may be that individual partners or shareholders may find themselves with an unexpected tax bill. Consider these examples: suppose two partnerships merge. When the deal is consummated, taxable income might be accelerated for some or all of the partners because partnerships are pass-through entities that are not taxed at the partnership level. Now suppose the merger is between a partnership and a professional corporation. The rules in this case are different because corporations are taxed at the entity level. If the new combined entity is a partnership, the tax implications of liquidating the corporation need to be considered.

Pay close attention to future projections because they estimate the financial health of the combined entity. The analysis includes partner ages, the cost of existing partner buyouts, number of partners expected to retire in the next 5 to 10 years, the buyout structure going forward, projected rate of client retention and partner billing rates.

When firms merge, the best-case scenario is that the merger goes smoothly and everyone comes out feeling like a winner. Part of what reinforces that feeling is cultural fit. Cultural fit is hard to define because it is intangible. It encompasses things like how the firm values its employees and its clients, whether it values corporate social responsibility and what its overall growth goals are. Sometimes, firms need to meet with several potential merger partners before they meet a firm with which they feel comfortable.

If your solo/small firm is thinking about a merger, you might find important information in this case study of a solo practice merger.

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It’s important to know just what you’re getting with your office space provider before you sign on the line. We chose three major law office space providers in Chicago – WeWork, Regus and Amata – and broke down the differences to provide you better insight on where your firm might thrive best.

The Basics: Pricing & How Each Chicago Office Space Provider Measures Up

All three of the office space companies have a variety of locations and therefore will have pricing that varies depending on square footage and office building location.

What you really need to focus on, is where the additions come into play, and most of that can only be found once you request a proposal.

Amenities Make All the Difference – Who Has the Best?

Let’s face it: amenities can often make or break the deal. If you’re going to pay for law office space, you want more than four white walls and a door.

Choose the Partnerships that Work Best for Your Firm

The best way to decipher a company’s true interests is to look at the partnerships they invest in. Are they linking with companies that help their clients? Are they joining with non-profits to create a better world? Or are they simply partnering with people that help fulfill their needs?

All good companies are a mixture of these things but pay attention to partnerships and you may uncover more about the character of the people in charge.

No matter which Chicago office space provider you choose for your firm, it’s important to know exactly what you’re getting and how those features, amenities, and partnerships can benefit and even possibly help grow your law practice.

Download this chart for a side-by-side comparison of each of these office space providers.

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By Richard Gurak, Founding Partner Advitam IP, LLC

An intellectual property practice knows no geographic or political boundaries. My own practice, Advitam IP, LLC, has a network of top law firms in over 120 countries to call upon, and who call upon us.

While many concepts related to trademarks, patents, or copyrights might be similar everywhere, there are political issues, procedural issues, bureaucratic issues, customs issues, and more that must be accounted for. To maintain these networks and to stay current with changes in practice and law in nations all over the world, my partner, Michele, and I, attend world-wide conferences year-round. IP law has its own world – a big world that is often evolving faster than most local practices will ever experience – and we find these conferences are the most effective way to stay up to date.

We have found ourselves embracing all the 21st century has to offer to operate our law firm seamlessly, no matter where we find ourselves each week. By embracing software and cloud technologies, we are now 99% paper free. (Imagine that – lawyers without paper! Can it be?) This embrace of technology has done double duty. Not only are we able to attend international conferences while addressing our practice’s daily needs but being paperless has also minimized our need for office space, which allows us to reduce costs, so our clients pay less no matter how large our firm grows.

We recognize that while traditional values of hard work, diligence, commitment to clients’ needs and goals, and service to community are imperatives in the practice of law, so, too, is the need to stay on the forefront of change in the practice and delivery of legal services in the rapidly advancing technological world.

Our clients are often at the forefront of this technological world. They need us to provide custom solutions, and to be a trusted partner and advisor to protect their intellectual property assets. And they expect us to be able to respond quickly and knowledgeably. We strive to continue to fulfill their expectations.

Kendra Spearman joined Amata in 2017 through Amata’s collaboration with IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Solo & Small Practice Incubator program. The program provides Chicago-Kent graduates who seek to launch their own practices with trainings, workshops, mentoring, and other resources. Amata is thrilled to be a part of this collaboration by providing a year of free office space and access to Amata amenities as participants begin their law careers.

After finishing her time in the incubator, Kendra kept her law practice at Amata. She is continuing to grow and take on new clients with Spearman Law, LLC.

I grew up in a poor, single parent home. Education was my lifeline. So, when I learned of the racial disparities caused by public education funding, I became indignant. This is what inspired me to go to law school and become a civil rights lawyer. I would soon learn that there are numerous racial disparities, not only in education, but that run the gamut of employment, housing, healthcare, and especially the criminal justice system.

There’s a significant issue with mass incarceration but an even deeper issue with factors that lead to incarceration, especially for young people on the West and South sides of Chicago. In practicing criminal defense, I discovered that many of these young people need an advocate in and out of the courtroom. Plagued with issues of poverty, gun violence, a dearth of resources and positive activities as well as broken homes, it’s not hard to understand why so many young people come into contact with the criminal justice system.

This is why I launched Junior Advocacy. Junior Advocacy is a youth empowerment and legal education program designed to help young people avoid the criminal justice system and to reduce recidivism. Junior Advocacy accomplishes this in the following ways:

• Establishing partnerships with schools and youth groups to teach legal rights and legal advocacy
• Teaching mock trial programs to promote public speaking, critical thinking and problem-solving skills
• Exposing youth to career options in law and public service
• Offering juvenile criminal defense on a charitable basis

It is my prayer that these efforts will help to reduce gun violence, gang participation, and provide young people an alternative to the streets, while increasing the number of minorities that enter the field of law.

Moreover, Junior Advocacy gives me the opportunity to advocate for young people while teaching them to be advocates for themselves and others. It also gives me an opportunity to share my story of overcoming poverty and hardship to become a lawyer.

Additionally, my work with Junior Advocacy is a way of sharing my faith and love for God. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Any religion that professes to be concerned with the souls of men and is not concerned with the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them, and the social conditions that cripple them, is a ‘dry-as-dust’ religion.” Junior Advocacy is thus my ministry.

Spearman Law, LLC is a civil rights law firm based in Chicago, IL offering services in employment discrimination, police misconduct, and adult and juvenile criminal defense. As a minister and founding attorney, Kendra Spearman believes in God’s call for love and social justice. Spearman Law is her way of showing the love of God while fighting for social justice.

IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law is accepting applications for the 2019-20 Solo & Small Practice Incubator Program! Contact us for more information.

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Amata Law Office Suites’ newest attorney office space location at 77 W Wacker in downtown Chicago offers premium space for your firm in a prestigious setting. Featuring private offices as well as coworking and virtual space on the 45th floor in Chicago’s Legal District, it’s the perfect location for your firm.

Housing your practice on the 45th floor of this incredible building will bring you the big clients you’ve been looking to land. Top-paying clients will be impressed and feel an immediate sense of trust when they step through the doors.

In addition to the opportunity for increasing your firm’s revenue by relocating to this premium locale, there are exclusive perks for attorneys at this location through Amata Law Office Suites.

Vast Parking Options for You and Your Clients

One of the incredible advantages of choosing to house your Chicago law firm at our spaces at 77 W Wacker is the vast parking availability for yourself and your clients. This location boasts a lower-level parking garage as well as 1,200 additional parking spots you can gain access to via a skybridge and easy access to the Pedway.

When parking is convenient for your clients, you open up the doors to that many more choosing your firm over others that don’t include ease-of-access.

Amenities Designed to Impress Your Clients

Treat your clients and guests to a meal at the Early Society Restaurant or take advantage of their catering for your next meeting. Provide more ease-of-access to visitors with the on-site concierge services and cab stand located at the entrance of the building. In need of a notary or umbrella loan? Those services are both offered for your convenience at this location as well.

Luxuries that Amplify Your Life

The fitness center located at 77 W Wacker is incredible and features several wellness programs, a basketball court, yoga, massage therapy, and more. There are over 100 different services offered in total, including educational seminars that address common issues for attorneys such as stress management, fitness on the fly, and blood pressure.

Services that Increase Your Bottom Line

Amata Law Office Suites sets our Chicago attorney office spaces apart from the rest by offering unique services that are focused solely on increasing your productivity and therefore, your bottom line.

We offer conference room bookings that include catering services so you don’t have to take time to figure out all the details, and our state-of-the-art video conferencing technology means you can conduct your meetings when it works best for you and your clients. Our reception and phone answering services come complete with calendar scheduling and thorough new client intake. Amata Law Office Suites has professional staff on hand to provide expert deposition support right when you need it.

If you’ve been looking for the office space for your Chicago firm that will yield the high-paying clients you’ve been vying for, look no further. Schedule your tour of our law office spaces on the 45th floor at 77 W Wacker today.

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Amata Law Office Suites understands that social networking isn’t just for college kids anymore. Instead of your run-of-the-mill platforms that encompass many diverse industries over a large spread of various regions, Amata focuses its community, Amatanet, specifically on its members – those that hold virtual, coworking, or private office space.

Amatanet allows our members to partake in a private community where they may network with one another as well as establish and build personal and professional relationships, co-counsel opportunities, and so much more.

Search for Colleagues. RSVP to Events. Build Your Community.

While the business benefits of social networking are becoming more and more obvious, it is really the cocktail party atmosphere in which you are engaging with that provides new colleagues who are more than willing to share information, tools, resources, opinions, knowledge and support.

By actively involving yourself in the Amatanet community, you’re able to demonstrate your expertise, engage with your fellow Amata members, and present yourself as a leader. All of these things combined will give you ROI – return on investment as well as Return On Influence.

Connections Matter

Amatanet is a perfect hub for networking, building connections, and staying on top of what’s happening in the legal community. Being an Amata member truly means being part of a community.

At Amata Law Office Suites, we realize that networking doesn’t always come naturally. It takes work, and that’s why we’re here to help you succeed.

Discover How Amatanet Helps Set You Apart

We all know networking matters, and as a part of the community at Amata Law Office Suites, you have the opportunity to connect with other members and enjoy the following benefits:

• Receive the very latest on upcoming events, RSVP, and find out who in your community is attending.
• Create valuable connections with our Water Cooler forum. This platform allows Amata members to post questions, seek assistance, post jobs, share events, introduce themselves to potential colleagues, and spark discussions. What’s more, every week, members receive emails recapping the very latest Water Cooler posts, as well as highlighting upcoming events. In essence, it’s a perfect, all-around way to network, stay informed, and build your professional community base.
• Access our Amata Law Office Suites member directory to connect with other members, search by locations, profession, and even language. Members find this extremely helpful, especially when they are looking for someone with specific services such as translation.
• Review benefits and special discounts exclusively for Amata members.
• Monitor your upcoming meetings, reserve conference rooms, and even manage account billing.

Get Connected and Stay Informed as an Amata Member

If you want to succeed as an attorney, networking and professional development are key. When you create valuable connections with fellow attorneys, you establish a go-to for someone to bounce ideas off of, refer clients to, and even be referred in return.

Let Amata Law Office Suites member community, Amatanet, help you cultivate these important connections and stay informed with the latest events and industry updates.

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Why Your Chicago Law Office Address Matters

Like it or not, law offices located in a lesser known, sleepy spot might be passed over by you or your potential clients in favor of one in a thriving metropolitan area. We’re all beholden, to a certain extent, to superficiality. And prestigious or exciting locations will always speak to that.

Any real estate professional will tell you a property’s location is key to making a good investment decision. For attorneys in Chicago, the same is true of your business. After all, law office suites designed with your unique needs in mind, in a prime location, and at the epicenter of Daley Park and all things Chicago, will impress your clients and delight and excite you.

It’s All About Image

Consider this: Would a potential client be more likely to contract your services following a harried meeting at a crowded Starbucks, or after meeting with you in a well-appointed, executive office suite close to all the amenities of the Mag Mile? For the most part, meeting in a professional setting will close the deal much quicker.

Greeting clients in a formal office setting creates a feeling of permanency and strength for your business. Clients who walk into an office space that exudes professionalism will feel at ease. They’ll feel secure doing business with you because it appears you maintain a high-end office, and that’s not an inexpensive undertaking. Potential clients will assume your business is thriving since you can afford high-quality surroundings, office technology and support staff.

Choosing a Workspace for Your Law Office

We said it earlier, but we’ll say it again. Location matters, and offices located in less than ideal areas or in unattractive buildings are simply not as inviting and could lead to a loss in business.

Similarly, working from home can be a tempting idea both for comfort and cost-cutting measures, but a client meeting an attorney in his or her home is likely to think less of them as a professional.

Finding a location that impresses clients is essential and can also make the workday a lot easier.

Advantages of Renting Law Office Space in Chicago

Simply having an office space gives a professional feel that is tangible not only to you, but also to your clients. Knowing you are in a professional, dedicated workspace changes your mindset and helps present a more polished demeanor, which clients can perceive.

A law firm with a fully furnished office space housing the latest technology in an excellent location appears to be more successful. It also gives clients the impression that their matters will be handled by an experienced and knowledgeable attorney that will know how to address their needs.

Benefits of Law Office Space at 150 North Michigan Avenue

Amata Law Office Suites can be the solution to your workspace dilemmas. We offer premiere law office spaces in prestigious, centralized locations as you will find on both the 8th and 28th floors of our Michigan Ave locale. Just one block from Lake Shore Drive, this location boasts incredible views sure to impress your clients.

What’s more, you’re just minutes away from Maggie Daley Park, premier shopping, unrivaled dining and cuisine, and the breathtaking views of our great city! Not only are Amata’s offices impressive, but you can enjoy the dynamic amenities that make Chicago so unique.

Clients and attorneys alike will delight in the numerous perks of our 150 N. Michigan Avenue location.

Learn more about how our 150 North Michigan Ave location can put you on the map to success.

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Delgado Rompf Bruen LLC is a Chicago-based law firm representing clients in all types of immigration matters including family applications, employment immigration and compliance, removal proceedings, naturalization, and appeals.

Co-founders Marta Delgado and Elizabeth Rompf Bruen have nearly 35 years of combined legal experience and have focused their careers in the immigration and nationality law areas. They routinely represent clients before the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Justice and numerous U.S. consular posts worldwide.

The attorneys at Delgado Rompf Bruen LLC analyze individuals’ immigration histories, explain the options that exist to obtain the solutions they are seeking, and develop comprehensive strategies to present the strongest case possible.

Delgado Rompf Bruen LLC builds immigration solutions with consistent client communication, extensive experience, intelligent case strategies, dedicated advocacy, and compassionate service to its clients and community.

DELGADO ROMPF BRUEN LLC

180 North LaSalle Street, Suite 3700

Chicago, Illinois, 60601

www.drbimmigration.com

TEL: 312.216.5116

FAX: 312.981.0051

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Professional office space in Chicago that offers the unique environment attorneys need to run a successful firm can be hard to come by – especially at an affordable rate. What they often don’t teach in law school is how to run a business. This may be why many law firms take on more space than they need with the anticipation of growing into the space. Paying for this extra space is the same as burning your money. Before incurring expenses an attorney should build a proforma to estimate income to expenses and the key metric to use should be cost per billable hour. If an attorney anticipates they will bill 1500 hours next year and they are collecting $250/hour, they may want to keep their total costs at $50/hour or $6,250/month. These costs should include their office space, reception service, software programs, computers (amortized over their useful life), support staff, marketing expenses, and continuing education costs. This same metric should be used when adding attorneys to your staff to set expectations and manage expenses. Coworking or shared offices lends itself to controlling expenses based on estimated billable hours.

Receptionist Services at No Extra Cost

When it comes to coworking space for attorneys that truly provides a quality service for less cost, the first place you look is the reception. We have found that including front desk reception for our clients at no additional charge is a no-brainer. A successful attorney, billing 1500 hours a year, does not have time to waste answering phones and making sure clients are greeted properly. But these things are very important to building a loyal clientele. Staffing the receptionist position is a key part of the value offered at a shared office environment. It should not be a revolving door for temps and part-time employees who care little for their work.

Community

The opportunity to work among your peers, sharing referrals, consulting on changes in the law and building comradery among attorneys may be the most important aspect of working in a shared office environment for attorneys. Whether your case load has you in court all day or you are building your book of business, the best place to find fulfillment in your work is among other attorneys. Relationships blossom around the water cooler and popping into a neighbor’s office down the hall. When you require additional resources your shared office provider should offer an online community of attorneys with something in common as a resource for you to take advantage of.

Top-Notch Staff

Time and time again, our attorney clients are singing the praises of Amata Law Office Suites’ expert staff. Our professional reception, our on-hand paralegals, legal assistants, and our office managers go above and beyond to set the tone for our office services at Amata Law Office Suites. We take great pride in carefully selecting our team members, creating an enjoyable working environment, and compensating them well to reduce turnover and disruption for our members. Our efforts to create a superb team at each of our law office suites shows by the high remarks we consistently receive from our clients and visiting patrons at our locations.

Atmosphere Unlike Any Other

Amata Law Office Suites set out to create coworking space in Chicago that rivals that of a large law firm, offering all the perks of having the collaborative legal environment at a fraction of the cost. Our office suites are designed for the quiet, focused atmosphere that is required for any practicing attorney while also including shared spaces perfect for networking and taking advantage of co-counsel opportunities or the chance to pick another lawyer’s brain rather than spending countless hours researching to find what you need.

In today’s competitive environment it is important to not only get business in the door, but to get the right business. Having the luxury to choose the deals you accept and passing on those that either don’t fit into what you want to do or don’t pay enough is an important aspect to enjoying the practice of law. At Amata Law Office Suites, we understand this and have created a culture and community to help attorneys reach their goals.

Amata Law Office Suites is more than office space, it’s a community of attorneys with a thriving culture and the services required make the practice of law profitable and enjoyable.

With multiple locations, you can easily find the professional office space in Chicago that you need.

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