Illinois Lawyer Referrals and Legal Guidance
- Help finding honest, experienced Illinois lawyers that will work for you.
- Legal matters anywhere in the state of Illinois.
- Always free to contact our staff of attorneys and ask for a recommendation or guidance.
- You speak with one of our Illinois attorneys, usually as soon as you call or e-mail and almost always within 24 hours.
- Customer service meets the legal field. It's like having a lawyer in the family.
What people are saying about FindGreatLawyers.com:
Since 2001, FindGreatLawyers.com has been run by a group of Illinois attorneys with the goal of finding the best lawyer to fit your needs and answering questions about Illinois laws. In practically every area of Illinois law, we will use the list of Illinois lawyers that we have compiled through our extensive network to put you on the road to achieving the results you are looking for. While we don't guarantee a result, it's our philosophy to treat you as if you were a family member or friend. When recommending an attorney, we listen to your unique situation and think about who we, as lawyers, would hire if we had the same issue as you.
There are more than 80,000 licensed Illinois attorneys. People come to us to figure out who is the right one for their case. We are based out of Chicago and run by a group of Chicago lawyers, but help people with their legal issues anywhere in Illinois. We aren't the Illinois law firm that will represent you, but our attorneys will do whatever we can to answer your questions and refer you to a lawyer in Illinois that can help you. Please call us at (312) 346-5320 or (800) 517-1614 or fill out our contact us form and we will contact you.
How Does it Work?
When you contact our office, you will speak with a lawyer for free. Like an emergency room doctor or family physician, we will provide an initial diagnosis and recommend you to an attorney from our statewide network. The lawyer we recommend will be someone that we know and feel is right for you. If you don't need a lawyer referral or we don't know one for you, our law firm will still provide you with free legal guidance and we will answer any questions that you have as long as it relates to Illinois law and we are comfortable that our response is correct.
We are not a service to find free or pro bono lawyers, but many of the lawyers we recommend take cases on a contingency basis, which means that there is no fee unless the case is successful. In addition, our free legal guidance means the staff attorneys at our Illinois law firm will answer your general questions and there will never be a cost to speak with us. We always try to recommend the lowest cost Illinois attorney that fits your needs. For example, if you have a DUI charge, we will recommend someone with a great track record of defending those cases and we will also try to direct you to someone who isn't going to rip you off. These are lawyers that we have seen fight for their clients and do whatever they can to achieve a good result. This doesn't guarantee an outcome, but it does mean that if we are recommending a specific lawyer it is someone we have great faith in and would recommend to one of our family members or friends.
Of course you are not obligated to hire anyone that we recommend and they are not obligated to take you on as a client. There is no attorney/client relationship until a formal agreement has been signed.
What is the Catch?
There is no “catch.” We are a unique service. No attorney we recommend pays an advertising fee or anything else in order for us to recommend them. The attorneys we suggest are truly who we as lawyers would hire or who we would recommend to our friends. All communications between you and our office are confidential. There is never a charge to speak with us no matter how long the conversation takes.
The lawyers in Illinois that we recommend usually focus on just one practice area and always have a track record of success. This doesn't guarantee you a result, but we do believe that it gives you the best chance of success. Our network is built from lawyers that we have known through the years and seen do great work for others as well as by law firms that have been recommended to us by attorneys that we trust. In addition, we have sought out and gotten to know many lawyers that are considered industry leaders for their practice area.
We help with almost every area of Illinois law, including people who are looking for an Illinois medical malpractice lawyer, criminal defense law firms, personal injury attorneys in Illinois, divorce lawyers and many other areas of law. Typically the attorneys we suggest are very narrowly focused in their practice and mostly handle cases similar to what your matter involves. These aren't people that will tell you what you want to hear, but rather, like us, will give you no-nonsense, straight-forward answers.
The bottom line is that when you need a lawyer, he or she should fit your needs. We can help you determine what area of law to focus on and help you make an informed decision as to whom you should hire. If you would like our help please call us at (312) 346-5320 or (800) 517-1614 or fill out our contact us form and we will contact you.
Findgreatlawyers.com helps people find Illinois lawyers for any area of Illinois law. We are run by a group of Chicago lawyers and much like your family doctor, we will give you free guidance to point you in the right direction and if needed, we will refer you to an Illinois licensed lawyer that fits your needs. We help people find Illinois lawyers for almost any legal situation.
When you contact us we have two goals. In the short term we want to answer any legal questions that you have and if necessary make a recommendation to an Illinois attorney that can help you. Our long-term goal is to be the trusted resource that you turn to when you have legal concerns. Any time someone asks you if you are friends with a lawyer you should be able to say yes because we strive to treat the concerns of our users as if they were family members or friends.
Since 2001 we have helped thousands of people with a wide variety of problems including Illinois workers compensation, child support, employment law, felony and misdemeanor charges, Illinois legal malpractice lawsuits and many other cases. We have a very large network of Illinois lawyers that we recommend and it is our policy to never recommend an attorney to a caller that we wouldn't recommend to a family member or friend. If you would like our assistance we are happy to help.
What it means to be lead plaintiff in a class action
May 20, 2013
Class actions are large cases with many plaintiffs. The court will appoint a lead plaintiff, also called the named plaintiff, to represent the entire group. It would be unrealistic and too time consuming for everyone in the class to present their case to the court. If you are considering a class action lawsuit or want to know if you should be lead plaintiff, here are some details about what it entails.
What a lead plaintiff does:
- - Finds and hires an attorney
- - Files the lawsuit (with the help of their attorney)
- - Participates in discovery, which is the investigative part of the case
- - Attends court dates, including hearings and trial
- - May testify in court
- - Consults on settlement
- - May be able to get a larger portion of the recovery, based on the extra effort, if the court agrees
What a lead plaintiff does not do:
- - Does not pay attorney fees
- - Does not pay the costs or fees associated with filing lawsuit or pursuing the case
Being a lead plaintiff means being in the spotlight and being involved in the case as it progresses. However, it does not cost you anything, and you are required to have an attorney, who will do the work on the case. Your attorney is paid at the end out of what the court awards or what you agree to in settlement.
The judge has to make the call as to whether the lead plaintiff is a good representative of the entire class. Others in the class don’t get to be heard, so your case needs to be strong and similar enough to the cases of the others.
If you are not lead plaintiff, you don’t have to do much beyond deciding whether you want to be part of the class. Your individual case won’t necessarily be heard. As a participant in a class action, you give up your right to file your own lawsuit. If you want to bring your own case, talk to an attorney about opting out of the class action. This will give you the ability to take legal action on your own later on.
Five signs that you may have hired the wrong Illinois attorney
May 19, 2013
Here are some signs that the lawyer you hired may not be the best one to handle your case.
- It’s been a week without a callback. There is no reason that a good lawyer can’t also be good at customer service. Returning phone calls isn’t hard, and it’s not too much to expect. If you never hear back from your attorney in a reasonable amount of time, your case might not be a priority for them.
- They’re fresh out of law school. You should look for someone with more experience if you want the best chance at success in your case. It’s not that these new lawyers aren’t smart or that they won’t work hard for you, but they might not handle your case as efficiently and they might not know the best strategy if they’re new to the practice of law.
- Your attorney keeps changing. If a law firm is handling your case, and it seems like every time you call there’s someone new handling it, that can be a bad sign. It could mean that lawyers keep leaving the firm (so it’s probably not a great place to work), or that your case isn’t a priority. This kind of inconsistency is bad customer service and it can potentially hurt your case.
- They offer to handle all your legal problems. One of the things we focus on when recommending an attorney is their specific experience. For example, we don’t believe a divorce attorney is the best person to handle your traffic ticket. They’ll probably do fine, but we think you’d do better with someone who handles traffic cases, and appears in traffic court, day in and day out. So if your attorney is offering to handle multiple issues that are unrelated, it might be a sign that they aren’t as experienced as you need them to be.
- They work out of their house. This is allowed, but it’s not ideal. An attorney who works out of their home, especially if they have their own firm, misses out on the advantages of working in an office along with other lawyers. It’s not always the case, but in our experience, the attorneys who have a lot of success don’t fit this profile.
If it becomes clear that you hired the wrong attorney, you are allowed to switch. We don’t recommend switching lawyers for a minor reason, but if the success of your case depends on it, then it’s probably a good idea.
Three random Illinois legal tips
May 17, 2013
We get calls about everything from pet’s rights to corporate whistle blowing. Some calls, however, are more common. Here are three random legal tips that might come in handy for you (or your friends and family).
- Setting up powers of attorney is fairly simple for most people, and you can do it for free. This is one of the rare instances where we recommend (1) using an online form and (2) handling a legal document on your own. The reason is that a power of attorney isn’t that complicated, and it’s important to have so we want to encourage you to get it done, even if that means doing it yourself. You can find forms for the two types of power of attorney (healthcare and property) here.
- It’s never too late to collect past due child support, if you have a court order. If you don’t have an order from a judge that orders the other parent to make payments, then get one. But if you do, there is no deadline. You can always collect. Talk to an attorney if you need help getting started. They can help you locate the other parent, find out about income they might be hiding, and file the court documents to get them child support you are owed.
- Every type of case has a statute of limitations, or deadline. The deadlines are strict. If you don’t file a lawsuit in time, you don’t get a second chance. For example, the statute of limitations for personal injury in Illinois is two years from the date of the injury. That is your deadline for filing suit. There are some exceptions, like if the injured person is a minor, but the two-year rule applies in the vast majority of cases. Always ask an attorney which rule applies in your case. And don’t delay if you think you might want to file a lawsuit. You don’t want to miss your chance.
If you have a question about these tips, or anything else, just let us know.
Which lawyer has won the most cases?
May 16, 2013
Honestly, we don’t really know, because it doesn’t really matter. What matters most is whether your attorney is able to help you meet your goals.
We aren’t saying that winning never matters. The point is that winning means something different for every client. A good example is a criminal case. There is a range of possible outcomes. Maybe getting probation is considered a win for someone who is facing years in prison. For someone else, however, probation might not be considered a win. It’s all relative.
Every case is different. And you need different lawyers for different cases. Within the area of personal injury, you would need a different attorney for a botched surgery than you would for a car accident. Sometimes you need an attorney who is prepared to handle a rare catastrophic injury case; other times you need an attorney who can quickly and effectively handle a routine accident.
We evaluate and recommend lawyers based on many different factors, including client satisfaction, which doesn’t necessarily translate into a win-loss record. If you call us looking for a win-loss record on a particular attorney, we’ll take the time to explain why you can’t just rely on that number alone (if it’s even possible to determine what that number is).
Instead, we recommend attorneys based on their experience with your particular type of case, how well they communicate with clients, how highly they are regarded among other lawyers and among judges, whether they are local, whether they have enough resources to handle your case, and whether we think it will be a good fit all around. If you’re looking for an opinion on an Illinois attorney, give us a call.
Five things you should know about having to pay child support in Illinois
May 15, 2013
Child support seems to be one of the most confusing and also common legal issues that people in Illinois face. Here are five common misunderstandings that we see and believe people should be aware of.
- Whether you spend 50% of the time with your child or no time at all, one parent is going to be named primary custodian of that child and they will receive child support. The two parents can agree to something different, but otherwise a Judge is going to rule that one of them gets support.
- Your own personal expenses will not reduce your child support obligation. This may be really unfair, but it’s the law. So if your complaint is “by the time I finish paying child support, I don’t have enough money to pay for my rent,” it will likely fall on deaf ears when you go before a Judge.
- Once a child support order is put in to place by the Judge, there are no time limits for collecting on it. So if a dead-beat parent avoids paying, they’ll never really be completely off the hook. And interest will be added on to all that they owe.
- If you lose your job or aren’t making as much as you used to when the child support order was put in to place, it’s your job to go to court and get the support order lowered. It can’t be done retroactively. In similar fashion, if your ex is making more money and you want to increase the amount you get, you have to go to court.
- Verbal agreements that you make outside of a courtroom are typically not enforceable. Same holds true even for most written agreements. If you want to be safe and protect yourself, you need to get in to court.
If you have any questions about Illinois child support laws, please click the contact button on the left side of the page. We’d be happy to help you.
We have helped hundreds of thousands of people with Illinois legal matters. Whether you just have a questions or need our recommendation of which lawyer is best for your case, please contact us at any time.

New topics on our website
We try to continually post new information dealing with Illinois laws. Here are some recently added pages to our site:
- Chicago Workers' Compensation Lawyers
- Legal Malpractice Lawyers in Illinois
- Illinois Divorce Lawyers
- Illinois Criminal Defense Laws
- Overtime Laws in Illinois
- Your First Meeting With An Illinois Personal Injury Attorney
- Your First Meeting With An Illinois Divorce Attorney
- Your First Meeting With An Illinois Criminal Defense Attorney
Big Companies Behaving Badly
Some big and not so big companies appear to be breaking the law. Some cell phone outfits practice “cramming” which puts small charges on phone bills for things not actually ordered like ring tones or games. Most people don't even notice it.
Other times big life insurance companies are refusing to pay out on a policy even though it is all paid up.
Finally, we've noticed some banks in Illinois are charging bogus overdraft fees by changing the order of checks in order to maximize fees.
If any of these illegal things has happened to you, we want to know about it. Call us at (800) 517-1614 to discuss it and possibly get a referral to an attorney who will handle your case. For cases like these there are no fees unless the lawyer is successful.
You can have a legal gun permit and get arrested for having a gun
Every day thousands of out of state residents pass through Illinois. Many of these people are law abiding citizens that have a gun permit in their home state. Unfortunately, if they don't have an Illinois FOID card they are likely illegally possessing a gun and can be charged with a felony charge of unlawful use of a weapon.
Even if you take the steps needed to have a FOID card, you can't have a loaded, concealed firearm. This also is a felony. We've scene many instances where someone with a loaded gun in a trunk got pulled over for a routine traffic ticket and ended up charged with a felony that could put them in jail for years.
On top of all of this, even if you are just passing through Illinois, but get a FOID card, if you are in possession of a handgun or other types of weapons in Chicago, you can still get charged with unlawful use of a weapon.
If you aren't sure what to do, we suggest that you either consult with an Illinois criminal defense law firm or call the Illinois State Police.
If you are going to buy real estate with anyone other than your spouse - write a partnership agreement. The partnership agreement should spell out who is going to be liable for which costs, which party owns what percentage of interest in the property and who gets the property or how it is liquidated in the event of a break up of the partnership. If you don't think this through in advance, when everyone is friendly, it could be very costly in the end, when everyone is angry.
Receiving severance from a former employer does not prevent the employee from also getting unemployment benefits. If the severance is marked as "wages" for a particular period of time, the employee must wait for that period of time to be over before applying for unemployment.
Effective in September, 2010, the Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance requires landlords to put the name and address of the financial institution where the tenant's security deposit will be kept. If the landlord moves the deposit during the rental, the landlord has to let the tenant know. Until now, landlords were not required to disclose this information to tenants.
You should diligently research a home repair contractor before hiring them. In my experience with real estate and commercial litigation, I have found that sometimes litigation can be avoided by doing your diligence upfront, or by contacting an attorney in order to make sure your rights are protected. You just may be able to avoid a headache and costly litigation later.
Be careful when accepting a gift of any size from an estate. By accepting even a small portion of a gift under a will, you will very likely waive your right to contest that will. So if you have any thoughts of contesting a relative's will you should refuse to receive any money from the estate, no matter how small an amount.



