Freelance Contract Lawyers for Illinois

I am a solo-practitioner with a practice mostly consisting of serving as a fractional general counsel to growth stage companies. With a practical business background, I aim to bring real-world, economically driven solutions to my client's legal problems and pride myself on efficient yet effective work.

My name is Ryenne Shaw and I help business owners build businesses that operate as assets instead of liabilities, increase in value over time and build wealth. My areas of expertise include corporate formation and business structure, contract law, employment/labor law, business risk and compliance and intellectual property. I also serve as outside general counsel to several businesses across various industries nationally. I spent most of my early legal career assisting C.E.O.s, General Counsel, and in-house legal counsel of both large and smaller corporations in minimizing liability, protecting business assets and maximizing profits. While working with many of these entities, I realized that smaller entities are often underserved. I saw that smaller business owners weren’t receiving the same level of legal support larger corporations relied upon to grow and sustain. I knew this was a major contributor to the ceiling that most small businesses hit before they’ve even scratched the surface of their potential. And I knew at that moment that all of this lack of knowledge and support was creating a huge wealth gap. After over ten years of legal experience, I started my law firm to provide the legal support small to mid-sized business owners and entrepreneurs need to grow and protect their brands, businesses, and assets. I have a passion for helping small to mid-sized businesses and startups grow into wealth-building assets by leveraging the same legal strategies large corporations have used for years to create real wealth. I enjoy connecting with my clients, learning about their visions and identifying ways to protect and maximize the reach, value and impact of their businesses. I am a strong legal writer with extensive litigation experience, including both federal and state (and administratively), which brings another element to every contract I prepare and the overall counsel and value I provide. Some of my recent projects include: - Negotiating & Drafting Commercial Lease Agreements - Drafting Trademark Licensing Agreements - Drafting Ambassador and Influencer Agreements - Drafting Collaboration Agreements - Drafting Service Agreements for service-providers, coaches and consultants - Drafting Master Service Agreements and SOWs - Drafting Terms of Service and Privacy Policies - Preparing policies and procedures for businesses in highly regulated industries - Drafting Employee Handbooks, Standard Operations and Procedures (SOPs) manuals, employment agreements - Creating Employer-employee infrastructure to ensure business compliance with employment and labor laws - Drafting Independent Contractor Agreements and Non-Disclosure/Non-Competition/Non-Solicitation Agreements - Conducting Federal Trademark Searches and filing trademark applications - Preparing Trademark Opinion Letters after conducting appropriate legal research - Drafting Letters of Opinion for Small Business Loans - Drafting and Responding to Cease and Desist Letters I service clients throughout the United States across a broad range of industries.

Daliah Saper operates a cutting-edge internet and social media law practice that regularly leads local and national media outlets to solicit her commentary on emerging internet law issues involving cyberbullying, sexting, catfishing, revenge porn, anonymous online defamation, domain name and user-name squatting, privacy, and the latest business decisions made by social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. As a litigator Daliah represents companies bringing or defending business and intellectual property disputes. (She has argued cases in a number of jurisdictions including taking a case all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court.) As a transactional lawyer she helps clients choose the right business entity, drafts contracts and licensing agreements, advises on sweepstakes and contest rules, and ensures website terms of use and privacy policies are compliant, and provides comprehensive trademark and copyright counseling. Since founding Saper Law Offices in 2005, Daliah has been named a 40 Under 40 by Law Bulletin Publishing Co., a top Media & Advertising attorney by Super Lawyers Magazine 14 years in a row, and has been repeatedly recognized as a leading media and entertainment lawyer by Chambers and Partners. For the past eleven years, she also has taught entertainment and social media law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

Trusted legal counsel and business advisor to businesses and executive teams in the software, financial, and technology industries. Practice areas include commercial transactions, licensing, SaaS/PaaS/IaaS delivery models, software product development, regulatory compliance, new business formation, employment matters, and general corporate matters.

I am a skilled legal researcher and writer with a background in contract drafting and negotiation as well as litigation. I've served as an arbitrator for the past three years and have presided over nearly 400 binding arbitrations for an online dispute resolution platform. Additionally, I am a content writer and editor for the insurance division of LexisNexis. In my role as a contractor for LexisNexis, I research, draft, and edit high-quality legal reference tools on a variety of insurance topics for use by lawyers and insurance industry professionals.

Jocelyn A. Walters-Hird focuses her practice on conservation law and other real estate matters. She has provided counsel on dozens of conservation easement transactions as well as fee sales and acquisitions, including the structuring, negotiating, and closing of such projects. Prior to joining the conservation community, Jocelyn worked as a litigator, which has informed her approach to drafting workable documents and resolving post-transaction issues. With both in-house counsel and private practice experience, Jocelyn has a unique skillset allowing her to problem solve and provide sound legal advice to land trusts, landowners, and other organizations. She is the former Sr. Staff Attorney at the Minnesota Land Trust, where she led the legal team of the state’s largest non-profit land trust. She also worked as Attorney for Conservation Partners, LLP, a nationally-recognized boutique law firm that has assisted land trusts and landowners in protecting hundreds of thousands of acres of land. Jocelyn now serves as Contracted Counsel for the firm.

Lisa Copland Gordon is a seasoned litigator who has practiced law in Illinois for over 25 years. She is a graduate of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, with a concentration in Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution. Lisa earned her undergraduate degree from Princeton University. Lisa provides counsel to clients in real estate matters including purchasing, selling, HOA and lease issues. She also represents clients and small businesses in all Cook County courthouse locations.

Marcia is an experienced business litigation and transactional attorney providing general counsel to individuals and small businesses owners in transactions and business disputes. Marcia's law practice focuses primarily on commercial litigation and transactional law. She represents and defends individuals, partnerships, limited liability companies, corporations, and not-for-profit corporations in a variety of commercial and employment disputes including partnership disputes, shareholder disputes, member disputes, and contract disputes. Additionally, she advises clients on transactional matters including contract creation, review, and negotiation, real estate transactions, mergers and acquisitions, donations, corporate governance, municipal governance, policy formation, and various compliance issues.

Attorney licensed in Texas & Illinois

Licensed to practice Law in Illinois since 2009. Family Law and Real Estate Law Attorney.