Gould + Ratner

About Us

Our Firm

Gould & Ratner is a law firm with a wealth of legal experience and business acumen. The firm’s services are designed to reflect the needs of well-established organizations and growing businesses, as well as those of individuals. Our attorneys are trained and educated in multi-faceted legal areas so that each one can guide a client through more than one issue, rather than bouncing them from attorney to attorney. They translate their legal knowledge and business skills into practical solutions that work for our clients. However, when a team is needed, the right people are just down the hallway. More than just legal advisors, our lawyers consistently demonstrate the care and commitment that set us apart.

Formed in the 1930s, Gould & Ratner has represented prominent clients in diverse and complicated matters in Chicago and throughout the world. We were fortunate enough to have the Crown Family as our first client, whose holdings grew from its original sand and gravel company into multiple natural resource, industrial, telecommunication, transportation, and real estate activities, including ownership of Rockefeller Center and the Empire State Building. Over the years, we have helped our clients grow from local family-owned operations to national conglomerates – enterprises that we continue to represent.

Gould & Ratner has grown – from three attorneys handling general corporate work for the Crown Family to a multi-dimensional firm of more than 50 lawyers representing Fortune 500 corporations, closely held businesses, financial institutions and entrepreneurs, as well as families and their businesses in real estate, corporate, tax, estate and succession planning, litigation, human resources and employment, construction, intellectual property, environmental and several other related specialty fields.

In this ever-changing and complex world, Gould & Ratner remains one of the few truly mid-size law firms in Chicago. This allows us the unique ability to employ our multi-faceted approach to legal service for clients of every size and in every industry.

Our Clients

Clients come to Gould & Ratner expecting sophisticated legal and business skills, as well as personal advice and counsel. They stay with us because we provide that sophistication along with exemplary client service; giving them both practical and innovative solutions for all of their legal needs, whether simple or complex.

Our broad and diverse client base includes publicly and privately-held companies, entrepreneurs, wealthy families and individuals, businesses and executives, sports and entertainment personalities, charitable organizations, professional service organizations, and more. These clients span a wide spectrum of industries: manufacturing and distribution, telecommunications, media and technology, financial institutions, gaming, hospitality, construction, and real estate and development.

Thoroughly understanding our clients’ businesses and industries, Gould & Ratner legal counselors are able to render better practical solutions and advice. We develop personal relationships with our clients, keeping abreast of how the current market is affecting them and their businesses in order to meet or exceed their goals and expectations. They come as clients, but stay as friends.

Community + Pro bono

Throughout its existence, the Gould & Ratner philosophy encourages participation in community and charitable organizations. Our attorneys and staff are involved not only in Chicago, but also in the communities in which they live. We support volunteering for non-profits whether it be a civic, charitable or professional association. Many of our professionals serve in leadership positions for established non-profits such as Habitat for Humanity Chicago, Council for the Jewish Elderly, Night Ministry, Have Dreams, and Jewish Child and Family Services, to name a few.

In addition, Gould & Ratner supports many organizations through sponsorships and donations throughout the year. These sponsorships range from charitable organizations to civic and cultural organizations.

When it comes to community and charitable giving, everyone in the Gould & Ratner organization has a voice in the selection. One unique example has become a weekly staple in the office. It’s simply called “Friday Jeans Day”. Each and every week, a different charity is selected by someone in the organization. A fee of $5 is charged for the privilege of wearing jeans that day. The result is that every year, more than 50 different charities benefit from the “Jeans Day” generosity of the Gould & Ratner family.

Gould & Ratner has a long tradition of pro bono service to non-profit organizations, and we dedicate a great deal of time and legal services to them. In addition, going the extra mile, away from the legal business, is very rewarding. A prime example is Habitat for Humanity Chicago, the local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity and a pro bono client of the firm. They currently have a multi-single family building project on the south side of Chicago. The Gould & Ratner team spent an entire Saturday participating in this project by trimming out the garage, manually carrying hundreds of sheets of drywall into one of the houses, then hanging as much as they could throughout the house until the final whistle blew.

Attorneys also volunteer through the court system to represent persons unable to afford legal counsel. The firm is committed to participating in and supporting pro bono legal and civic opportunities at every level, with attorneys representing individuals, nonprofits and service organizations.

Trusted Legal Advisors Worldwide

Gould & Ratner is a proud member of LawExchange International, an association of independent law firms founded in 1994 that covers the world’s major commercial centers within Europe, North and South America, Asia/Pacific and the Middle East. Our goal is simple: provide a comprehensive and seamless web of legal services to clients through access to trusted, local legal counsel across the globe.

LawExchange International member firms possess the local knowledge necessary to help eliminate the challenges associated with doing business in a worldwide marketplace. Access to this knowledge can prove invaluable to clients doing business in foreign markets in terms of navigating the local laws, procedures, economic and business climates, cultures and politics in the countries in which they are doing business.

LawExchange International members are comprised of some of the top commercial firms serving middle-market and entrepreneurial businesses around the world. Members are carefully selected for membership based on a number of factors, including professional competence, reputation, integrity, and commitment to exceptional client service.

Members maintain close professional and personal relationships by meeting two times per year at LawExchange International conferences; through periodic regional conferences, for example, involving our member firms in the United States and Latin America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region; and through regular communication throughout the year. Members not only share professional updates and best practices, but also maintain close working relationships which are essential to ensuring the continuity and quality of services which clients rightly expect.