Secor Lawyers

A Legacy of Legal Excellence With a distinguished career spanning over three decades, Peter A. Buh has cemented his reputation as a leading Criminal Prosecution Attorney known for his unwavering commitment to justice and unparalleled success in representing Counties and Municipalities. His legal acumen and dedication have made him a beacon of excellence in the legal community. Leadership and Unmatched Record Ascending to the role of Chief of Felony Assistant State’s Attorney in Lee County, Peter continued to demonstrate his legal expertise. In this capacity, he achieved an extraordinary 100% success rate in prosecuting murder and reckless homicide cases, a testament to his...

Matt Karstens is an Associate Attorney at McSwain Nagle Giese & Rapp., P.C. based out of Wheaton, Illinois. Matt has extensive courtroom experience gained from his time spent as an Assistant State's Attorney in Kane County, Illinois. Matt specializes in Criminal Defense (Traffic, DUI, Domestic Violence, Misdemeanor, and Felony) and Family Law matters (divorce, parentage, allocation of parental decision making making and parenting time, child support, spousal support, relocation, orders of protection, and prenuptial/postnuptial agreements.

Tyler Berberich dedicates his entire legal practice to representing and defending the rights of injured workers to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. Tyler was raised in southern Michigan, then attended Michigan State University. After college, he moved to Illinois to go to law school at Chicago-Kent College of Law. After graduation, Tyler started his legal career practicing workers’ compensation law in Springfield, Illinois before moving back to Chicago to join Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates, Ltd.

Charles is a shareholder at Lofgren & Wentworth, P.C. in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, where he practices business, property, and appellate litigation. After graduating in the top 3% of his law school class at the University of Utah, he clerked for Chief Justice John T. Broderick of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. He then became a litigation associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP before opening Wentworth Law Offices. Charles' experience as an officer and director of multiple closely-held companies also gives him practical business and real estate experience. He is active in the DuPage County and Illinois State Bar Associations, where...

Attorney focusing on all types of criminal and civil litigation throughout East Central Illinois.

Moises Barraza's passion for immigration law developed through personal experience and faith conviction. His parents are immigrants, so he knows firsthand the work necessary to become a part of America. He also understands Christ's special concern for immigrants (Mt 25:35). Moises is fully bilingual in English and Spanish, and, in addition to practicing immigration law, he enjoys spending time with his family, writing and recording music, traveling, and learning about other cultures.

La pasión de Moises Barraza por la ley de inmigración es una combinación de su experiencia personal y su convicción de fe. Sus padres son inmigrantes, y él...

Jacqueline M. Aldrich, born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. During her undergraduate studies, she majored in Political Science and competed on North Central College’s Mock Trial team taking 3rd place in the 2003 Regional Competition and competing in the 2003 National Competition. Upon graduating with honors, Jacqueline attended The John Marshall Law School, where she participated in The John Marshall Law Review and was appointed Associate Justice of the Moot Court Executive Board in 2005. She also competed in the Fred F. Herzog Moot Court Competition and...

Nicole’s experience involves cases having injuries such as bedsores, fractures from falls, malnutrition, dehydration, infection, aspiration, and sexual abuse. She takes great joy in forming relationships with the residents and their families, hearing their stories and concerns, and advocating for their rights. Nicole Morrison gives her entire legal practice to the representation of injured nursing home residents and their families. After joining Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates in 2008, as a law clerk, Nicole established a passion for representing nursing home residents and their families. She veiws each resident not just as a client, but as someone’s beloved relative or friend. This passion...

With his accumulated knowledge of Health Care Law and Litigation Services, Keith Emmons offers a unique perspective on the legal issues important to the professional clients of Meyer Capel.

Mr. Emmons has been recognized as both an Illinois Leading Lawyer and an Illinois Super Lawyer in the Health Care Law field. His practice includes the general representation of health care providers and their professional practices, general litigation, and alternative dispute resolution ("ADR") as a mediator and arbitrator. Mr. Emmons also represents health care professionals in proceedings before the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Professional Regulation (IDFPR). He...

Richard T. West has been practicing law for over forty-one years. He has been a shareholder of Meyer Capel for over half of his career, having practiced in other firms in the community prior to joining Meyer Capel in 1991 as a shareholder. Throughout much of his career, his focus has been in the areas of complex litigation involving, for example, intellectual property, construction, banking, products liability, contract disputes and corporate and fiduciary obligations, as well as business representation, construction law, and health care law. In recent years, he has begun to shift his focus from an active litigation practice...

Rebecca concentrates her practice in the areas of estate planning, tax planning, estate administration, probate, wills, trusts and trust administration. She counsels clients on a variety of estate planning, estate administration and trust administration issues and has significant experience in drafting both basic and complex estate plans that include wills, revocable trusts (or "living trusts"), irrevocable life insurance trusts, living wills, advanced directives, powers of attorney for health care and powers of attorney for property. In addition to preparing basic estate plans and counseling clients regarding a broad array of issues such as the importance of choosing an appropriate guardian for...

David B. Sholem joined Meyer Capel in 1978 and was named as a shareholder of the firm in 1982. He graduated from Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Mr. Sholem attended the University of Illinois College of Law and Case Western Reserve University’s School of Law where he obtained his Juris Doctor degree in 1978. He was admitted to the Illinois State Bar in 1978. Mr. Sholem’s professional affiliations include Champaign County (Illinois) Bar Association (former President), Illinois State Bar Association (Real Estate Section) and American Bar Association. David Sholem has represented a number of real estate developers and...

David graduated from Kansas State University where he was not only a member of the school’s first national-qualifying Trial Team but also the head of the university’s judicial system. As the head of the judicial system, David represented victims of sexual harassment, theft, and property damage and advocated for their rights before student and faculty judicial review boards. After college, David moved to Chicago, where he went to the Chicago-Kent College of Law and earned his Juris Doctor, cum laude. While at Chicago-Kent, David competed nationally on the school’s Moot Court team. A finalist or semi-finalist in all of his prior...

Jenny Park always knew what she wanted from a career. She wanted to help people. But it was not until a few years after earning her undergraduate degree that she decided the field of law would offer her the best opportunities to do just that. When Jenny first entered the University of Illinois as an undergrad, it was with the intention of becoming a medical doctor. In 1993, she graduated from the U of I with a Bachelor of Science in biology. Then, she took some time off from school to reassess her career goals. While working as a paralegal during...

Ward F. McDonald brings a wealth of experience in real estate, banking and commercial law to the clients of Meyer Capel. His background includes 13 years as CEO of Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund, Inc., a title insurer with multi-state operations, and 25 years as an attorney in private practice. Over the course of his career, Ward has handled numerous transactions in the $1-100 million range for commercial and residential real estate developments, including sales, acquisitions, refinancing and consolidations. Ward holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Urban Land Economics from the University of Illinois as well as his Juris...

Since joining the firm in 1970, Francis J. (Jerry) Jahn has been responsible for building and expanding the business practice of Meyer Capel. He served as President of the firm from January 1999 until December 2010. A 1967 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, Jerry was winner of the Frederick M. Green Moot Court Competition and the Horner Cup and Waterman Prize for Excellence in Moot Court Competition as a law student. He was also recipient of the Harno Scholarship. Jerry is a member of the Illinois State and Champaign County Bar Associations. He served on CCBA's board of...

Randy Green is a shareholder in Meyer Capel’s Business and Real Estate Practice Groups. His unique experience allows him to serve not only as legal counsel, but as a trusted business advisor to his clients. Experience Mr. Green has represented both public and private companies ranging from top U.S. financial institutions to single-member LLCs in a variety of transactions such as mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, private equity investments, financing, entity formation, franchising, and leasing. He has also helped organizational and individual clients sell, purchase and lease various types of real estate across the U.S. Before he began his legal career, Mr....

Lorna Geiler brings Meyer Capel the benefits of a distinguished academic career. A 1986 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law and a 1983 cum laude graduate of Illinois State University, she joined the firm in 1988. Ms. Geiler is a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and the American, Illinois State and Champaign County Bar Associations. She is also involved in the employment and labor law section of the Illinois State Bar Association and was listed in Who's Who Among Rising Young Americans in 1992. Lorna has represented employers before the Illinois...

Patrick Fitzgerald begin his legal career with Meyer Capel in 1987 as a law clerk. Now, as a shareholder with the firm, he concentrates in real estate. Mr. Fitzgerald is a 1989 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law where he earned a spot on the Dean's List. In 1986, he received a bachelor of arts in economics, also from the University of Illinois. Mr. Fitzgerald is a member of the Champaign County Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association, and American Bar Association. Further, he is actively involved with the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce as well as the Champaign...

Colleen C. M. Ramais joins Meyer Capel’s litigation team as a full-time associate after serving a two-year judicial clerkship with the Honorable Justice Rita B. Garman of the Illinois Supreme Court. Colleen graduated summa cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law with her juris doctorate in 2010. As a law student, she was named to the Dean's List for all six law school semesters and was awarded the Celia M. Howard Fellowship for graduate study from the Illinois Federation of Business and Professional Women. She is a ten-time recipient of the CALI Excellence for the Future Award for...

Planning and Estate

John H. Elder brings a special degree of experience to the clients of Meyer Capel. John works with his clients to deal with the tax issues of estate planning, but has always realized that this is only one component of the planning process. It is very important that an attorney work with the family members to learn about the needs and personalities of the various individuals and to develop a plan that meets the family goals and objectives. Some of the greatest qualities of an estate planning attorney are compassion, trust, and communication skills and it is only...

For most people, the purchase of a home is the largest single investment they will ever make, and naturally, they're nervous about it. They want someone trustworthy to lean on, someone knowledgeable to handle the paperwork, someone well-versed in legal matters to represent them at the closing. They want someone like Harold Adams. With his dual background in finance and law, Harold brings a unique combination of skills to the table. In addition to a solid foundation in residential and commercial real estate transactions, Harold is well-grounded in general business matters, including the foundation of new corporations and partnerships and the...

Brooke A. Didier Starks is an estate planning lawyer concentrating her wills, trusts and probate practice in east-central Illinois. She enjoys counseling a wide variety of clients on all matters related to estate planning and estate administration. Brooke welcomes the opportunity to assist clients who are providing for their children, whether it is counseling them through the decision of whom to appoint as guardian for a minor child, establishing a trust for a special-needs child, or planning for college education. She especially enjoys working with farm families to preserve the family business and pass it on to...

Steven A. Amjad brings extensive experience in many aspects of legal practice to the clients of Meyer Capel. Over the last several years he has practiced litigation including complicated commercial litigation, personal injury, toxic tort defense and criminal defense.

As a former senior tax consultant for a former Big Eight accounting firm, and as a business school graduate, Todd Black is uniquely qualified to advise clients on legal matters pertaining to estate planning and administration and corporate/business planning. A practicing attorney in Champaign-Urbana since 1987, Mr. Black joined Meyer Capel in 1993. Mr. Black received a bachelor of science in finance from the University of Illinois in 1983. He attended the University of Illinois on a full athletic scholarship and served as co-captain of the U of I's varsity tennis team. He was the recipient of numerous undergraduate honors, including...