Topeka Lawyers

Athena Farmakis was born and raised in the Chicagoland area, graduated with a B.A. from Northwestern University, and received her law degree from DePaul University College of law. With over 25 years of litigation experience, Athena has tried 67 jury trials and hundreds of bench trials in complex and media-sensitive cases. Athena currently practices in all areas of personal injury including motor vehicle accidents, premises liability, product liability, construction accidents, animal attacks, negligent security, wrongful death, nursing home abuse and medical malpractice.

As a former prosecutor, Athena dedicated much of her legal career to serving the public for over 20 years...

Clarissa Rietveld was born in Iowa and raised in Rushville, Indiana. She received her Associate’s Degree in Nursing in 2009 and worked as a registered nurse in operating rooms across the Midwest and on the East Coast. While working as a nurse, Ms. Rietveld had a patient whose medical history documented that he did not have regular access to food and was starving. Ms. Rietveld spent the afternoon working with hospital social services to arrange for her patient to gain access to regular meals and was shocked to learn that he didn’t qualify for any of the available programs. She...

John L. GreenLeaf, Jr. has been in practice over 37 years representing consumers and businesses in Central Illinois. The firm concentrates in all forms of Bankruptcy, Business formation, and the preparation of Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning and administration of Probate Estates and Guardianships.

Jim Finegan attended the University of Illinois for undergraduate school and Northwestern University for Law School. He moved to Bloomington, Illinois after graduating law school and he has over 40 years experience. He specializes in bankruptcy, real estate, and civil litigation.

After attending the University of Illinois for Undergraduate school I attended Northern Illinois University School of Law. I was a Prosecutor for the McLean County State's Attorney's office before leaving the office to practice with my father Jim Finegan. I specialize in Criminal Defense, including DUIs, felony cases, drug cases, orders of protection and expungements and will use my background as a Prosecutor to help you defend your case.

From Speeding to Murder, we fight for our clients every day, and are known for aggressive criminal defense. Unlike many, we don't stop fighting after that. We work on getting them their driver's license back after the State has taken it, and on expunging or sealing criminal arrests and/or convictions, including obtaining pardons for our clients.

I help clients protect their most valuable business assets: their ideas and inventions, their purpose, and their products. I help clients protect themselves and their assets through a combination of intellectual property management, business planning, and estate planning. I help business owners start and run their businesses successfully. I help clients keep their focus on the core parts of the business, the things that made them want to do it in the first place, by making sure their foundations and legal strategies are strong and tailored to their unique needs. My focus on clients’ legal issues takes that off their list...

Shayla Maatuka transitioned her private practice into the partnership of Dodd & Maatuka. She currently serves as managing partner for Maatuka Al-Heeti Emkes LLC. She combines her expertise as an entrepreneur - successfully establishing four businesses - with the practice of law, concentrating on civil and commercial litigation, personal injury, as well as business litigation. Her passion for the community helps others achieve their goals through entrepreneurship. She currently sits on the boards of Visit Champaign County and Mettler Studios, Inc. and formerly sat on the boards of the East Central Illinois Women Attorneys Association, the Executive Club...

Tyler Phillips began his legal career as solo practitioner following graduation from the St. Louis University School of Law in 2012. Thereafter, Tyler joined Blickhan, Timmerwilke, Woodworth & Larson in Quincy, Illinois and engaged in a diverse area of practice including divorce, domestic relations, real estate, estate planning, criminal defense, and civil litigation, in both Illinois and Missouri. Tyler joined the firm of Hauk and Owens in 2016 where he continued his practice in both Illinois and Missouri. Tyler joined the firm Rober Law, P.C. in October of 2022, as a partner where he continues to advocate for his clients...

Jared possesses a varied background from family and divorce law to criminal law.

Nrupa Patel joined the BRE Law team as a partner in June of 2017. Nrupa is an experienced litigator, having served as a Macon County prosecutor for four years. During her time there, she handled a variety of matters, including: felonies, traffic cases, domestic batteries, and juvenile delinquencies.

Utilizing and leveraging her previous experience and knowledge of the criminal justice system, Nrupa primarily practices criminal defense and family law at BRE Law. Nrupa is multilingual, giving her the unique ability to assist clients in Spanish, Hindi, and Gujarati.

Nrupa is a native of the Chicago suburbs. After graduating from high school, she...

Jon Erickson, known formally as Jonathan Parker Erickson, is a Decatur native and attended Decatur public schools through 12th grade. He graduated from Eisenhower High School in 1991 and completed his undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice Sciences at Illinois State University in 1995. He received his Juris Doctorate from Southern Illinois University in 1999. He was admitted to practice law in the State of Illinois in 2000.

Jon worked as an Assistant State's Attorney for Macon County from Spring 2000 until December 2000 at which time...

The Dodds Law Office, PC, represents Illinois personal injury, Illinois workers compensation and Illinois auto accident claimants and counsels clients in the areas of criminal and family law. Terry is a native of the Bloomington-Normal area, having attended grade school and junior high in the Unit 5 School District. His mother and father also have strong ties to the Bloomington-Normal community, both having graduated from Illinois State University. Terry's Brother, Geoff Dodds, is also a licensed attorney in Illinois, currently acting as the City Attorney for the Village of Heyworth, IL. After graduating from Clinton Community High School in 1992, Terry obtained...

Michael R. Nichols was born and raised in Galesburg, IL. Michael Received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing from Southern Illinois University. He then received his Juris Doctor from Northern Illinois University College of Law. At NIU Law Michael graduated with honors and was a leader within the Professionalism and Ethics Society, while also working as a graduate assistant.

Michael approaches everyday in a positive manner with the sense of urgency that is required to produce an optimal result for his clients. Michael understands the importance of each individual case and enjoys walking his clients through every step in the...

Douglas B. Johnson is a skilled young lawyer that graduated law school at an astonishing pace of 2 years. Doug graduated cum laude at the top of his class regularly receiving awards and honors for his academic achievements. Doug is a Bloomington-Normal native, as he was born and raised in the twin cities, and prior to joining Johnson Law Group worked for many years with State Farm at their Regional and Corporate offices, in the area. Doug is an experienced negotiator as he conducted mediations representing State Farm's interests. He also worked for a private investigation agency where he gained...

As an attorney licensed in Illinois and Missouri, my practice is limited to assisting individuals and families in domestic relations cases and those that have suffered injuries. I look forward to assisting you.

Estate Planning: James has conducted estate planning matters including creation of wills (last will and testament), trusts, special needs trusts, irrevocable creditor protection trusts, powers of attorney, living wills, beneficiary planning and beneficiary designation, corporate succession planning, tax planning, and transfer on death instruments. Litigation: James has litigated matters including probate disputes, elder abuse claims, debt collection issues, contract disputes, and conducted other litigation as required by his clients. James has practiced across Iowa and Illinois.

I am a thrid generation attorney originally from Quincy. I focus my practice on estate planning and estate administration because its a topic that is so important to every family. Whether it's a young family like mine where primary concern is ensuring children are taken care of in the event something happens to the parents, a family with adult children who need a little protection from themselves (or an ex-spouse), or a multi-million dollar estate with complex tax planning issues; everyone needs an estate plan. I try to make the process as easy as possible for you so that a...

Stephen P. Rapp of Quincy, Illinois, maintains a law firm CONCENTRATING in PERSONAL INJURY LAW. Know and Protect you Legal Rights If Injured call Stephen P. Rapp today at 217.223.4570. Don’t let an insurance company tell you how much you deserve. Let us help you as we have experience in handling all types of injury cases from car accidents, workers’ compensation, dog bites, wrongful death, burn injuries, back and neck injuries. Don’t wait allow us to handle your claim from day one. Don’t make a mistake by trying to handle your own claim. Call...

Jacob J. Frost practices in the areas of estate/trust administration, residential and commercial real estate purchases and sales, business organizations, governmental law, and wills and trusts. Attorney Frost has served and represented clients in the Illinois Valley area for several years. Frost earned his law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law, with high honors in Legal Research and Writing. He received his Associate of Arts degree, summa cum laude, from Illinois Valley Community College and his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was admitted to both Phi Beta Kappa...

Liz Nohren has been practicing law for over 20 years. Her first 5 years were spent at a commercial litigation firm in Chicago, where she thrived and enjoyed the hustle and bustle of a city practice. However, Liz felt a pull to return home to the family firm in Shelbyville and join her father in practice. She remained lead counsel on a couple trials, including a construction litigation jury trial, and completed that work by commuting to Chicago for approximately 8 months after her move at the firm's request. Since moving home to Shelby County, Liz...

Defending client for 26 years in State and Federal Courts. Member of National College for DUI Defense and Graduate of DUI Harvard Session. Certified Field Sobriety Expert. Certified Breath Machine Operator for Datamaster and Intoxillyzer. Advanced Blood and Urine seminar graduate. Suppression of more than 3000 lbs of contraband as Henry County Drug Trafficing Defense Attorney. Success defense of hundreds of DUI and OWI cases in Rock Island, Mercer, Henry, Whiteside, Scott, Muscatine, Johnson, and Clinton Counties in Iowa and Illinois. Successful defense in Federal Court where possession and trafficking of...

Dan Reynolds tells bad jokes and finds humor in the antics of poorly-behaved dogs. Dan is a lawyer serving Macon County and surrounding areas. His primary areas of practice are DUI, criminal law, divorce and family law, civil litigation, and FOID appeals.

Chris Gramm was born and raised in McLean County. After graduating from University High School in Normal, he received his BA from Illinois State University(ISU) and MA from the University of Illinois (U of I) prior to attending law school at Northern Illinois University(NIU). Before opening a law practice in Bloomington, he was formerly a lawyer with the McLean County State’s Attorney’s Office where he prosecuted misdemeanors, DUI and traffic cases. Chris is a member of the McLean County and Illinois State Bar Association and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Chris is now a partner with the law...

Kevin is a dedicated attorney and advocate for his clients. He began his career in law as a prosecutor and prosecuted offenses ranging from DUI to Homicide, Sexual Assault, Fraud, and Domestic Violence. As a private attorney he has brought his incredible skill and knowledge to bear for his clients in similar cases. He fights and he wins.

Ms. Thomason began practicing law in 2015 and has focused her entire career in the practice of Family Law. She is an experienced trial advocate who has practiced across Central Illinois. Ms. Thomason also serves as a Guardian Ad Litem for the Eleventh and Tenth Judicial Circuits. She is a member of the Peoria County Bar Association, McLean County Bar Association and Illinois State Bar Association. Ms. Thomason is the daughter of a military service member and grew up traveling the country. She earned her Bachelors of Science and Bachelors of Art from Chestnut Hill College in May...

I'm a lawyer in Decatur, Illinois at a full-service law firm. Before attending law school at the University of Illinois, I spent many years in the construction industry. This experience allows me to solve construction and real estate issues for my clients by applying a practical approach that many lawyers cannot. In addition, I'm one of the only lawyers in the Decatur area who assists social security claimants. I also take great pride in assisting injury victims in cases involving car accidents, slip and falls, dog bites, and work-injuries.

I provide caring and compassionate representation for people who have been injured and the families of those who have been killed. After starting practice on the defense side of civil law, I have been a plaintiff's lawyer since 2006 and have obtained millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts. We handle all types of injury, workers compensation, nursing home and medical malpractice cases in Iowa and Illinois.

Mr. Wilson began his legal career in 1996 practicing in Peoria County before relocating to LaSalle County in 2003. In his career, he has successfully tried numerous cases involving motor vehicle accidents, construction accidents, employment disputes, and premises liability. Additionally, he has extensive Appellate Court experience having successfully handled numerous appeals particularly in the area of workers’ compensation. In 2004, he obtained the second largest personal injury jury verdict in Marshall County history at the time. In 2017, he negotiated the largest settlement ever obtained for a workers’ compensation claim with the Chicago Public School District. ...

Frank H Byers, II, has practiced law in Macon County Illinois since 1977. Frank started practice with his father in the firm Byers & Byers. The firm later became known as Byers, Byers & Greenleaf. After his father retired, Frank was a partner in the law firm Fuller, Hopp, McCarthy, Quigg & Byers before he began practicing law in the firm Frank H. Byers, II, Ltd., in 1995. Frank H. Byers, II, Ltd., is a full service litigation firm appearing in state and federal courts in Illinois. The firm represents both individuals and businesses in litigation in...