Experience Driven. Forward Thinking.

Deborah has established deep relationships with her clients during over two decades in private practice. She serves individuals, families, business owners and entrepreneurs with thoughtful counsel and attention to their evolving needs. At every opportunity, in private and during her frequent public appearances, Deborah stresses the importance of planning as she seeks to destroy the myth that estate planning is “just for the wealthy”.

From initial estate planning discussions, to adjusting plans to reflect life changes, to handling probate cases, Deborah is engaged for a range of matters often including real estate, business formation, and succession planning issues. Clients note Deborah’s patience and forethought as she recommends strategies that preserve family relationships, protect generational wealth, and build legacies, promote charitable giving, and avoid expensive disputes. Most recently, Deborah has broadened her practice to provide mediation services. She now helps resolve complex situations that arise in guardianship situations and in estate and trust administration matters and other situations, in a manner that empowers all parties to participate.

Deborah is the author of “The Estate Planner’s Checklist,” first published by the Illinois State Bar Association Trust and Estates newsletter and then reprinted in other publications. She is also a contributing author of Your Life, Your Legacy: The Fundamentals of Effective Estate Planning. Active in both professional circles and community organizations, Deborah is involved with the Black Women Lawyers Association of Greater Chicago, the Chicago Estate Planning Council, the Board of Directors of the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago, the Center for Conflict Resolution, the Cook County Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, the professional advisory board of the Lincoln Park Zoo, and the Chicago Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Chicago Magazine has recognized Deborah as one of Chicago’s top estate planning attorneys and wealth advisors for over five years.