Attorney Profile

James C. Siebert has been in the private practice of law for in excess of 19 years, having opened his law office in 1985. Prior to going into private practice, Mr. Siebert began his legal career as a Cook County Assistant Public in 1981. While working as an Assistant Public Defender, Mr. Siebert was assigned as a trial attorney to various courtrooms throughout the Chicago land area.  In 1983 Mr. Siebert was offered and accepted a position with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. Mr. Siebert was an Assistant Illinois Attorney General assigned to the Environmental Law Division, where he represented the People of the State of Illinois and State of Illinois agencies in various courts, administrative and appellate court proceedings.

Mr. Siebert received his undergraduate education at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana where he received his Bachelors of Science in Architectural Studies in 1978. Mr. Siebert attended Law School at De Paul University where he received his Juris Doctor in 1981. Mr. Siebert was admitted to practice in Illinois and the U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois in 1981.

Mr. Siebert opened his own law office in 1985.  His practice includes Estate Planning, including Elder Law and probate, Business and Transactional matters, including the Merger and Acquisition of small to medium size businesses, Residential and Commercial Real Estate, general business representation. as well as various other areas of practice. Mr. Siebert has represented his business clients in front of numerous Illinois and Federal agencies and Courts, as well as handling the various daily legal needs of these clients.  Mr. Siebert has assisted various clients in the negotiation, contract preparation, and legal due diligence, preparing or reviewing necessary transfer documents as well as representing the client at the closing of the client’s sale or acquisition of the business. Mr. Siebert is also a licensed Illinois Real Estate and Title Insurance agent. Mr. Siebert is a member of the Illinois Bar Association, Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association and the Northwest Suburban Bar Association. Mr. Siebert is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys; a member of AARP’s Legal Services Network and is affiliated with ATG Trust Company.

The Law Office of James C. Siebert has helped numerous small and mid-size businesses get started as well as providing on-going legal services to help them insure the business' viability. Mr. Siebert helps his clients decide which type of legal entity is best suited for the client to conduct business. Whether it is as a sole proprietor, corporation, partnership or limited liability company, Mr. Siebert assists with the initial legal steps to form and properly maintain the legal entity. Once the business is established, Mr. Siebert provides on going legal services to his business clients on an as needed basis. Mr. Siebert has helped his clients draft complex legal documents, including but not limited to franchise agreements and offerings, purchase contracts, leases, employment agreements, non-compete agreements, stockholder loan agreements, stockholder trust agreements, stockholder buy-sell agreements, loan documents, sexual harassment policies, employee manuals and other day to day documents necessary for his clients to successfully operate their businesses. Mr. Siebert provides his business clients with legal audits of the on going business, and he is available for consultation for his clients on whatever daily issue arises, whether it is an issue concerning overtime pay or release of personnel files. Mr. Siebert has a background as a courtroom litigator so he also can represent his clients in most any court or administrative proceedings in which his clients become involved. Mr. Siebert has successfully represented his clients in numerous Illinois courts as well as before various agencies including but not limited to, the Illinois Labor Board, The Illinois Department of Human Rights, and the Illinois Pollution Control Board. 

Mr. Siebert 's practice also includes a great deal of transactional work as well as estate planning. Mr. Siebert has found that it is extremely beneficial to his business clients to be able to represent all their transactional needs, whether it is the purchase or sale of commercial or residential real estate or the acquisition or sale of a business. Mr. Siebert has assisted various clients in the negotiation, contract preparation, and legal due diligence, preparing or reviewing necessary transfer documents as well as representing the client at the closing of the client’s sale or acquisition of the business.

 As most of Mr. Siebert's clients are individuals, or small to mid-size businesses, assuring that a client's estate planning needs are met is very important. The owners of small to mid-size businesses need to make sure that their major assets, which frequently are tied up in the business, are transferred to their heirs and that their families are taken care of in case of an untimely demise. Mr. Siebert provides his clients with estate planning services to take care of these needs, including wills, revocable trusts, irrevocable trusts, special needs trusts, buy-sell agreements, and family limited partnerships.

Mr. Siebert is a resident of Arlington Heights, Illinois, where he lives with his wife, Culleen, and his three sons.  Mr. Siebert is active in many volunteer community activities.  Mr. Siebert is an Assistant Scoutmaster with Boy Scouts of America Troop 140 out of Buffalo Grove.  In the last several years, Mr. Siebert along with the other adult leadership has taken the Scouts, among other things, hiking the Warren Dunes, rock climbing at Devil’s lake, caving in both Illinois and Iowa, as well as camping in Colorado. As Assistant Scoutmaster Mr. Siebert led a group of Scouts and adults on a high adventure sailing trip throughout the Florida Keys in the summer of 2003, a canoeing trip to the boundary waters in the summer of 2004 and to Colorado in 2005.  Mr. Siebert has also been active as a staff member at numerous recent Webelos weekends assisting Cub Scouts in their transition to Boy Scouts.

Mr. Siebert is otherwise active in the community. Mr. Siebert has been a team manager for 6 years as well as a coach for his sons’ baseball teams as part of the Arlington Heights Youth Athletic Association.  Mr. Siebert was both a board member and President of the Board of Trustees at Incarnation United Methodist Church. Mr. Siebert annually assisted with the preparation of and the operation of the Riley School PTO pancake breakfast. Mr. Siebert, as a member of the Northwest Suburban Bar Association has acted as a panel member on the Associations Judicial Screening Panel reviewing the qualifications of judicial candidates.