Attorney Profiles

Park Ridge Estate Planning, Corporate, Real Estate, and Tax Attorneys

ATTORNEYS

John J. Pembroke

Firm founder John Pembroke has more than 27 years of experience as a business and tax lawyer, and 32 years of experience preparing federal and state income, estate and gift tax returns and planning for income, estate and gift tax. Counseling businesses in all of their life cycles, from startups to large companies, as well as individuals, John draws on his broad background to advise clients and draft all necessary documents, plan for business succession and structure closely held businesses to minimize income and estate taxes.

A lifelong resident of Illinois, widely traveled, John believes that Cook County is one of the best places to pursue career and family goals. Gregarious and personable, John recently ran in the Democratic primary for the Tenth Judicial Cook County Subcircuit vacancy.

Married with two young children, John is committed to local education and to his own edification. He has taken dozens of continuing education classes over the years, both in law and taxation, often up to 40 hours a year. Beginning in 1999, John pursued various insurance agent licenses and took seminars on securities law and related subjects, culminating in certification as a personal financial specialist (PFS) in 2002. This designation is equivalent to a certified financial planner (CFP), but available only to licensed CPAs; it qualifies each bearer to Illinois licensing as an investment advisor representative.

John cites community service among his most satisfying achievements. For nearly 14 years, he has served the Rotary Club of Park Ridge in many capacities, most recently as chair of its major fundraising committee and the Make a Difference Scholarship Committee, which has granted $17,500 in scholarships to Park Ridge students during the last three years.

John has earned and maintained for many years an AV* peer review rating of his ethical standards and legal ability from Martindale-Hubble’s Peer Review ratings process.

Marc L. Brown

Marc L. Brown concentrates his practice in estate planning (wills, trusts & elder law, powers of attorney) probate, guardianships and real estate law. He has practiced in Chicago and the Northwest suburbs for the past seventeen years. His undergraduate degree is from Illinois Wesleyan University (majoring in Business & Accounting).

Marc holds two law degrees, a J.D. degree from the Chicago-Kent College of Law, and a Legal Letters Masters (L.L.M.) in Taxation with a concentration in Estate Planning, from DePaul University College of Law. He also holds a CPA designation.

He and his family live in Park Ridge.

Matthew R Hess

Mathew Hess focuses his practice on estate planning, probate, estate and trust litigation and the formation and operation of small businesses. Matthew brings to his practice thirteen years of experience dealing with medical malpractice cases throughout Illinois at both the trial court and appellate court levels in the state and federal courts. He believes that the attorney-client relationship, like any relationship, must be based on mutual trust and personal respect. Matthew takes the time to get to know his clients on a personal level and encourages them to get to know him as well.

Matthew is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (B.A. in Political Science and Finance) and Chicago-Kent College of Law (J.D., 2003). He was admitted to the Illinois State Bar in 2003, and is authorized to practice before the federal courts in the Northern District of Illinois. He is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association.

Matthew is single and resides in Wheeling, Illinois. He enjoys playing golf in his spare time, horse racing, and spending time at the ballpark cheering on the White Sox.

LEGAL ASSISTANTS

Cindy Del Medico

Cindy Del Medico graduated from DePaul University with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce, and has a Masters in Business Administration from Loyola University with an emphasis in Accounting. Cindy has extensive experience in the banking industry working for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and a major international banking group. Cindy currently assists clients with tax return preparation, financial planning and related services. She also teaches in the Oakton Community College Business Department.

We invite you to contact attorney John Pembroke to schedule a consultation.

*CV, BV, and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards, and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell ratings fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.