About the firm
Thirty-nine years of returning the call.
Hale & Mercer was founded in 1987 by Margaret Hale and David Mercer, two trial lawyers who left a large Loop firm with a single conviction: that a client should always be able to reach the person handling their matter.
That rule still stands. Every client has the direct line and email of their lawyer, and every call is returned the same day. We are forty lawyers and twenty-two staff in one office on West Lake Street, and we intend to stay that size — large enough to handle a jury trial or a nine-figure sale, small enough that the managing partner knows every client's name.
How we work
We tell you the cost. Before we begin, you will have a written estimate and a description of what will happen. Our invoices show every entry in plain language with the name of the person who did the work.
We tell you the odds. If a case should settle, we will say so. If an idea cannot be patented, we will say so quickly and for free.
We check our own conflicts. Our General Counsel reviews every new matter for conflicts of interest before anyone opens a file. If we cannot act for you without reservation, we will not act for you.
Community
Every lawyer at the firm gives at least fifty hours a year to pro bono work through the Chicago Legal Clinic, Legal Aid Chicago, and the Arab American Family Services clinic. The firm has been a founding supporter of the Pilsen Community Health Centre since 2014.
The firm today
Lawyers
Practice areas
Office, deliberately