Richard J. Firfer is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law (J.D., cum laude, Order of the Coif, 1971) and Northwestern University (B.A. in Biological Sciences, 1964). He is admitted to the Bar of the State of Illinois, as well as the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the United States Tax Court and the United States Supreme Court.

Rick represents clients in a broad range of corporate, securities, transactional and tax planning matters, including extensive work in the area of mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and general regulatory compliance in the financial services industry. He also advises entrepreneurs and start-up companies with respect to attracting and obtaining investment capital, and has a particular interest in sports and entertainment law, having provided legal advice to well-known individuals in both fields.

Prior to joining Belongia, Shapiro & Franklin in 2010, Rick worked at, and was partner in, other Chicago area law firms. He also served as Law Clerk to the late Judge Thomas R. McMillen of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. For a number of years, Rick was co-author of Chapter 22, “Professional Corporations,” of the J.K. Lasser Income Tax Techniques treatise. He also writes occasional articles for Sports Collectors Digest, a weekly magazine serving the sports memorabilia marketplace, and has been a member of the Screen Actors Guild since 1991, having appeared in “Home Alone” and a number of other major motion pictures filmed in the Chicago area. Rick and his wife Nancy, the former president of the Village of Glenview, are the parents of three grown children.