Clients that seek out Buckley Fine’s assistance for their estate planning needs don’t just get legal advice; they get attorneys with strong backgrounds in economics and accounting.

The Barrington-based firm, which launched on September 1 of this year after an amicable split from a predecessor firm, offers a breadth of legal services that would otherwise only be found at larger law offices in downtown Chicago.

Both Buckley and Fine grew up in the Barrington area and, after studying in financial fields during college, decided to study law. Twenty years later, they’ve joined forces to continue to assist clients with their estate planning, corporate, litigation, and real estate needs.

“While I was working as a CPA, I went to law school at night at Loyola. After graduating I went to work for a large firm in the city in their estate planning group,” Buckley says. “It was great because I got to work on the sort of things that excited me previously but working at a big firm in the Sears Tower just didn’t afford a close enough connection to clients. It wasn’t personal.”

This interest in providing a personal touch for clients — often providing legal services to multi-generational families, is what motivated Buckley and Fine to open their new firm.

“We wanted to gather a team of folks that continues to focus on providing services to our long-term and future clients,” Buckley says. “Our vision was to create a firm with like-minded people that has a service-oriented model for our clients.”

Clients that seek out Buckley Fine’s assistance for their estate planning needs do not just get legal advice; they get attorneys with strong backgrounds in economics and accounting.

The financial backgrounds of both Buckley and Fine come in handy as they work and communicate with clients’ accountants and financial advisors.

“A lot of the estate planning work we do has income-tax components, therefore, having a strong accounting background and having worked as a CPA enables us to be better teammates with our clients’ advisors,” says Buckley.

The diversity of services the new firm offers—from estate planning to litigation to business succession planning, allows it to be something of a one-stop shop for clients who have multiple needs.

“Since our firm includes different practice areas and our attorneys work so well together as a team, we are able to provide well-rounded solutions for our clients. We can address different aspects of their needs in a way that makes it easy for them,” Fine says. “For example, if a family comes to us for help with running or creating a business, we can also add value by addressing the succession of the business, whether through estate planning or preparing for a sale in the future to an outside party. We’re not just focused on one small area of the law.”

It is this client-focused service, along with being based in the community where many of its clients already live and work, that gives Buckley Fine an edge over other firms.

“We like the technical part of our work and the client follow-up. We want to work with clients over a couple of generations,” says Buckley. “You build a relationship with Mom and Dad and help them with the company and then represent the next generation as they become owners.”

“A number of our attorneys live in Barrington and the surrounding area and are involved in the community,” says Fine. “Most of us have been practicing together for 10 years. While our firm is new, the attorneys are experienced, love working with their clients and are eager to see what 2021 and beyond has in store!”

For more information, visit buckleyfinelaw.com.