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Click on any name to view the attorney's bio and email address. Or, simply scroll down to meet the entire Lebow, Malecki & Tasch, LLC team.
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Practice Areas: Resources: |
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Principals: Melinda S. Malecki, J.D., M. S.
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Associates: Suzanne E. Ritzler, J.D., C.P.A. Of Counsel: |
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Joan M. Lebow, J.D. Ms. Lebow served as General Counsel of ibex Healthdata Systems, Inc., until October 2004. The company provides Web-based software applications to hospitals and physicians. As General Counsel, Ms. Lebow managed and provided all legal services, including development and protection of intellectual property assets, software licensing and sublicensing, corporate transactions, and employment. She served as Corporate Secretary and was a member of the senior executive team. Ms. Lebow started the Legal Department of Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Chicago, in 1987 and was its General Counsel for 13 years. During her tenure she handled commercial transactions, managed regulatory compliance with emphasis in the areas of public and private reimbursement, Year 2000 preparedness, information technology and clinical operations, and supervised all trials and appeals. She purchased all insurance, including general liability, malpractice liability and self-insurance. She provided regulatory and transactional support of insurance subsidiaries. Prior to her work at Illinois Masonic, Ms. Lebow served as Assistant General Counsel of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she engaged in a broad healthcare and corporate practice. She represented Northwestern in state and federal administrative hearings, and handled ERISA and employee benefit issues, medical staff and licensed professional regulatory affairs, and technology transfer. As an associate with the firm of Lord, Bissell & Brook, she handled direct litigation, insurance coverage disputes, and general corporate matters. Ms. Lebow is an Adjunct Professor of Health Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago-Kent College of Law, and is a Scholar affiliated with the Institute of Science, Law and Technology, a joint program between IIT and Chicago-Kent. She is a past President of the Chicago Chapter of the American Corporate Counsel Association. She serves on the Board of the Little City Foundation, advises the Board of Directors of The Family Institute, and actively raises funds for the Bottomless Closet and Literature for All of Us. She also belongs to the Steering Committee of the Senior Business Women's Forum and serves on various committees of the Illinois Association of Hospital Attorneys. Ms. Lebow received her Bachelors Degree in Religious Philosophy from Pitzer College, The Claremont Colleges, Claremont, California, in 1975, and received her J.D. from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago, in 1978.
Melinda S. Malecki, J.D., M.S. Ms. Malecki began her career as a risk manager at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, in 1988. She became the Director of Risk Management and Legal Services at West Suburban Medical Center, Oak Park, in 1991 and later became the Medical Center's General Counsel. While working for West Suburban, Ms. Malecki provided all legal services to the Medical Center's administration and staff. She also functioned as the Medical Center's Corporate Compliance and Privacy Officer. She directed all insurance purchasing and significantly reduced the Medical Center's financial exposure due to liability insurance expenses. She began the private practice of law in 2000. Ms. Malecki has extensive experience in the area of physician representation, including sales and purchases of practices, contract negotiations and complex corporate disputes. Her work as a hospital attorney benefits her physician clients in dealing with such matters as medical staff issues and contractual negotiations. One of Ms. Malecki’s greatest skills is handling complex risk management issues for health care organizations. For example, she is frequently retained to create or redesign a risk management function / program for facilities that need to pass an accreditation or are at risk of losing insurance coverage. She is a frequent presenter on several “how to”
topics including Risk Management, Documentation, Peer Review and Negotiating
Lucrative Contracts. She has been published in the Journal of the Illinois
Bar Association and featured in Business Insurance. Ms. Malecki serves
on various boards, including the PCC Community Wellness Center Board in
Oak Park, Illinois. In 1999, she founded a nonprofit organization called
“Clients First,” which is dedicated to fostering quality legal
representation in the area of Family Law. She is a past president of the
Health Care Risk Management Society of Metropolitan Chicago. Ms. Malecki
received a B.A. degree in Communication Arts from Loyola University, Chicago,
Martin D. Tasch, J.D. Mr.Tasch was formerly a partner in the firm of Barnett, Bornstein & Blazer, in Chicago. He summarizes his approach toward his practice by saying: "I concentrate on obtaining a satisfactory result for the client in a prompt and efficient manner. Unlike too many of today's lawyers, I do not view litigation as an end in itself. Rather, litigation is a tool which should focus on the client's needs and goals. The attorney's role is to resolve the dispute in a manner consistent with those needs and goals, while involving the client in every step of the process. A client's trust in the attorney should never be taken for granted." Since 2001, Mr.Tasch has served on the Board of Education for Illinois School District 108 and served as Board President from 2003 through 2005. He served on the St.Walter School Board of Education from 1993 to 1999. From 1997 to 1999, Mr.Tasch served as Forum Leader of the Legal Community for America Online. Mr.Tasch received a B.B. in Economics from Western Illinois University and a J.D. from the University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois.
Mary Jo Connelly, J.D., R.N. After receiving her law degree, she joined the firm of Sweeney & Riman, Ltd., as an associate. As a partner in the firm, she concentrated in the defense of medical malpractice lawsuits. She has successfully defended malpractice cases and argued numerous cases before the Illinois Appellate and Supreme Courts. In addition, she has represented self-insured physicians in disciplinary administrative hearings before the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and handled insurance coverage disputes. Her practice at Sweeney & Riman also included defense of product liability, construction and premises lawsuits. Ms. Connelly began her professional career as a registered nurse. Shortly after receiving her nursing license, she was appointed Director of a 34-bed neurosurgical unit at St. Mary’s Hospital, affiliated with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Her responsibilities included direct patient care, teaching students and registered nurses and supervision of the care of all patients on the unit. She then relocated to San Francisco, where she was Director of 12 specialty medical clinics at the University of California, San Francisco. These clinics included Cardiac, Pulmonary, Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Metabolic and Endocrine. Ms. Connelly has frequently lectured to nursing groups on legal issues pertinent to the nursing profession. She is a member of the Illinois Nurses Association, the Illinois Bar Association and has been a member of the Judicial Evaluation Committee of the Chicago Bar Association. Ms. Connelly received her Bachelors degree in Nursing from the College of St.Teresa, Winona, Minnesota, and her J.D. from DePaul University, Chicago, 1980.
Nicholas j. logan, J.D. Previously, Mr. Logan worked at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center as a Senior Decision Support Analyst. There, he drafted a methodology to calculate the profitability of hospital departments and clinics, installed and administered an extensive patient database and forecasted third party payor reimbursement. Prior to that experience, Mr. Logan worked at Louis A. Weiss Memorial Hospital where he implemented new pricing strategies while converting the nonprofit hospital to a for-profit entity, managed the admitting department and supervised the hospital’s registration, billing, and collection processes. Mr. Logan also has experience working in the automotive and consulting industries. Mr. Logan serves on the board of the Illinois Alpha chapter of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. He is a member of the Hellenic Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, the American Health Lawyers Association and the Illinois Association of Healthcare Attorneys. He has also given HIPAA presentations to such healthcare associations as the Association of Reproductive Managers. Mr. Logan graduated with honors from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2006. While in law school, Mr. Logan served as an Executive Articles Editor on the Chicago-Kent Law Review and as a judicial extern for Justice Margaret O’Mara Frossard of the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Northwestern University in 1999.
Cheryl Miller, J.D. Ms. Miller was formerly with Brookdale Senior Living Inc. as a Corporate Counsel. She provided legal advice to the operations and facilities of Brookdale, located in thirty-six states. Her practice for Brookdale focused on resident agreements, regulatory compliance, vendor agreements and corporate transactions. Prior to becoming an attorney, Ms. Miller was a paralegal for nine years in a firm’s business law department where she primarily focused on corporate and secured transactions and entity maintenance. Ms. Miller is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association, the Illinois Association of Healthcare Attorneys, the American Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association. Ms. Miller received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Illinois-Chicago in 1994, and received her Juris Doctor from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 2005.
Suzanne E. Ritzler, J.D., C.P.A. Prior to joining Lebow, Malecki & Tasch, LLC, Ms. Ritzler served as General Counsel for a large privately held manufacturing company. In this role, she managed all aspects of the legal function for the company’s U.S. and Canadian subsidiaries. Among her accomplishments, she structured and standardized policies and agreements, negotiated and completed acquisitions and divestitures, and drafted and negotiated sales, purchase, employment, lease and other agreements. Additionally, she directed employment, environmental and safety compliance, provided employee training, and oversaw risk management. As the company’s first General Counsel, Ms. Ritzler also developed and maintained the corporate structure and served as the corporate secretary of all subsidiaries. She supervised outside counsel and participated as a member of the executive management team in all aspects of the business. Previously, Ms. Ritzler was an associate in the Corporate Law Practice Group at Seyfarth Shaw and, prior to that, at Kirkland & Ellis, both in Chicago. As a corporate law associate, Ms. Ritzler handled a variety of transactional and general corporate work, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and general corporate counseling. In these positions, she negotiated and documented stock and asset acquisitions and divestitures, joint ventures, commercial loans, venture capital, and other transactions. She prepared and reviewed SEC disclosure documents, and served as de facto general counsel for emerging and privately held companies. Ms. Ritzler serves as chair of the Board of Trustees of Alcuin Montessori School in Oak Park. Ms. Ritzler received her law degree from the University of Chicago in 1989, and is licensed to practice law in Illinois and California. During law school, she served as a research assistant for the volume “Securities Fraud: Litigating under Rule 10b-5,” and completed an externship with the Honorable William A. Norris of the U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit. Ms. Ritzler received a B.S. degree in Accountancy with Highest Honors from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in 1986. In conjunction with her degree in accounting, Ms. Ritzler also passed the Illinois C.P.A. exam.
Rhonda Stuart, J.D.  Rhonda
Stuart is a litigator with 12 years of diverse legal experience. Prior to
joining Lebow, Malecki & Tasch, LLC, Ms. Stuart owned her own law firm
in Oak Park, Illinois, specializing in Family Law, Employment Discrimination,
Real Estate, School Law and general litigation. During her varied career
she has helped developers resolve complex building code violations, and
assisted business clients with general litigation matters. Ms. Stuart is
a highly sought-after attorney due to her reputation as a tough, smart litigator.
Ms. Stuart began her career at a small Chicago firm, where she handled probate and general litigation. In 1994, she moved to Minnesota, where she worked as a Government Benefits attorney for Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, Inc., in St. Paul, and later as an Attorney Editor for West Group in Eagan, Minnesota. In 1999, she returned to Illinois and continued working for West Group, writing weekly updates to the Employment Discrimination Coordinator and managing two publications: Avoiding and Defending Wrongful Discharge Claims and Litigating Wrongful Discharge Claims. In 2001, she launched her firm in Oak Park, Illinois. In solo practice, she became known for taking extremely difficult cases and turning them around into highly positive outcomes for her clients. Recently, acting as co-risk manager at Roseland Community Hospital, Ms. Stuart has handled a software licensing dispute, contract matters, general liability issues and employment-related issues. Ms. Stuart has served as a legal advisor to Madison Area
Community in Oak Park. She has been a member of the School Leadership
Team at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School, a member of the School Improvement
Plan at Oak Park River Forest High School, and a legal advisor to African
American Parents for Purposeful Leadership in Education (A.P.P.L.E.).
She currently serves on the Board of
Sandra K. Burns, J.D. Sandra received her law degree from DePaul University,
Chicago, Illinois in 1975. She received her B. A. degree with high honors
from Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois. Sandra is a former
President of the West Suburban Bar Association.
Jay L. Dolgin, J.D. Mr. Dolgin graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor of Science Degree in 1966, and he received his Juris Doctor Degree from DePaul University in 1969. He was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1969, to the Florida Bar in 1973 to the U. S. Court, Northern District, in 1969, and the U. S. Tax Court in 1989. He is a member of the American Bar Association, Illinois State and Florida State Bar Associations, the Chicago Bar Association, the Chicago Estate Planning Council, the North Shore Estate Planning Council, the Professional Advisory Committee of the Jewish United Fund, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the Illinois Elder Law Association and the Illinois Guardianship Association. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at John Marshall Law School, where he teaches estate planning, will drafting and trusts and estates.
David J. Fischer, J.D. Mr. Fischer’s practice is concentrated in federal and state courts as well as administrative law proceedings. He has also represented clients in arbitrations and mediations. Mr. Fischer handles a broad range of business issues for clients, including employment actions, both in court and before the Illinois Department of Human Rights as well as the EEOC. He represents many closely held businesses as general counsel, advising those clients on both litigation and corporate issues. Over the course of his 25-year career, Mr. Fischer has litigated and tried cases involving employment discrimination actions, contract disputes, partnership and shareholder disputes, enforcement and defense of restrictive covenants, minority shareholder oppression actions, business tort claims, mechanic liens actions, mortgage foreclosures, construction actions, libel and slander actions, software licensing disputes, intellectual property cases, tax defense actions and transportation claims. Mr. Fischer received his Juris Doctor degree from the John Marshall Law School after receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan in 1972. He was Contributing Author of the “Mergers” chapter in a book entitled Savings and Loan Reorganization, Ticor Printing Group, Inc., 1981. Mr. Fischer is an active member of the Illinois Bar Association and is AV Peer Rated.
Contact Us Oak Brook Location: Lebow, Malecki & Tasch, LLC Crystal Lake Location: Lebow, Malecki & Tasch, LLC |
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©
2006 - 2008 Lebow, Malecki & Tasch, LLC. All rights reserved. |
Attorney
Profiles
Melinda
Malecki is a corporate attorney with 14 years of corporate and regulatory
experience and 20 years in the Healthcare Risk Management field. She provides
legal counsel and risk management services for hospitals and healthcare
organizations, continuing care facilities, community healthcare centers,
psychiatric hospitals, physicians and other healthcare
Martin
Tasch has specialized in complex commercial litigation since 1985. His
experience includes jury and bench trials in state and federal court,
arbitrations, mediations and appeals. Cases have included a wide range
of matters including complicated breach of contract lawsuits, multi-million-dollar
construction cases, franchise disputes, employment matters, injunctions
relating to partner and shareholder disputes, foreclosures, high value
commercial collection matters, probate disputes, professional malpractice
claims and personal injury matters.
Mary
Jo Connelly is a registered nurse and an attorney with more than 25 years
experience as a litigator. She has effectively used her clinical background
to defend physicians and dentists in medical negligence actions and to
structure the most advantageous corporate relationships for their practices.
She represents clinicians in arbitrations and has served as an arbitrator
in numerous hearings for the Circuit Court of Cook County. In addition,
she has an active Real Estate Broker license and has advised real estate
developers in a variety of condominium projects.
Nicholas
J. Logan is an associate with over five years of experience in finance
and accounting. He counsels a variety of companies and their owners with
an emphasis on physician practices and other professional service corporations.
Sandra
Burns is an attorney concentrating in the area of Family Law, Real Estate
(Residential and Commercial), Estate Planning, Probate and Civil Litigation
with 31 years experience in General Practice. Sandra handles contested
custody matters, pre- and post-divorce litigation, and contested probate
and guardian actions.