Brian Forde
Member
O’Keefe Lyons & Hynes
Chicago
For more than 25 years, Brian Forde of Chicago law firm O’Keefe Lyons & Hynes has been fighting for Illinois property owners in real estate taxation appeals matters and litigation. His goal? To make sure that both state residents and industrial, retail and commercial property owners pay their fair share of property taxes, but not more, and are protected from excessive taxation. During his long career, Forde has taken on a wide variety of cases for his clients. This includes handling complex cases of all types of administrative and property tax litigation.
His willingness to fight tirelessly for his clients’ best interests and the skills and experience acquired over his career have helped Forde build a large roster of repeat clients. This roster includes national and regional developers, institutional investors, corporate campuses and small to mid-size businesses of all kinds. Forde gets results, notching significant victories for his clients. This explains why so many clients return to this legal pro. “Happy clients are the key to success,” Forde said. “Taxation is a dry and complex topic and most people will run away when you mention it at a cocktail party. But it is one of biggest line-item expense for many businesses. I have learned that consistently putting in the work to protect your clients, ensuring they are getting fair treatment from the taxman, and of course effectively communicating with them, is foundational to success. “
As Forde says, taxation is an unavoidable reality. But while the idea of everyone receiving the benefit of a fair tax is a noble goal, the reality is that the system is flawed because of the volume of real estate parcels to be assessed and the limited resources in government. The numbers bear this out: Forde says that local government assessing officers are faced with valuing almost 2 million parcels of real estate in Cook County alone, with a full staff of about 250 employees. It’s not surprising, then, that government officials often overshoot the mark on value, or simply assess improperly.
“So, for me, it’s highly rewarding to get that positive phone call or note from a client after making our case and achieving a successful outcome,” Forde said. “The most satisfying part of the job is knowing that we actually made a difference for our client so they can better sleep at night, make payroll a little less burdensome or take a little stress off the next college tuition payment. And most people are rational about it. Even when the facts don’t support a case, as sometimes happens, clients still value and appreciate being kept continuously informed and knowing where they stand. ”
What are the factors behind Forde’s success? He points to the relationships he’s built both with his clients and with the officials he works with every day, the hard work he’s put into learning in his field and, the successful results he’s achieved for his clients. We have very high client retention rates, and I believe that is because over the course of time, our clients know and appreciate the way we handle their cases and achieve results. And the digital age, our technology allows us to provide our clients with the ongoing updates and information they need to make budgets and project out their own business decisions.
He also cites the many mentors he’s had throughout his career along with his talented co-workers.
“I really have been blessed in my career to be surrounded by great lawyers and solid human beings with great integrity,” Forde said. “And some of the best legal and life lessons I have had came not only from my peers, but sometimes from the unlikely seat of an opposing lawyer sitting across the table. I have learned that most people try to be reasonable, and have something to teach us, if we are willing to listen and learn. The ability to listen more than you speak and understand not only your client’s position, but your opponent’s as well, is also key to success.”
When not working, Forde enjoys sports of all kinds, and lately has been tuning into lacrosse matches around the state and country with his wife to watch his daughter play for Second City LAX traveling club team and the Barrington High School lacrosse team. He is also an avid traveler and enjoys meeting up with family and friends in far-away warmer climes. He has served for the past decade on the Education Committee for the Institute of Professionals in Taxation Annual Symposium, a national forum focusing on continuing legal education in the field of property taxation. He focuses, too, on service to his community, donating his time to charitable organizations such as The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
His favorite charitable endeavor is his firm’s 30 years of ongoing support for both Cristo Rey and Christ the King Jesuit High Schools, which through their work – study program enables children from some of Chicago’s poorest communities to obtain a first-class Jesuit high school education that would otherwise remain out of reach.
