Business insight. Legal strategy.

For nearly a century, Gould & Ratner has helped public and private companies, entrepreneurs, executives, high-net-worth individuals, charitable organizations, and professional service firms navigate complex legal and business challenges across diverse industries.

Our clients lead companies, manage significant assets, and shape industries while bettering communities. They turn to Gould & Ratner for business savvy guidance and proactive legal insight.

As a multi-faceted firm with a broad range of practice areas working together, we provide comprehensive legal services for our clients’ most important needs. Our coordinated approach aligns with the complexity of our clients’ businesses.

We combine the operational sophistication clients expect from large law firms with the responsiveness and accessibility of a collaborative team. The result is practical, forward-thinking solutions informed by legal strategy and business realities.

Your Business + Us

Clients depend on Gould & Ratner for legal counsel grounded in a clear understanding of how their businesses operate and what they seek to achieve. This foundation informs our work with clients across a diverse range of industries, including:

• Manufacturing and distribution
• Commercial real estate
• Construction
• Telecommunications, media, and technology
• SaaS and artificial intelligence
• Financial services
• Transportation
• Clean technology and renewable energy
• Hospitality, food and beverage

Our attorneys work together across practices to bring the right experience and perspective to each matter. This approach allows us to address complex issues efficiently while delivering solutions that are clear, strategic, and actionable.

Many of our client relationships span decades, driven by a deep understanding of our clients’ businesses that allows us to anticipate issues, communicate proactively, and achieve meaningful results.

Your Future + Us

Our work with clients often extends beyond immediate legal matters to the long-term future of their businesses, assets, and investments.

We advise business owners, investors, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals on governance, succession planning, generational transition, and wealth preservation. These conversations require discretion and the ability to anticipate risks and opportunities.

Over time, our lawyers become trusted advisors who understand not only the legal dimensions of a client’s work, but also the broader vision behind it. We help clients plan for what comes next, protecting what they have built and positioning the next generation for success.

Your Community + Us

Community involvement is not separate from the practice of law. It is a natural extension of it.

Our attorneys and staff devote time, leadership, and legal expertise to organizations that strengthen the places where we live and work. Through board service, volunteer efforts, and pro bono representation, we support organizations addressing housing, food insecurity, and affordable healthcare in our communities.

Our Story

Gould & Ratner was founded in Chicago in the 1930s, with the prominent Crown family as its first client. As the Crown family’s business interests grew to encompass a wide range of industries and holdings, including ownership interests in Rockefeller Center and the Empire State Building, the firm grew alongside them, serving as trusted counsel throughout their expansion.

From these beginnings, the firm developed a reputation for handling complex, high-stakes matters with a combination of legal sophistication and practical judgment. That reputation is built on relationships where clients place significant trust in the firm to guide their most important decisions.

Today, Gould & Ratner continues to serve a diverse mix of businesses, entrepreneurs, family offices, and individuals, combining the expertise and innovation of a large law firm with the cohesion and accessibility of a unified team.