Meet David Hernandez, a dedicated and experienced bankruptcy lawyer based in the bustling city of Chicago, IL. With a passion for helping individuals and businesses overcome financial challenges, David has built a reputation as a skilled legal professional in the field of bankruptcy law. He is committed to providing his clients with personalized attention and guiding them through the complex legal process with empathy and understanding. Whether you are facing overwhelming debt, creditor harassment, or the threat of foreclosure, David has the expertise to help you find the best path forward. With his extensive knowledge and compassionate approach, David Hernandez is a trusted advocate for anyone seeking relief from financial difficulties in the Chicago area.

Josh is an accomplished litigator who represents clients in state and federal courts in real estate, debt and employment issues. His clients include individuals and businesses, looking for sustainable financial solutions.

Darren VanPuymbrouck is a trial lawyer with an active nationwide trial practice. As first-chair, he has successfully tried dozens of high-profile, bet-the-company cases involving myriad issues before juries in state and federal courts around the country. Most of his cases involve complex engineering, science, medical, and financial issues and he has successfully deposed and cross-examined thousands of expert witnesses. Recently, he successfully completed a month-long jury trial as first-chair in Ocean County, New Jersey involving construction defect and professional liability issues resulting in one of the largest verdicts in that county. In the fall of 2014, he successfully tried a high-profile product-liability case that resulted in a $22 Million jury verdict, among the top 100 verdicts nationally. Mr. VanPuymbrouck recently won the dismissal of a RICO class action in the Northern District of Illinois that has been the subject of national press coverage. Mr. VanPuymbrouck has also successfully briefed and argued appeals in state and federal courts around the country, including in the Missouri Supreme Court and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. VanPuymbrouck has litigated and tried cases for well-known companies in the consumer product, pharmaceutical, medical supply, financial services, construction, professional services, electronics, food, gas and electric public utilities, chemical, and many other industries. In addition to trials, those cases have included the defense of nationwide class actions, including MDL proceedings, national litigation strategy, and the trial of bell weather case, arbitrations, and mediations. Utilizing his trial experience, Mr. VanPuymbrouck also advises and conducts investigations for domestic and international clients on risk avoidance, regulatory compliance, and litigation strategy. Mr. VanPuymbrouck is also an internationally recognized leader in the investigation and litigation of catastrophic fire and explosion matters about which he is a frequent nation-wide speaker. He also conducts emergency response exercises for clients in the petroleum, natural gas, electric generation and transmission, and transportation industries. He has specialized expertise in the defense of claims involving lithium-ion and polymer batteries.

Julia has over 20 years of experience representing diverse business industries and individuals as debtors in reorganizations, bankruptcy, and debt restructuring. She has been lead and co-counsel in Chapter 11 bankruptcies on behalf of real estate developers, hospitality companies, commercial landlords, manufacturers, fabricators, logistic companies and high net-worth individuals. She also has significant experience representing lenders and creditors in bankruptcy court and state court, including stay modification litigation, adversary actions, priority lien disputes and commercial collection and foreclosure, as well as contractors and homeowners in construction and mechanic’s lien litigation. Julia has in-depth experience drafting contracts, leases, business sales transactions and settlement agreements with an eye toward anticipating potential litigation and protecting her clients. Additionally, she represents condominium and homeowners’ associations in litigation, collection, negotiations with vendors and disputes with utilities and municipalities. Julia is experienced with drafting estate plans and representing estate and beneficiaries in probate litigation. As a seasoned attorney, Julia handles all aspects of litigation including investigations, pleadings, discovery, pre-trial matters, trial, and if appropriate, settlements and/or appeals of trial decisions. Julia is a frequent speaker with the Illinois State Bar Association on topics in Bankruptcy, Mechanics Lien and Collection Strategies. Julia is the Chair of the Firm’s Litigation Practice, and a third year honoree for the 2026 Illinois Super Lawyers® list.

Since 1985, Riccardo A. DiMonte has been our most active trial lawyer. He concentrates in commercial law matters, contract disputes, construction law, mechanic’s liens, mortgage foreclosures, bankruptcy, civil rights cases and corporate and partnership dissolutions. He has tried multi-million-dollar lender liability and lottery prize cases to verdict, handled numerous state and federal court appeals and regularly practices before the American Arbitration Association. Riccardo is a current member of RD’s Executive Committee. Riccardo has lectured at continuing legal education seminars on commercial law and bankruptcy topics.

Lee Poteracki concentrates his practice on transactional matters such as business acquisition and sale, entity choice and formation, and commercial real estate transactions as well as leasing of commercial premises. He also counsels on estate planning and administration of trusts and estates, including not only straightforward distributions but also the disposition or succession to ownership of family business interests owned by the trusts or estates of entrepreneurs.

Artur Zadrozny is a dedicated attorney providing comprehensive legal services to individuals and businesses in real estate, business transactions, and trusts and estates. With over a decade of experience since earning his J.D., Artur has developed an articulate practice, offering strategic counsel and personalized solutions tailored to each client’s unique needs. In real estate, Artur assists clients with residential and commercial transactions, leasing, and financial matters. He also helps individuals legally establish their business, through entity formation and maintenance and contract negotiations. Additionally, he provides estate planning and probate services to both individuals and businesses, creating customized plans to protect assets and plan for the future. Fluent in Polish, Artur frequently provides bilingual legal services to the Polish speaking community, which includes his time as a pro-bono attorney at the Amicus Poloniae Legal Clinic. With a practical, results-driven approach, Artur leverages his experiences to help his clients navigate complex legal matters with confidence.

Anastas Shkurti brings two decades of experience negotiating and closing complex transactions, including commercial loan documentation, loan modifications, forbearance agreements, asset-based lending, intercreditor agreements, workouts, corporate mergers and acquisitions, asset and stock buys and sales, factoring, equipment leases and sales, franchise agreements, IT service agreements, master agreements, employment agreements, and organizing new businesses. Anastas also possesses unique insight in all aspects of commercial real estate construction, bidding, development, land use, leasing, management, rezoning, and municipal law. His litigation experience focuses on complex data analysis, damage calculations, forecasts, modeling, projections, and expert witness preparation. By offering in-house services to several national companies, Anastas has developed a broad perspective for evaluating legal consequences of all aspects of business operations. Anastas also leverages his research and technological background to offer clients cost efficient legal services of uncompromising quality.

Eric G. Patt has a broad-based transactional practice, with a focus on contracts, business acquisition, real estate, and employment-related issues. He also has extensive experience representing municipal governing bodies in the Chicago area, and in counseling their various boards and commissions in municipal law and land use issues. Additionally, Eric has extensive litigation experience, having conducted numerous bench and jury trials in state and federal courts, with substantial appellate experience. Eric is Chair of the Firm’s Municipal Law Practice Group and is actively involved in all aspects of RD’s municipal client representation. He also is the author of Chapter 9: “Representing a Home Rule Municipality” for IICLE’s Municipal Law: Contracts, Litigation, and Home Rule, 2024 and 2020 Editions.

James J. Riebandt concentrates his practice in the areas of business transactions, real estate, trusts & estates, and labor and employment. Early in his career, he handled a variety of civil litigation cases before developing a transactional practice which now includes business sale and acquisition, formation and representation, residential and commercial real estate sale, purchase and leasing, drafting and review of a variety of financial documents and estate and trust planning and administration. He served as a member of the Palatine Zoning Boarding of Appeals and for twenty-one years he was a Director of the Oakton Community College Educational Foundation including two terms as President. Jim was a founding member of the Holy Cross High School Alumni Education Endowment Fund, serving as President as well. He began his practice with Daley, Reilly and Daley in 1975 and joined Palmer, Blackman and Mancini in 1978 which became Riebandt and DeWald in 1990, where he served as President and Managing Partner until his affiliation with Di Monte & Lizak on January 1, 2013. He is also the long-time public address announcer for the Chicago Bears and the DePaul Blue Demons Men’s Basketball Team.