Robert S. Hayes, Attorney

I have been practicing real estate law for over twenty years, first in California, currently in Illinois. Prior to that I was a real estate broker in California, an instructor in the University of California Extension program, teaching Real Estate Practice and author of a consumer-oriented real estate column in a San Francisco Bay Area newspaper.

At the University of San Francisco School of Law, where I obtained my law degree, I was a member of the Law Review and received an award for writing the best law review article of the year. The topic concerned the practice of dual agency (simultaneous representation of both buyer and seller) by real estate brokers.

I am currently licensed to practice law in both California and Illinois and hold an active real estate broker license in Illinois. In addition, I am a member of the Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association, the Chicago Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association.

My legal practice encompasses a number of areas within the field of real estate law, such as purchase and sale transactions, foreclosure defense and negotiation with lenders, condominium and landlord-tenant matters, joint-owner agreements, contract and boundary line disputes, and real estate agent issues

I pride myself on providing a competent and cost-effective work product and understand the importance of timely and courteous service. I will be happy to provide client references upon request.

Since I understand that the question of legal fees is of major importance to clients, I have established the following billing policies. Although, typically, I bill clients on the basis of the amount of time that it reasonably takes to complete a task, I am not adverse to fixed fee agreements when appropriate and after negotiation with the client. With respect to initial consultations, I will provide such a consultation  free of charge if I am subsequently retained to perform the work. If not, the fee will be 50% of my normal hourly billing rate.