Areas of Practice

 
 
vintage books on a shelf

Area of Practice

Dedicated to Serving those Who Serve Others

Our attorneys’ practice across a wide range of industries, locally and nationally. Whether your matter is a single issue or crosses disciplines, we put together the most effective and efficient team to collaborate with you and your people, always keeping your goals, your confidentiality and bottom line in mind. Find out how we can best serve you.

Corporate
& Business
General
Practice
Labor &
Employment
Litigation & Insurance Defense
Municipal &
Local Government
Public
Pension
School
Districts
Public
Safety

Municipal & Local Government

municipal building

Ottosen DiNolfo Hasenbalg & Castaldo, Ltd. is a leader at counseling municipal corporations throughout Illinois. Our clients include cities, villages, townships, and library districts, and we serve as corporate attorney for newly incorporated municipalities, as well as well-established communities. Our practical experience is reflected in the publications and articles we write for municipal officials and our regular speaking appearances at conferences for local governments.

  • Operational & Administrative Issues
  • Land Development Issues
  • Finance Issues
  • Election Law

Public Safety

firefighters-helping-an-injured-woman-in-a-car

Founded upon the principle of providing emergency service agencies with quality legal services, Ottosen DiNolfo Hasenbalg & Castaldo, Ltd. is dedicated to representing fire protection districts, municipal fire and police departments, and emergency dispatch centers. Our clients include fire and police commissions, public pension funds, 9-1-1 centers, emergency telephone systems boards, ambulance services, and rescue squads. Today, we represent over 200 emergency service agencies, and our attorneys are highly regarded throughout the state and nation in this area of the law. Our depth of experience gives us a clear understanding of the complex issues facing providers of emergency services.

We are proud of our representation of statewide and regional public safety organizations such as the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, the Illinois Public Safety Agency Network, the Illinois Chapter of the National Emergency Number Association, the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association, the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance, and the Northern Illinois Alliance of Fire Protection Districts.  We have also served as special counsel to many municipalities and fire protection districts when complex issues are beyond the expertise or resources of local counsel.

  • Issues Unique to Public Safety Entities
    • Consolidation of Fire Districts
    • Intergovernmental Agreements
    • Disciplinary Hearings
    • Contract Negotiations
  • Employment Law
    • Hiring, Promotion and Discharge of Employees
    • Collective Bargaining Negotiations
    • Public Employee Disability Act
    • Public Safety Employee Benefits Act
  • Emerging Issues and Legislative Initiatives

Corporate & Business

Ottosen DiNolfo is a venerable business law firm offering a broad range of services to small to mid-sized businesses.  Virtually every conceivable type of business transaction has been handled by lawyers of our Firm.  The attorneys at Ottosen DiNolfo represent privately held companies, such as partnerships, corporations, joint ventures, and limited liability companies.

Moreover, Ottosen DiNolfo has extensive experience in helping clients select the appropriate form for their businesses, in planning for the succession of their businesses, in carefully preparing confidentiality and non-compete agreements, and advising clients in complex taxation matters.  We are a full-service tax firm and pride ourselves on being able to provide our clients with the following services:

  • Tax Planning
    • “C” and “S” Corporations
    • Limited Liability Companies
    • Partnerships
    • Trusts
    • Estates
  • Tax Related Litigation
  • Tax Return Preparation
    • Federal and State
    • Tax Exempt Status
income tax form and magnifying glass

General Practice

Ottosen DiNolfo Hasenbalg & Castaldo, Ltd. offers a comprehensive range of services to individual, small business and corporate clients.  As a full-service law firm, we have the breadth and scope of practice that allows us to develop comprehensive solutions for clients.

As a client of Ottosen DiNolfo you develop a relationship with a team of attorneys who concentrate on specific areas of law to meet your individual needs. Our practice includes assisting individuals and businesses in the following areas:

couple-with-keys

Labor & Employment

Ottosen DiNolfo Hasenbalg & Castaldo, Ltd. counsels clients in all aspects of labor and employment law. Several of our attorneys have spent their entire legal careers practicing labor and employment law, and one of our attorneys was one of the first administrative law judges for the Illinois Labor Relations Board. Ottosen DiNolfo is a leading law firm in the representation of management in labor and employment matters.

 We exclusively represent management in union organization, negotiation and administration of collective bargaining agreements, restructuring, acquisitions, employment discrimination, and affirmative action compliance. Our experience includes advising clients regarding employment-related torts such as defamation, negligent hiring and retention, and wrongful discharge. Clients frequently seek our assistance with wage and hour compliance, employee discipline, revising and implementing employment handbooks, and developing personnel practices and employment policies.

  • Union/Management Relations
  • Litigation
  • Minimum Wage/Overtime
  • Employment Discrimination Disputes
  • General Employee Issues
angry-factory-worker

Public Pension

At Ottosen DiNolfo Hasenbalg & Castaldo, Ltd., our public pension fund practice continues to grow in response to the increasing complexity of managing pension funds, as well as the confrontational nature of many applications for disability pension benefits.  We advise our pension fund clients on all facets of their responsibilities, from preparation of rules to assistance with complicated disability hearings.  As issues arise in the administration of pension benefits, we have guided our clients in matters such as proper survivor benefits, administration of QILDROs, and correction of improper benefit payments.  We also counsel public pension boards in the lawful investment of pension funds, particularly as to their fiduciary duties and the potential liabilities of investment decisions. In addition to advising established pension funds, our attorneys have assisted several clients in initiating new firefighter or police pension funds.

Our significant involvement in the representation of public safety organizations through our work with fire protection districts, municipal fire and police departments, and fire and police commissions enhances our ability to advise public pension fund clients.  We are well-versed on the issues confronting public safety agencies and their employees and understand their ramifications for pension benefits. Our background in municipal finance enables us to guide our public pension clients in the increasingly difficult issues associated with the proper funding of pension funds through the tax levy process.

  • New Legal Issues
  • Creditable Service Combination
  • Widow’s Benefits
  • Qualification for Health Insurance Coverage
  • Administrative Review
  • Navigation of the Circuit and Appellate Courts
friends-meeting-in-retirement

School Districts

Ottosen DiNolfo Hasenbalg & Castaldo, Ltd. uses its wealth of experience in all aspects of school law to represent school districts and other educational entities throughout Illinois. In our role as school board attorney we help clients assess the legal consequences of their decisions.
We endeavor not only to keep abreast of the law, but also understand the practical issues facing our school district clients.  We believe it is important for us to identify issues on the horizon and work in partnership with the school district board and administration to craft effective strategies and solutions.

  • Personnel
    • Remediation of Tenured Teachers
    • Discipline and Dismissal of Teachers and Support Staff
    • Accommodation of Disabled Employees
    • Employment Contracts
    • Collective Bargaining
  • Student Issues
    • Discipline
    • Residency
    • Constitutional Issues
  • Special Education
    • Educational Training
    • IEP Meetings
    • Mediation
    • Due Process Hearings
    • OCR Investigations
    • State and Federal Lawsuits
    • Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act
    • No Child Left Behind Act
  • Litigation and Administrative Matters

  • School Finance
    • Negotiating Financial Plans
    • Interfund Loans and Transfers
    • Tax Rate or Bond Referendums
  • Policy and Procedures Development
  • School Construction & Real Estate
elementary-school-teacher-and-pupils-standing-by bus

Litigation & Insurance Defense

Ottosen DiNolfo Hasenbalg & Castaldo, Ltd. combines the resources, talents, and strengths of its attorneys to provide clients with effective representation in litigation matters. In all aspects of litigation, our attorneys are experienced in contested matters from complicated employment and labor matters, personal injury defense, eminent domain, business disputes, complex trust litigation including tax issues, will contests and landlord-tenant disputes. Ottosen DiNolfo also assists its governmental clients with municipal ordinance prosecution and enforcement.  The firm’s litigation attorneys are well-known for their skills as negotiators, litigators, and appellate counsel.  We are dedicated to creatively resolving disputes and, when appropriate, aggressively litigating claims.

  • Governmental Defense
  • Insurance Defense
  • Employment Practices
  • Commercial / Business
  • Trust / Probate
  • Landlord-Tenant Issues

wooden-gavel and flag