Glenn Guttman

Glenn S. Guttman received his bachelors degree in liberal arts and sciences from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1987. His interest in law stemmed from a series of commercials run by Hyatt Legal Services in the 1980’s, where the company highlighted its low-cost legal services. Glenn then went on to attend the law school where he interned for a constitutional law firm and a personal injury litigation firm before graduating with his JD in 1990.

After working at various firms for a decade, Glenn took a leap of faith and joined three colleagues that founded their own firm a few years prior. It was then that Rieff Schramm Kanter & Guttman was born. In his practice of law, Glenn focuses on real estate assessments, incentives and tax exemptions. He also has experience representing various property owners, including industrial, multi-unit residential, and commercial properties, as well as downtown Chicago office buildings. Additionally, Glenn has handled significant litigation, including cases challenging the constitutionality of assessment methodologies and participated in one of the first tax objection cases under the amended 1995 Revenue act.

Outside of the work at his firm, Glenn has co-authored two chapters on “Real Estate Taxation” and “Residential Real Estate Transactions” for the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education. He has also held leadership roles with the Chicago bar Association’s Real estate Taxation Committee and served as treasurer of the Illinois property tax Lawyer’s Association. Moreover, he has had the opportunity to lecture on real estate taxation, acted as Special Assistant state’s Attorney, and served on a joint committee to automating the Illinois Transfer Tax Form.

Advice to Recent Law School Graduates

“Don’t be afraid to take a job in an area of practice for which you are unfamiliar, you may find a niche practice area that finds you. I responded to a Chicago Daily Law Bulletin advertisement for a real estate lawyer thinking I would be doing residential/commercial real estate closings, contract drafting/reviewing and negotiations. However, what I found out during the interview process was that the position was for a real estate lawyer practicing in property tax appeals. I didn’t look for the area of practice, but rather, the practice area found me through a firm’s need to hire a new attorney. Now, I have my own law firm with 3 attorneys and 12 support staff practicing out of 2 locations in Illinois. It can happen to you too.”