Michael Mazek - Chicago, IL

Michael Mazek has had a passion for the legal profession since childhood, when he began managing rental properties for his Polish-immigrant parents as a teenager. This early entry into the Chicago landlord-tenant marketplace gave Mazek a unique perspective on the law. He saw that non-native English speakers and immigrants had a disadvantage in court. He also recognized that affordable housing is central to any municipality’s success. His path into the legal profession was spurred by these inequalities.

So after attending Chicago public schools from kindergarten through high school, Mazek graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a B.A. in English-Writing and a minor in Linguistics. During his time at UIC, Mazek was the recipient of the prestigious Edward Moskal Journalism Scholarship. He then earned his J.D. from The John Marshall Law School, where he was a member of the noted law review, The Journal of Computer and Information Law.

In addition, Mazek was a valuable contributor to The John Marshall Fair Housing Legal Clinic, representing clients in housing discrimination cases. His most significant contribution at the clinic was as co-counsel for successful appeal of Godinez v. Lackey-Sullivan. This landmark decision clarified whether Section 8 housing vouchers qualified as “sources of income” for purposes of the City of Chicago Fair Housing Ordinance.

In 2009, Mazek launched his private boutique firm, Mazek Law Group, to provide high quality legal representation at affordable rates. The practice is located in the North Center neighborhood of Chicago, and handles cases in the suburbs, Chicago and collar counties.

Mazek represents clients in the areas of real estate transactions (real estate closings, short sales, foreclosures and more), real estate litigation (adverse possession, lot line disputes, condo association conflict), estate planning (wills, trusts and other estate planning instruments), probate, criminal defense (federal criminal defense, state criminal defense, traffic, DUI and more) and bankruptcy (consumer, Chapter 7, Chapter 13).

Mazek has given presentations for real estate offices and attorneys. He is a regular contributor to The Norton Annual Survey of Bankruptcy Law.