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Jeffrey P. O'Kelley - Lake Forest, IL

191 E. Deerpath RoadSuite 300 Lake Forest, IL 60045

Super Lawyers®

1

Updated: 02/05/2025

Lake Forest Estates and Trusts Litigation Lawyer

Overview

Jeffrey P. O'Kelley is a partner at Lesser Lutrey Pasquesi & Howe, LLP focusing his practice on estate and trust litigation. He is on the Board of Directors for the Lake County Bar Association, and he is also the past President of the Lake County Estate Planning Council, as well as the former lead chair of the Lake County Bar Association Trusts and Estates Committee. Mr. O'Kelley has extensive experience in estate and trust disputes such as will and trust contests, claims for financial exploitation of the elderly and disabled, will and trust construction cases, complex fiduciary litigation and contested guardianship proceedings. In addition, Mr. O'Kelley has extensive appellate litigation experience, including the published decisions of Roszkowiak v. Roszkowiak (2024 WL 520559), In re Estate of LaPlume (2014 IL App (2d) 130945), and In re Estate of Walsh (2012 IL App (2d) 110938). Mr. O'Kelley also practices in the fields of estate planning and commercial litigation, as well as estate and trust administration. He has lectured at Loyola University School of Law, and he has written for the Illinois Bar Journal, the Illinois State Bar Association Trusts & Estates Newsletter, and the Lake County Bar Association Docket. Mr. O'Kelley graduated with honors from the Chicago-Kent College of Law, and he has been licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois since 2009.

About Jeffrey P. O'Kelley

Current Employment Position(s)

  • Partner

Languages

  • English

Practice Areas

  • Estates and Trusts Litigation 70%
  • Estate Planning and Administration 20%
  • Commercial Litigation 10%

Litigation

  • 80%

Qualifications

Bar Admissions

  • Illinois, 2009
  • U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois, 2010

Other Affiliations

  • Illinois State Bar Association, 2010 - Present (Member)
  • Lake County Bar Association, 2011 - Present (Member)

Classes and Seminars

  • Guest Lecturer at Loyola University School of Law
  • June 2015: Ethical Considerations in the Trust and Estate Context Waukegan, IL, LCBA
  • July 2015: Wills and Trusts, Everyday Law radio program, 98.3 WRLR FM
  • November 2015: Powers of Attorney, Everyday Law radio program, 98.3 WRLR FM
  • February 2016: The Basics of Estate Planning, Waukegan, IL LCBA
  • April 2016: Overview and Analysis of Estate of LaPlume, Libertyville, IL, LCBA
  • November 2016: The Ernie Banks Estate Controversy, Lake Forest, IL, LCBA
  • March 2017: An Overview of Wills and Trusts, Round Lake, IL
  • October 2017: The Deceased Debtor, Libertyville, IL, LCBA
  • October 2018: Interesting Issues in Fiduciary Litigation
  • November 2018: Probate Considerations in Litigation
  • Lake County Bar Association Trusts and Estates Committee, Annual committee seminar

Past Positions

  • Best, Vanderlaan & Harrington, Attorney, 2010 - 2011

Education

  • Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois, 2009
    J.D.
    Honors: With Honors
    Honors: Recipient of Multiple CALI Awards
  • University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, 2004
    B.A.
    Major: English and Rhetoric

Fees

Accepts Credit Cards

Articles

Published Works

  • The Evolving Law Surrounding Quantum Meruit Claims (co-author), ISBA Trusts and Estates Newsletter, Vol. 59, No. 6, 2013
  • Probate and ‘Underwater’ Real Estate: The Promise of LaPlume (co-author), Illinois Bar Journal, June, 2015
  • Financial Exploitation of an Elderly Person or Person with a Disability (co-author), Lake County Bar Association Docket, May, 2017

Office Information

Address

191 E. Deerpath RoadSuite 300 Lake Forest, IL 60045

Fax

  • 847-295-8886

Office Hours

Monday-Friday: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

Achievements

Other Sources of Feedback About Jeffrey P. O'Kelley

Included on the 2025 Illinois Super Lawyers list


Past Lists

  • 2019 Illinois Super Lawyers list

View the profile for Jeffrey P. O'Kelley on Super Lawyers

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