Geraci Law L.L.C. & Peter Francis Geraci

Geraci Law's History and Growth

Geraci Law is a well-established Law firm. It was founded as a solo practice by prominent consumer bankruptcy and trial attorney Peter Francis Geraci in October 1977. Geraci Law operated as a sole proprietorship until 2009; growing from one attorney in a 15 x 20' office to a multistate law firm with over 50 attorneys.

Geraci Law is one of the largest consumer bankruptcy firms in the country, with over 15,000 clients a year retaining the firm for consumer bankruptcy cases in Illinois Indiana and Wisconsin. Each year, Geraci Law is hired to consolidate or eliminate over $1.2 billion in debt.
Firm Culture

Geraci Law is widely known as a nice place to work. All attorneys and staff subscribe to the firm's mission statement, which may be summarized as, "Nice people doing nice things for nice people."

Geraci Law attorneys and staff are a very diverse group, coming from a wide range of backgrounds and personal histories. Attorneys at Geraci Law, as well as non-attorney paralegals, are extraordinarily well-educated. Many, in addition to their undergraduate and law degrees, have multiple state bar admissions, and other degrees like MBA's.

Geraci Law may be one of the best run law firms in the country, using standardized management techniques sourced from well-known management bodies such as the ISO 9001 certification program, and various business publications and programs.

Each Geraci Law attorney and staff must, before being offered a position, commit to the Geraci Law Standard of Ethics. A multipoint written document sets forth the requirements:

Geraci Law is a nice place to work, and only nice people are welcome.
Geraci Law is an equal opportunity workplace. We have a diverse staff in all sense of the word diverse. That means EVERYONE is welcome, as long as they are nice, honest, hard-working people. No unequal treatment of anyone based on anything is permitted.
Geraci Law does not tolerate lying or dishonesty in any form. Examples of dishonesty are lying, cheating and stealing, in all their myriad forms, such as not being where you are supposed to be, or doing what you are supposed to be doing; saying one thing and doing another; or anything that your mother might disapprove of, intentional violation of any law, etc.
Geraci Law is dedicated to a pleasant working environment. There will be no harassment of others, no physical contact, no forming peer groups, name calling, personal comments, foul language, bad habits, illegal drug use on or off premises, alcohol use before or during work hours, or any other form of unpleasantness.
Geraci Law requires the same behavior of its clients as is required of its staff: we will terminate representation of any client who lies, cheats, steals, or causes a disturbance.
Geraci Law conducts a quarterly survey, in confidence, of each employee, to determine if anyone has any complaints in regard to their employments, so that the firm may address them. Everyone is encouraged to bring any complaints to designated supervisors without fear of disclosure or embarrassment.
We are here to help our clients change their lives for the better. The Law comes first, Society second, the Client third, then individual Lawyer next, and the Firm last. We are required to know the law and use it for the improvement of our society and our clients. No action will be taken that is adverse to the law, to the betterment of society, to the client, to our staff or to the firm, unless the interests of the firm require that its interests be subordinate to the others.

Geraci Law has very low turnover, and most attorneys and staff are on a career path. Attorneys and staff at Geraci Law are not only well compensated for their work, but Geraci Law offers a full benefits program, including:

Blue Cross/Blue Shield Health Insurance
A Variety of PPO and HMO Programs
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
A Disability Program
A 401(k) that Includes Employer Matching

Health and Wellness

We are a healthy law firm. Soft drinks have been banished, and replaced with yogurt, organic fruit, and of course, a selection of almonds and peanuts for snack. The wellness of staff is of primary concern, and the firm provides free flu shots. Many Geraci Law staff are charitably oriented, running marathons, participating in cancer and mental health charities, as do Mr. and Mrs. Geraci.
Professional and Business Practices

Geraci Law is certified by the Illinois Supreme Court CLE (Continuing Legal Education) as a provider of Mandatory Continuing Legal Education, and Geraci Law presents at least 30 classroom hours of high-level legal education in the consumer bankruptcy area every year. Topics include Ethics, Assets, Transfers, the Automatic Stay, State Law and Bankruptcy, and various Bankruptcy Code sections and case law.

In addition, Geraci Law attorneys, and even staff, attend national conferences; and all attorneys receive their continuing legal education credits paid for, courtesy of the firm.

Geraci Law has its own internal IT department, and proprietary hardware and software systems. The office is entirely green, being a paperless and recycling advocate. There are no paper files, and the firm maintains its own hardware, backup systems, and emergency recovery systems, to ensure the integrity of client data, and also the efficiency in daily work.

Proprietary programming systems have allowed Geraci Law to be a leader in the consumer bankruptcy field, recognized across the country as the largest and best example of service to the consumer bankruptcy client.
The Highest Professional Standards

Since employees, whether attorneys or staff, stay at Geraci Law very long time, some of them their entire careers, this is a great benefit to coworkers, and also to clients. Only a few staff openings a year are generally available, and those are due usually to an increase in business. When staff do leave, it is usually to move to another part of the country for family reasons.

Clients can therefore look forward to seeing the same attorneys working on their cases over the period of years that it sometimes takes to complete a Chapter 13, and then they refer their friends or family; they are not referring them to a revolving door of low-paid, poorly trained attorneys who know they will not be seeing that client again. There is a big advantage, not only to working at a well-established and organized law firm, but also to being a client of such a law firm.

In order to ensure compliance with the highest ethical standards, Geraci Law has internal quality control that is legendary, and all work is under constant scrutiny to ensure that it meets the firm standards. This enables Geraci Law to deliver a high quality product at a very reasonable price, and ensures that the attorneys and staff have a good day every day, as well as our clients. Geraci Law has never had an attorney with a founded disciplinary complaint from a client, and maintains a perfect record in that regard for almost 40 years.

Locations	No. of Attorneys
Berwyn, IL	1

Practice Areas	No. of Attorneys
Bankruptcy	1