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Robert A. Romanoff

Past Managing Partner

Rob is a partner in Levenfeld Pearlstein’s Trusts & Estate Practice group and served as LP’s Chairman and Managing Partner from January 2013 to July 2022.

Throughout his decades of experience as a Trusts & Estates attorney, Rob has counseled high net worth individuals, owners of closely held businesses, and their families on an array of estate, gift and income tax planning, and business succession planning. He welcomes the opportunity to work with clients to creatively problem solve the issues that matter most to them – their families, their businesses, and their legacy.

Rob knows estate and tax law can be complex and recognizes that a large part of his job is to present information in a digestible, applicable format that keeps his clients and their families informed and involved. He strives to explain how asset protection planning and the creation of sophisticated structures will help legitimately protect his clients’ wealth from the claims of potential future creditors. Estate planning matters commonly involve long-term and multigenerational planning. As a natural outgrowth of that, Rob has been actively involved in both contested and routine administration of trusts, guardianship, and decedents’ estates.

To better assist his clients, Rob stays on top ever-changing tax and estate laws through active involvement in the trusts and estates legal community. He was elected as a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) in 2002.  Rob’s election to ACTEC was in recognition of his professional reputation, expertise in the field of trusts and estates and his continuing contributions to these fields through speaking, writing, and bar activities.  He is a frequent speaker on estate and tax planning matters and has been a member of the faculty of the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education’s (IICLE) annual Estate Planning Short Course for 20 years.

In addition to his practice, Rob is also active in charitable and civic matters. He is a past President of Moriah Congregation in Deerfield, Illinois, past chair of the Professional Advisory Committee of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, and serves as an advisor to several charitable organizations in Chicago. Rob also is a member of the Executives’ Club of Chicago and a proud graduate of the renowned Wexner Heritage Foundation program for Jewish leaders.

Rob appreciates the confidence given to him by clients in an area of the law that takes trust and innovation to bring insight and integrity to a client’s matters. It is an approach that has helped turn new client relationships into lasting, personal ones.

Rob has been recognized individually in Chambers High Net Worth Guide since 2016, with references noting that he “is always available to provide insight and guidance on complex issues.”

Rob Romanoff Headshot

Additional Information

Education & Admissions

Education
  • University of Michigan Law School, J.D.
  • University of Iowa, B.A., cum laude, Religion
Bar Admissions
  • Illinois

Memberships

  • Chicago Bar Association, Trust Law Committee
  • American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
  • Rochelle Zell Jewish High School, Executive Committee and Board of Directors
  • Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, Executive Committee and Board of Directors

Awards

  • Illinois Super Lawyer, 2005-2023
  • The Best Lawyers in America, 2007-2023
  • Ranked in Chambers High Net Worth Guide 2016-2022
  • Leading Lawyer, Leading Lawyers Network
  • Named as One of the Nation's Top 100 Attorneys in 2007 by Worth Magazine

Q&A

  • What is the most interesting part of your job?
    Working with clients on what is of greatest importance to them, combined with intricate work that allows for considered thought and creativity.

  • What’s the best compliment you ever received from a client?
    Probably a tie – (1) A client inviting me to her 90th birthday party and her sons calling me to say that they hoped I would attend, and (2) a client asking me to handle his in-laws’ estate planning matters.

  • What was your very first job?
    I was a paperboy by the time I was 13 or 14. I worked at McDonald’s when I was in high school.

“He’s a great listener, and he gets what the issue is, and in our case, he saw some things that we didn’t catch, which is exactly why we hired him.” —Dulcie Truitt

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