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Goldberg Kohn was founded in 1976 by four lawyers who came from a well-known, mid-sized Chicago law firm with the express goal of creating a firm that would provide legal services on par with the largest and most respected firms. The founders aimed to create a working environment based on mutual respect, support and trust, and which was completely devoid of internal competition and personal empire building. During the early years, the firm grew primarily by recruiting lawyers from large, well-established firms to join a noble, if risky, experiment. Soon, the firm achieved name recognition at the top law schools in the nation and attracted outstanding graduates who have gone on to become Goldberg Kohn's first generation of attorneys nurtured from summer associate to principal.

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Today, almost 50 years later, those ideals are firmly intact and remain the greatest source of Goldberg Kohn's success.

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Every day, we earn and reaffirm our reputation for skill and integrity by competing with the largest and best-known firms in courtrooms and conference rooms around the world. We don’t take our top legal talent, first class clients, and outstanding results for granted. We constantly look ahead to the next challenge, to finding opportunities for our current clients, and developing new relationships.&nbsp;

At Goldberg Kohn, our culture is built around meeting and exceeding expectations. While people often say clients hire individual lawyers rather than firms, we believe clients deserve the full benefit of a firm's collective strength, free from internal politics of financial silos.  Our firm is grounded in shared trust, mutual support, and respect, all values that shape how we work with one another and with our clients.

Goldberg Kohn - Congratulations! Surviving 50 year as a relatively small firm (by today's standards), is a remarkable achievement; flourishing for 50 years is almost unfathomable. It was indeed an honor of a lifetime to have spent almost the entirety of my career at GK.

I was asked to share a story that I've shared many times. Richard, forgive me. But for the fact that this specific story was requested of me, I would not have repeated it on this occasion. While the story pokes mild fun at Richard, and speaks to my vanity or lack of a filter (call it what you will), the story really speaks to Richard's humility and good nature (traits that have served our firm well over the years). And with that lead in: I started at GK on a Monday in October of 1987. At 4:00 p.m. on Friday of that week, Richard asked me to come to his office. At 4:00 p.m. on Friday of that week, Richard asked me to come to his office.

He apologized, stating that he needed me to meet with him and a client that evening and that I would likely need to attend a meeting for much of the day on Saturday. I called my wife, and told her that I'd be home late, but that I was excited to have been asked by Richard to help him. At 5:00 p.m., our client, Bob O'Roarke of Glenfed Capital Corp., arrived at our office. He needed help generating a commitment letter for a proposed loan transaction. Bob and Richard did most of the talking, thinking and drafting. I listened, and occasionally got up the nerve to offer a suggestion. At one point in the conversation, Bob posed a difficult question to Richard. Richard thought about how to answer, as did I. There was a prolonged silence. The silence became uncomfortable so I decided that I would offer a suggestion.

At the precise moment that I began to talk, Richard began to talk. We spoke not only at the same moment, but we spoke the exact same words in unison. All three of us laughed for a brief moment. Richard then turned to me and said, with a smile on his face, "David, I like the way that you think, but you would have been better served if you had waited a bit longer to allow me [Richard] to come up with the answer in the presence of our client." Without thinking, I quickly said, "Richard, I waited as long as I could." Bob started to laugh, but stopped himself when it occurred to him that this young associate who he just met, was poking fun at Richard, the guy whose name was on the door of the law firm. In that moment, many thoughts rushed through my head, things like:

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I've been here four days and I'm making snide comments about the firm's founder in front of a client.

I think Richard will take my comment well, but if not, maybe I can go back to my prior law firm.

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I awaited Richard's reaction. My future hung in the balance. Fortunately, I only had to wait for a second or two. Richard burst out laughing. He appreciated my humor and, if I do say so, my quick wit! In spite of my lack of judgment and in spite of my failure to think before I spoke (that is still a problem by the way), I made a favorable first impression upon Richard. We finalized the commitment letter that evening. The next day, Bob and I attended a meeting with the business folks and attorneys on the other side of the transaction. We negotiated a final commitment letter. Richard let me take the lead on the rest of the transaction. I closed my first deal! The name of the company involved was GS Metals. I'll never forget it.

While I have your attention, it’s hard for me to write on the occasion of the firm's 50th anniversary without my eyes welling up as I think about our dear friend and colleague Gary Zussman. We lost him in May of 2016. He was only 60 years old. I'm sure that as well-deserved kudos and pats on the back are shared on this wonderful milestone for GK, many of you, like me, will remember Gary as a huge contributor to the firm's success, and a great friend.

Goldberg Kohn regularly assists nonprofits with formation, governance, and tax-exempt status and has supported organizations such as the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, Chicago International Charter Schools, Friends of Battered Women and Their Children, the Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund, Make-A-Wish Foundation, The Salvation Army, and many others.

In addition, Goldberg Kohn’s pro bono work supports a broad range of social causes, including health care access, immigration and asylum, affordable housing, education, environmental justice, civil rights, and the arts and cultural vitality of Chicago. In addition to direct legal services, the firm’s principals established the Goldberg Kohn Foundation, which annually provides financial support to numerous local, regional, and national charitable, civic, and cultural organizations.