PRO

Licensed for 45 years

Appeals Lawyer at Evanston, IL
Practice Areas: Appeals, Real Estate, Tax

Free Consultation

About Richard

Biography

Property tax appeal assistance from the comfort of your home. We are prepared to assist you starting with a free phone consultation. More than 200,000 Cook County Property Tax Appeals won! Call today at 847-892-1564

Practice Areas

3

Practice Areas

Appeals 34%

Practice consists of Cook County Property Tax Appeals and some Exemptions, Redemptions and Certificates of Error.

35 years | 65,534 cases

34%

Real Estate 33%

Practice consists of Cook County Property Tax Appeals and some Exemptions, Redemptions and Certificates of Error.

35 years | 65,534 cases

33%

Tax 33%

Practice consists of Cook County Property Tax Appeals and some Exemptions, Redemptions and Certificates of Error.

35 years | 65,534 cases

33%

Fees and Rates

Cost

Free Consultation

$0 first 60 minutes

Payment Methods

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Licenses

Licensed in Illinois for 45 years

State: Illinois

Acquired: 1980

Active and Authorized to Practice Law

No misconduct found

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Location

Richard Shapiro, Attorney

1327 Chicago Ave, Evanston, IL, 60201-4724

richardshapiro.com

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Richard A. Shapiro's Reviews

Overall Rating
This is an aggregated review score of Avvo and Lawyers.com reviews.

4.4 /5.0

13 Client Reviews

Avvo

4.2

(6)

Lawyers.com

4.6

(7 )

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Showing 6 - 6 of 6 reviews

Posted by Robert | May 18, 2020 | Hired Attorney | Tax

Recommend avoiding.

I would recommend avoiding his services. I experienced very poor client communication, little effort, poor results and questionable practices. Shapiro’s results were very poor and I wish to share information in this regard. I was very dissatisfied with Mr. Shapiro’s obtaining a relatively small re...duction ($58,000) on my behalf in the appeal of the 2018 triennial reassessment and with his handling of the appeal. I appealed the very same reassessment amount by myself to the Cook County Board of Appeals for the 2019 tax year and (with no change in the property or other facts) on 4/1/20, obtained an additional $99,000 reduction, equaling almost half of the original 2018 $214,000 (50%!) increased reassessment—an additional reduction that Mr. Shapiro has repeatedly claimed was impossible. While it’s true that Shapiro got 99% of what he sought on his initial appeal of the 2018 triennial reassessment, the problem was that he: 1) asked for ONLY a one quarter reduction of the $214,000 increase in my assessment (without my knowledge or consent), and 2) put forth narrowly-focused, minimal efforts to show that I had been greatly over-assessed. The way Shapiro handled my case made it extremely difficult to appeal the initial decision to a higher level and ended my ability to further challenge the full three year triennial reassessment. I was left with the ability to appeal the reassessment for the individual last two years of the triennial (2019 & 2020). The Assessor’s Office confirmed that I need to file a 2020 appeal only as a formality and will retain the reduction I obtained for 2019. :-) I obtained the very large reduction by submitting a thorough analysis of comparable properties, which reveals the kind of cookie-cutter, minimalist representation Shapiro provided me. Very few people know enough about how the property tax system has worked and are grateful for any reduction at all, but don’t realize they may be foregoing thousands in reductions that could be obtained by vigorous representation. I would be wary of lawyers, such as Shapiro, who work on a contingency basis, and recommend those who charge a flat fee. I also would be wary of past positive reviews--the new Cook County Assessor's rules require all appeals to be filed anonymously without attorney names. A property tax attorney who I considered hiring indicated that the new rules have made life quite difficult for certain property tax lawyers, perhaps including Mr Shapiro, who (to obtain favorable treatment) relied on political contributions to the Cook County Board of Review and to the prior Assessor. I'm so sorry I used him on a neighbor's advice. Except as a client, I have no relationship with a property tax attorney and no financial interest in this matter other than my own personal property taxes.

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Richard Shapiro

Replied last May 18, 2020

Robert, we asked for a reduction in your assessed value based on the evidence available in the 2018 tax year. When you appealed your assessment again in 2019, you were appealing with evidence that was not necessarily available the prior year when we appealed. There would be no reason I can think of as to why I would not want to appeal with the most compelling evidence. We charge a percentage of the tax savings obtained. It is mutually beneficial to put together the best case possible and try to get the largest reduction possible. I am happy to review the evidence you submitted in 2019 to see if that same evidence was available in 2018 when my office appealed and consider whether I dropped the ball in your case. Your claim that I rely on political contributions to the Cook County Board of Review and Assessor is not only unfounded and untrue but libelous. I have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. I have been an attorney since 1980 and the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission hasn’t recorded a single complaint against me. If any of your unfounded claims were factual, I do believe that reputation would have caught up with me by now.

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Richard A. Shapiro's Lawyer Endorsements

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Experience

Rating: 7.8 (Very Good)

Honors

2024

BBB 2024 Certificate of Accreditation for all social media sites, BBB

2016

BV Distinguished Rated, Martindale-Hubbell

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Work Experience

1991 - Present

Owner, Richard Shapiro, Attorney

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Education

1980

University of Illinois College of Law

JD - Juris Doctor

1975

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

BA - Bachelor of Arts

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Languages

English

Spanish

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Richard A. Shapiro

About Richard

Biography

Property tax appeal assistance from the comfort of your home. We are prepared to assist you starting with a free phone consultation. More than 200,000 Cook County Property Tax Appeals won! Call today at 847-892-1564

Property tax appeal assistance from the comfort of your home. We are prepared to assist you starting with a free phone consultation. More than 200,000 Cook County Property Tax Appeals won! Call today at 847-892-1564

Property tax appeal assistance from the comfort of your home. We are prepared to assist you starting with a free phone consultation. More than 200,000 Cook County Property Tax Appeals won! Call today at 847-892-1564

Practice Areas

Fees and Rates

Cost

Payment Methods

Licenses

Licensed in Illinois for 45 years

Location

Richard Shapiro, Attorney

Gallery

Online Presence

Richard A. Shapiro's Reviews

Overall Rating This is an aggregated review score of Avvo and Lawyers.com reviews.

Richard Shapiro

Richard A. Shapiro's Lawyer Endorsements

Experience

Honors

Work Experience

Education

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Overall Rating
This is an aggregated review score of Avvo and Lawyers.com reviews.