John Ellis Ellsworth

John Ellis Ellsworth

3.6
Rating: 6.6

Licensed for 53 years

Tax Lawyer at Chicago, IL
Practice Areas: Tax, Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

180 N. LaSalle St., Suite 3700, Chicago, IL

About John

Biography

Practice Areas

2

Practice Areas

Tax 80%

John Ellsworth has defended literally thousands of IRS and state tax audit cases. We also settle back taxes. And we prepare income tax returns as well.

49 years | 2,000 cases

80%

Fees and Rates

We have not found any cost information for this lawyer


Looking for an attorney? Avvo can help.

search module image

Search our directory

Quickly connect with top attorneys through our legal directory to get help with your legal issue.

chat module image

Avvo's live chat agents can help coordinate a consultation with a local attorney.

Chat with a live agent who can match you with the right attorney for your legal needs.

Chat with

Licenses

Licensed in Wisconsin for 16 years

State: Wisconsin

Acquired: 2009

Administrative Suspension

No misconduct found

Licensed in Colorado for 36 years

State: Colorado

Acquired: 1990

Dismissed

No misconduct found

Licensed in Illinois for 53 years

State: Illinois

Acquired: 1972

Retired

No misconduct found

Location

Ellsworth Law Group, LLC

180 N. LaSalle St., Suite 3700, Chicago, IL, 60601

Ellsworth Law Group, LLC

1025 S. 108th Street, West Allis, WI, 53214

Ad

Transform legal challenges into solutions.

Connect now to review your situation.

The Avvo Rating explained

display-bg

The Avvo Rating explained

John Ellis Ellsworth's Reviews

Avvo Review Score

3.7 /5.0

17 Client Reviews

Showing 1 - 5 of 6 reviews | Character & Conduct

Posted by anonymous | March 31, 2015

NOT THE BEST ATTORNEY FOR ALL SITUATIONS

I received a WI state tax bill that I needed to dispute...and to make a long story short I ended up doing all the leg work MYSELF! I was charged $1500 for John Ellsworth to only send a couple e-mails on my behalf. I did all the rest! He missed several letters that were mailed to him from WI DOR. Beca...use I had made him Power of Attorney over my case some of the letters didn't get sent to me. This caused me to miss some very important deadlines for getting in the proper documents. He never negotiated getting my bill lowered. I managed to get some of the bill reduced on my own. Simply put...HE WAS OF NO HELP TO ME.

Posted by fuckedUPmycase | March 26, 2014

lazy lawyer. takes your money and does not respond or work hard on your case.

total wast of time. Does not return phone calls. Does not inform you of court time or dealing or review case with you properly. Very inept lazy. Does not return email or phone calls. Does not follow up. If you want to lose your case hire him.

Posted by Dustin | October 24, 2013

Wonderful Lawyer - Helped me through a Long and Potentially Devastating Issue

My interactions started with John about 3 years ago and we have recently reached a resolution. I was audited by the IRS and they made accusations that would have resulted in large tax payments which I believed were unfounded and an error on their part; primarily to do with education expense deduction...s. I was a full time student at the time getting my MBA and I did some research in the Chicago area to find a well reviewed attorney and after speaking to 8-10 attorneys I reached John, who in ten minutes had asked more questions and given me more insight than the other attorneys combined. To make for an easy read/review I will break it up into the categories that proved important to me: 1. Communication: John and his team kept me in the loop at every step of the process. As this went on for three years after some time I no longer wanted to be bothered with small updates and his team granted my request and only engaged me when they thought it necessary - handling everything and allowing me to focus on my daily life. This ability to dictate the communication level I wanted an the fact that they were able to adapt was very important to me as I am very busy. Additionally, I am not well educated when it comes to tax law and whenever I had detailed questions as to my case, the law around it and John's opinion he was very thorough, patient and diligent in his responses which was very valuable. 2. Knowledge & Honest Support: At the outset of my case it was clear to me John knew exactly what I was up against and how to best approach the situation. Further, he was honest about his thoughts as to whether I was right or wrong, and as a team they decided to fight my case because they truly believed what I had done was right. Knowing I had a legal team on my side in principal, not just because of the payday help put my mind at ease; I knew I was in good hands. 3. Fees: John's fees were very fair for the amount of work he and his team had to do. Further, when I paid the fee he communicated it covered me for a period of time and to resolution (with some caveats). Although my case lasted 3+ years, John never asked me to pay additional fees and stuck to the exact agreement we made at the outset which speaks to his character & ethical guidelines. Although I no longer live in Chicago, I will never consult another tax attorney before working with John and his team, I couldn't imagine another team operating better than they did, what a wonderful experience.

Posted by Sera | July 14, 2013

This Man Will Help You!

John Ellsworth is a brilliant tax lawyer, as others have said. Equally important to me, however, is how caring this man is. He would always call me with updates on his case even on weekends so I would not have to worry between Friday and Monday and I could relax instead. My case was a very comple...x IRS tax audit (I am a real estate professional) and John wrote the brief that won my case. I would be happy to recommend John to anyone else with a tax issue. This man can help you!

Posted by Paul | April 17, 2013

Attorney did not honor his attorney fee service agreement contract and did honor the partial refund for not completing services

This attorney does not return phone calls, emails, faxes and mailed IRS correspondence in a timely manner. This attorney has missed numerous IRS deadlines to respond in a timely manner. This attorney / Law Group has changed its phone numbers, office addresses, fax numbers and email addresses from its... initial Power of Attorney and Attorney Fee Agreement Service Contract without updating the customer or IRS examiner of such changes. Making it virtually impossible for myself or the IRS examiner to reach this attorney in a timely manner. This attorney does not follow up in a timely manner with representation on time sensitive deadlines. He does not return my phone calls, emails, or faxes in a timely manner to meet time sanative deadlines. His office and assistant is very rude and non responsive and email hostile threats instead of resolving issues to its end that were paid in a fee agreement and contract. This attorney did not provide the services rendered per its fee agreement and contract signed. This attorney was paid a fee twice of $2,500.00 for a total of $5,000.00. This attorney emailed me stating that he was too busy to honor the contract that he signed and offered a partial refund. This attorney did not finish the job that he was paid for to its entirety. The IRS examiner and Group Supervisor tried to contact him numerous times via regular mail and phone. This attorney missed IRS deadlines causing me to have to finish the job that this law firm and attorney was paid in advance to complete to its completion. There was a scheduled conference call with the IRS examiner and myself in which this attorney hung up during the recorded conference call. Both myself and the examiner tried to call the attorney back to finish the call but were unable to reach the attorney. This attorney sent me a hostile email refusing to give me the partial refund that he promised of $2,500.00 for not completing the job to its end per the service agreement contract fee agreement signed previously by all parties. I am requesting the partial refund that he offered of $2, 500.00 for not completing the services rendered per his signed fee attorney service agreement contract for the cost of living audit portion of the fee agreement that he never completed to its entirety per his signed attorney fee agreement and service agreement contract .

See All Client Reviews

John Ellis Ellsworth's Lawyer Endorsements

Endorse John

No Endorsement Data Available Yet
This attorney hasn't received any attorney endorsements recently on Avvo.

No Endorsement Data Available Yet
This attorney hasn't created any attorney endorsements recently on Avvo.

Experience

Rating:  6.6 (Good)

Work Experience

1972 - 2011

Attorney, Law Office of John Ellsworth

Associations

1972 - Present

American Bar Association

1972 - Present

Illinois State Bar Association

Colorado Bar Association

State Bar of Wisconsin

Education

N/A

Saint Louis University School of Law

JD - Juris Doctor

N/A

Greenville College

BS - Bachelor of Science

Publications

Languages

English

Activity

Avvo Rating

Our Rating is calculated using information the lawyer has included on their profile in addition to the information we collect from state bar associations and other organizations that license legal professionals. Attorneys who claim their profiles and provide Avvo with more information tend to have a higher rating than those who do not.

What determines Avvo Rating?
  • Experience & background Years licensed, work experience, education
  • Legal community recognition Peer endorsements, associations, awards
  • Legal thought leadership Publications, speaking engagements
  • Discipline Disciplinary information may not be comprehensive, or updated. We recommend that you always check a lawyer's disciplinary status with their respective state bar association before hiring them.
Avvo Rating Levels
10.0 - 9.0 Superb8.9 - 8.0 Excellent7.9 - 7.0 Very Good6.9 - 6.0 Good5.9 - 5.0 Average4.9 - 4.0 Concern3.9 - 3.0 Caution2.9 - 2.0 Strong Caution1.9 - 1.0 Extreme Caution