As a senior counsel in the firm’s Condominium & Common Interest Community Association practice group, Eliot focuses his practice on representing condominium associations, common interest communities and housing cooperatives in a variety of litigation and arbitration matters, including declaration enforcement actions, construction defect claims, contract and easements disputes, consumer fraud, municipal code violations, mixed use development disputes, developer financial liability and collections. He also advises clients on numerous transactional matters, including contract review and documentation, declaration and bylaw amendments, rules review and updates, and the interpretation of governing documents and the Illinois Condominium Property Act. Prior to entering the world of private practice, Eliot served as an assistant attorney general with the Illinois Attorney General’s Chicago office, where he handled an array of civil matter involving state agencies, officials and employees.
Some highlights of Eliot’s extensive legal career include:
- Authoring motions for summary judgment in a case which were granted in plaintiff’s favor, resulting in judgment amounts in excess of $7 million.
- Successfully enforcing a reciprocal easement agreement in a four-day trial in the Circuit Court of Cook County on behalf of a residential condominium association.
- Negotiating a settlement of construction defect lawsuit of approximately $1 million on behalf of condominium client.
- Successfully bringing actions against unit owners for violating an association’s governing documents, resulting in compliance plus payment of association’s court costs and attorney’s fees.
- Successfully negotiating a favorable settlement for a corporate client who had been sued as a result of a former property manager’s embezzlement of funds during a mediation.
- Prosecuting hundreds of forcible entry and detainer lawsuits in Cook, DuPage and Lake Counties on behalf of Condominium and Townhome Associations.
Eliot believes the key to client service is being as attentive and responsive as possible to client needs and requests. He prefers taking a respectful, yet straightforward approach when communicating with clients in order to set their expectations and make sure they have an understanding of where things stand with their respective matters through every step of the process. Eliot also believes in informing clients of all their options and advising them on the best approach, providing them the knowledge and efficiency to make the best decisions to achieve their goals.
Always eager for opportunities to continue learning and expanding his professional skills, Eliot is an active member of the Chicago Bar Association Condominium Law Subcommittee where he garners practical approaches to tackle some of his clients’ most complex needs. He also routinely attends seminars on condominium and common interest community association law, including the Community Associations Institute’s annual Law Seminar, which provides a forum to discuss emerging trends and legislative issues important to the practice of community association law.
When Eliot is not in the office, he enjoys playing tennis and spending quality time with his family, including being an avid spectator at his children’s sporting and music events.