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(312) 555-0110Mon–Fri, 8:30 am–5:30 pm Confidential inquiry

The firm

A business law firm of five lawyers, founded in 2012 on Adams Street. We work for companies and the people who own them, in three fields and no others.

A Loop street lined with limestone and brick office buildings, the elevated train crossing at the end of the block
Adams Street in the morning, looking west toward the elevated tracks over Wells Street.

How the firm started

Thomas Marlowe and Adaora Okafor met in 2005 as associates at a large firm on LaSalle Street. In 2012 they opened Marlowe & Okafor with two desks, one conference room and three clients who followed them.

Ruth Zielinski joined in 2015 to build the real estate practice, after six years as underwriting counsel at a title insurer. Owen Ferris joined in 2021 and Lena Sato in 2022.

Today the firm is five lawyers, two paralegals and an office manager, on the fourteenth floor of a limestone office building on Adams Street, four minutes on foot from the federal courthouse.

2012
Founded on Adams Street
5
Lawyers, two paralegals
3
Fields of practice, no others
4 min
On foot to the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse

How we work

Five commitments in every engagement letter.

One partner on every matter
A partner is responsible for your matter from the first call to the last invoice, and you have their direct line.
A budget before the work
Every engagement letter comes with a written budget. If the matter changes, we update the budget before doing the work.
Itemized invoices
Monthly invoices in tenths of an hour, with who did what and why. No charge for copies, routine calls or internal meetings.
Calls returned within one business day
If your lawyer is in court, someone who knows your matter calls you back.
A straight answer when we’re not the right firm
If your matter is outside our three fields, we say so on the first call and suggest where to go.
Thomas Marlowe, Adaora Okafor and Ruth Zielinski in conversation at the conference table
Thomas Marlowe, Adaora Okafor and Ruth Zielinski on a Monday morning.

The Monday matters meeting

Every Monday at 8:30 am, the five of us go through every open matter, its next deadline and where it stands against its budget. Nothing waits a week without someone knowing.

Each of our lawyers gives at least 50 hours a year to pro bono work, mostly for small nonprofits and first-time business owners on the South and West Sides.

Reviews

4.8on Google, from 63 reviews

  • “Thomas laid out a budget for each phase before we spent a dollar, and the invoices tracked it. He told us plainly where our case was weak, which nobody else had.”

    Daniel R., Owner, metal fabrication shop 5 out of 5 ·

  • “Adaora rewrote our handbook for Illinois and Chicago rules and trained our supervisors in two sessions. Our managers actually use the checklist she left them.”

    Karen M., HR director, food distributor 5 out of 5 ·

  • “Not the cheapest firm we talked to, and the first call felt like an interview. They asked a lot of questions before agreeing to take us on. In hindsight the conflict check and the written budget saved us time.”

    Marcus T., Co-owner, restaurant group 4 out of 5 ·

  • “Ruth explained a sixty-page lease in a one-page summary we could actually read. Closing day had no surprises.”

    Elena V., Managing member, family property company 5 out of 5 ·

  • “Lena turned our sublease review around in three business days and flagged two issues in plain English. Easy to work with.”

    Priya K., Co-founder, software company 5 out of 5 ·

Reviews describe each client’s experience with our service. They are not a prediction of the outcome of any other matter.

Map of the Chicago Loop showing our office and the two main courthouses Our office at 127 West Adams Street, between Clark and LaSalle. The Dirksen U.S. Courthouse is 4 minutes on foot, east on Adams and south on Dearborn. The Richard J. Daley Center is 7 minutes on foot, east to Clark and north to Washington. Quincy station on the elevated Loop is 4 minutes away. Van BurenJacksonAdamsMadisonWabashClarkDearbornLaSalleMonroeLakeRandolphStateWellsWashington Quincy Dirksen4 min Daley Center7 min Our office
  • Our office, 14th floor
  • Courthouse
  • The elevated Loop
  • Walking route

Street data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Office and directions

Marlowe & Okafor LLP
127 West Adams Street, Suite 1410
Chicago, IL 60603

On the Chicago grid: 127 west, 200 south, counting from State and Madison. Open in a map

Email
office@marloweokafor.com
Hours
Monday to Friday, 8:30 am–5:30 pm
Saturday and Sunday, Closed
Mon–Fri, 8:30 am–5:30 pm
Holidays
Closed Thanksgiving and the day after, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, July 4 (observed) and Labor Day.
On foot
Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, 4 minutes. Richard J. Daley Center, 7 minutes.
Transit
Quincy station on the Loop ‘L’ (Brown, Orange, Pink and Purple Lines) is at Wells and Quincy, four minutes on foot. The station has elevators.
Parking
Public garages on Adams and Wells Streets charge about $25 to $40 for a two-hour meeting. We don’t validate parking.
Access
Step-free entrance on Adams Street, elevators to the fourteenth floor and an accessible restroom on our floor. Tell us if you need a sign language interpreter or another accommodation. We arrange it at no cost.

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Send a confidential inquiry (312) 555-0110