Attorney James Meason has practiced law in some of the largest cities of the country. But he says that opening his own practice in Rockton, Ill., in 1997, was one of his best decisions.
“By being a small-town attorney, I can really help people,” he says.
His services include family law, estate planning, real estate, business law, mediation and environmental law. He takes pride in providing what clients need – and not selling them what they don’t need.
“I grew up in a working class neighborhood of Chicago, went to public school and was the first person in my family to attend college,” he says. “I know how hard people work. I hate to see how some attorneys complicate things in order to charge more money. Sometimes they build you a lunar module when all you need is a minivan.”
Before coming to Rockton, Meason was a top attorney at the national firm Hinshaw & Culbertson, where he defended companies charged with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) violations. Before that, he worked as a federal attorney prosecuting companies for EPA violations.
Meason earned his Master’s in International Relations from Georgetown University and was working 13-hour shifts at the Pentagon for the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Naval Intelligence when he decided to earn his law degree by attending night school at American University. He discovered that he loved the law.
“People can save a lot of money if they’re proactive about consulting an attorney at key times in their lives,” he says. “You wouldn’t believe the messes people find themselves in because they didn’t do this when setting up a business or closing a real estate transaction, for example.”
There are simple things people should know, but don’t, he says.
“Many people own homes valued at more than $100,000 but don’t realize that an estate of more than $100,000 will go through Illinois probate unless a trust has been set up,” he says. “Or they think that being married automatically gives the spouse power of attorney. It doesn’t.”
The practice is located at 113 N. Main St., Rockton. Learn more at measonlaw.com. ❚