 Lance
Tuscany - Homeowner, Small Business
Owner, has been a client of
Bruzgul & Associates for several
years. During that period Jo Anne
Bruzgul has helped Lance
successfully navigate numerous
business and real estate dealings in
and around Chicago.
When Lance first encountered Jo Anne
Bruzgul, he was locked in litigation
with a major convenience store chain
where he was a franchisee. This was
not only affecting Lance’s business
performance and draining his wallet,
but it was profoundly affecting his
personal life. Jo Anne took a
personal interest in Lance as an
individual and not only captured the
business issues, but according to
Lance “Jo Anne looks at me as a
whole functioning human being and
captured the big picture. I was
going to get this franchisor for
non-compliance if it killed me, made
me bankrupt. I was about to
self-destruct."
Jo Anne Bruzgul was able to
extricate Lance from a 10-year
franchisee agreement without
litigation and saved him more than
$45,000.
However, for Lance Jo Anne’s help
and approach went much deeper: “Jo
Anne Bruzgul not only drove us to
the optimal solution, but she gave
me the whole picture up front, the
best and worse case scenarios and
the business realities. When she
showed me that it would cost me a
lot less to settle than to fight,
even if I won, I was floored. And
Bruzgul & Associates would have
generated significant revenue had we
fought, as I wanted to. In the
process, Jo Anne became not just a
valued counsel, but a friend.”
“Jo Anne Bruzgul did something
very unusual for an attorney. She
made an emotional investment in me.
I will be forever indebted to Jo
Anne for helping me through this
dark period, not just with the
business, but personally. In some
special way I feel we are bonded for
life” – Lance Tuscany, Client
Lance is but one of many Bruzgul &
Associates client/advocates. Their
stories are each fascinatingly
different. But their relationship
with Bruzgul & Associates is
remarkably the same.
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 Clifton
Rogers - Business Owner
“I am Clifton Rogers, a longtime
client of JoAnne Bruzgul’s. Through
her guidance and counsel, I have
moved from unproductive partnerships
to having my own thriving accounting
practice".
It wasn’t easy. When I
initially contacted JoAnne, I was a
one-third share holder in a
corporation that had served me well
for many years. However, my other
two business partners retired but
still expected their same share
profits. I was working hard but had
little to show for it. My other two
business partners did not want to
change the arrangement because they
liked me doing all the work. JoAnne
met with me and my business partner
and was able to work out a
termination of the business
arrangement. I retained the clients
and moved on to another business
situation.
Although JoAnne advised me against
entering into a business arrangement
with another accountant based on the
deal that he was offering, I chose
to proceed anyway. In less than a
year, JoAnne assisted me to
terminate that business arrangement
and also terminate an existing lease
agreement for the office space.
When I look back I realize that I
was afraid of starting a business on
my own, even though it would be in
my best interest. JoAnne, an
entrepreneur herself, created the
corporation, advised me on
management issues and even had her
staff prepare and send a letter to
my current client base advising of
my newly reorganized business. She
was my torchbearer that led the way
for me to become free from past
business relationships that were not
profitable.
When I was having family problems
and was on the brink of divorce, I
turned to JoAnne for her advice. It
was a relief to have a trusted
friend representing me in my
divorce. JoAnne specializes in
representing professionals and
business owners in the divorces. She
has a keen awareness and
understanding of the business
issues. It gave me great peace of
mind to have both her moral support
and keen understanding of my
business issues brought to my
divorce. Within six months I was
divorce, had a fair distribution of
the assets and the freedom to move
forward with my personal life. I
have JoAnne to thank for this.
She has assisted me in creating
both business and personal
structures that not only protect my
assets, but enable me to have peace
of mind.”
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 Paul
Ingallinera - Media Entrepreneur
“2 Lawsuits, $150,000 claim
against me, fired from my job of 15 years (As GM of
a measurement laboratory business), without cause
and the death of a loved one."
This was the situation that I found
myself in a year ago.
I was angry and scared. I am sure I was
clinically depressed. I could not think strait or
begin sorting out what had happened. I
did not know what to do. I don’t think even
Oprah could have helped me. Fortunately a
close friend introduced me to Jo Anne Bruzgul, a
well respected Chicago attorney.
And as I found out, so much more.
Jo Anne not only took a keen
interest in my case, but in me. She became an
empathetic friend, helping me through the grief I
suffered with after my mother’s sudden death.
She also enabled me to effectively deal with
the double abandonment, betrayal and deceit felt
from then being fired by my mother’s business
partner who became the controlling owner of that
small business.
Jo Anne quickly helped me separate
my emotions from the facts.
She and her staff got into the most minuet
details of my employment case. JoAnne fought
to protect my privacy rights by preventing my former
employer from accessing information on my personal
laptop computer. She showed the Judge that the
case lacked merit.
As a result of her relentless defense of the
action, the partner decided to drop his frivolous
claim against me. Jo Anne showed me how I
could legally get my job back if I wanted to.
But as she pointed out all sides of the situation
and the cost of litigation, it became an easy
decision to walk away from that job.
She then suggested that I could
probably make more money, be more secure and much
happier working for a larger company where I could
use both my technical and management skills. With
some additional moral support from Jo Anne, I landed
a job as a training operation specialist with a
nationwide market leader in computer technology. And
with a 35% increase in salary!
My new job is challenging &
quite fulfilling and my new employer is enlightened.
I feel like I have found a new home… I am hitting
my stride. All
throughout my ordeal Jo Anne not only passionately
fought for my case, she fought for me. She
coached me on how to live my life under such
stressful conditions, and I am certain she saved me
from a nervous breakdown or worse. I will be
forever indebted. But Jo Anne did not make me feel
that way; she made me feel like her friend as I am.
Jo Anne Bruzgul
didn’t just change my situation, she changed my
life.
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