Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres LLC

Founded by entrepreneurially-minded alumni of top BigLaw firms and powerful government agencies, CFDB serves clients across a full range of practices.

Founded with a Handshake

CFDB was founded in 2019 as a small corporate law firm based in Chicago. The firm has quickly grown to become a full-service law firm with blue chip clients and more than 100 attorneys in over 14 states, including Illinois, New York, DC, Florida, and Texas. In 2021, the firm established a lobbying and government affairs partnership with Point of Difference Strategies. CFDB continues to build its team of sophisticated, deeply experienced attorneys, many with high-level government, political, and regulatory backgrounds.

Corporate to Full Service

From the start, CFDB has offered a suite of corporate practices, including general corporate, finance, restructuring, M&A, real estate, taxation, and outside general counsel. As the firm has grown, it has expanded its governmental affairs and real estate practices with well-connected partners, added a cryptocurrency & digital assets practice, bolstered its litigation practice with a 2023 merger, and in 2024 the firm added public finance, food & drug law, and non-profit advisory practices. CFDB is Vault-ranked in the Chicago Midsize regional ranking, and the firm’s M&A group is Chambers-ranked in Illinois, as are lawyers in the M&A, real estate, and finance practices.

The firm’s attorneys take a “founder mentality” in their practice, consistently evolving to meet the complex and fast-changing needs of modern clients. Clients include private equity firms, venture capital investors, public companies, family offices, startups and founders.

Strength in Difference

CFDB joined the National Association of Minority and Women-Owned Law Firms in 2023. The firm is also the largest law firm in Chicago and one of the top five largest in the U.S. to be certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. Point of Difference Strategies, the firm’s lobbying and government affairs partner, is the largest wholly Latina-owned lobbying firm in Illinois, with offices in Chicago and Springfield.