Aaron E. Rifkind

I handle construction and partnership litigation, and I advise small and middle-market companies on tax-sensitive transactions that often sit underneath those fights.

A large part of my practice is still the courtroom work: construction disputes, partnership and shareholder disputes, and commercial litigation for operating companies. I have been lead counsel on Seventh Circuit appeals and federal litigation matters, more than 1,000 state-court cases, and 2,000-plus administrative hearings nationwide. I also serve as a chief arbitrator in the Cook County and Lake County mandatory arbitration programs.

My tax work includes sales and use tax projects, Section 48 solar investment tax credit matters, and Employee Retention Credit litigation for small businesses. I use that tax background in partnership buyouts, construction and project-company deals, credit documentation, and the disputes that follow when the economics and the tax allocation no longer match.

I am Co-Managing Partner of Rifkind Patrick LLC, which I co-founded in 2015. Clients use me as trial counsel, transactional counsel, and outside general counsel for companies in Chicago, New York, and internationally.

Selected recognition
• Illinois Super Lawyers, 2024–2026
• Illinois Rising Stars, 2017–2023
• CALI Excellence for the Future Award, highest grade in Criminal Tax, Georgetown University Law Center
• Distinction in Public Service, Washington University School of Law
• Chicago’s Most Caring Legal Professionals, Jewish United Fund (2013)

Education and admissions
LL.M. in Taxation, Georgetown University Law Center. J.D., Washington University School of Law. B.A., Philosophy, magna cum laude with honors, Brandeis University. Admitted in Illinois, New York, and Texas.

I work well with CPAs and national firms that need counsel on construction and partnership disputes, and on the state tax, energy-credit, and pass-through issues that come with those matters.