Practice areas: Real Estate, Estate Planning & Probate; view more
Licensed in Illinois since: 2010
Education: The John Marshall Law School
Selected to Rising Stars: 2017 - 2025 Call today:
312-262-5522
Virtual Appointments Front Door Legal
2502 N Clark StSte 236
Chicago, IL 60614 Visit website
Justin Strane is the founder of Front Door Legal LLC, a Chicago firm focused on residential real estate transactions and estate planning. He represents buyers, sellers, and families navigating the decisions that matter most - closing on a home, protecting assets, planning for what comes next.
His real estate work covers the full transaction: purchase and sale contracts, title review, closings, and lease negotiations for both residential and commercial properties. On the estate planning side, he helps individuals and families build plans that hold up when it counts.
He holds a J.D. from The John Marshall Law School (now UIC School of Law), where he was an editor of the Review of Intellectual Property Law and took first place in a national moot court competition. He later earned an LL.M. in real estate from the same institution. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan in 2007. Justin is admitted to practice in Illinois and before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Practice areas
Real Estate: Consumer, Estate Planning & Probate, Real Estate: BusinessFocus areas
Estate Planning, Power of Attorney, Probate & Estate Administration, Trusts, Wills
- 50% Real Estate: Consumer
- 40% Estate Planning & Probate
- 10% Real Estate: Business
First Admitted: 2010, Illinois
Professional Webpage: https://www.frontdoorlegal.com/about
Bar / Professional Activity
- Member, Illinois State Bar Association, 2026
- Member, Chicago Bar Association, 2025
- Member, Illinois State Bar Association, 2025
- Co-Chair, Chicago Bar Association Residential Real Estate Committee, 2024
- Member, Illinois State Bar Association, 2024
- Member, Illinois State Bar Association, 2023
- Co-Chair, Chicago Bar Association Residential Real Estate Committee, 2023
- Co-Chair, Chicago Bar Association Residential Real Estate Committee, 2022
- Chicago Association of Realtors - Affiliate Member, 2022
- Member, Illinois State Bar Association, 2022
- University of Michigan Alumni Club of Greater Chicago, 2022
Transactions
- Represented the purchaser of a 78,500 square foot industrial property in Chicago for a purchase price of $3.8 million. , 2022
- Represented the buyer in the acquisition of a Chicago industrial property for $2.4 million. Contracted in 2025 with a structured closing in 2026 to accommodate the buyer's financing timeline. Negotiated a pre-closing lease to secure early tenant possession - a solution that emerged mid-negotiation and proved critical to getting the transaction to closing., 2025
- Represented a commercial tenant in negotiating a 10-year lease for 30,000 square feet of Chicago space to be built out as a specialty sports and recreation facility. Total lease value: approximately $6.1 million., 2025
Special Licenses / Certifications
- Title Insurance Agent, Fidelity National Title Insurance Company, 2025
- Title Insurance Agent, Chicago Title Insurance Company, 2021
- Title Insurance Agent, First American Title Insurance Company, 2022
- Title Insurance Agent, Stewart Title Guaranty Company, 2022
Educational Background
- B.A., The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Minor in Music; Volunteer, University Unions Arts and Programs
- The John Marshall Law School, LL.M. (Real Estate)
Scholarly Lectures / Writings
- Moderated panel discussion during 2017 Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyers' Section seminar on "The Role of Real Estate in Chicago's Segregated Landscape"., Moderator, How Real Estate Attorneys Can Help Resolve Chicago's Segregation, Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyers' Section, 2017
- "Commercial tenancies: Clearly define every term in a lease agreement." Illinois State Bar Association Section on Real Estate Law (June 2016)
- Letters of Intent (Presenter), and Landlord Tenant Representation (Panel), Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyers Section Commercial Leasing Seminar (November 2016)
- Chicago Bar Association YLS Commercial Real Estate Leasing Seminar, 2016
Honors
- The Clients' Choice Award is reserved for legal professionals who receive five or more 4 or 5 star reviews on Avvo within a period of one year., Clients' Choice Award, Avvo, 2021
- The Clients' Choice Award is reserved for legal professionals who receive five or more 4 or 5 star reviews on Avvo within a period of one year., Clients' Choice Award, Avvo, 2019
- Clients' Choice Award, Avvo, 2016
- Clients' Choice Award, Avvo, 2017
Selections
- Rising Stars: 2017 - 2025
