Richard Baker's Email & Phone

When Richard Baker filled out his application for law school, he wrote that he wanted to become a lawyer to 'serve the kingdom of God. It is surprising that Rich wrote such an answer on his law school application because he had spent his childhood challenging the fundamentalists? at the Christian college down the street. At the age of sixteen, during an argument with a student at the Christian college, Rich heard God say to him, I love you and I will teach you to love others. Just six years later, in 1976, he found himself with a Bachelor of Arts in History from Wheaton College, the same college he had challenged for so many years. Although knowing the answer on his application might jeopardize his admission into law school, Rich believed that, in the end, truthfulness is the best policy and that God honors those who honor Him. In 1980, his honesty was rewarded when he earned his Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School in Chicago, Illinois. True to his desire to serve the Kingdom, the majority of his clients are churches and religious ministries. Rich's practice has grown to include the areas of zoning law and religious freedom, civil rights litigation, real estate law, not-for-profit corporate law, estate planning, and federal and real estate tax exemption. Rich's work in these areas has allowed him to help others resolve complicated problems. Often churches are not aware of the complexities involved in complying with the numerous regulations governing not-for-profits. He notes that, often government agencies are not responsive to the needs of religious clients. The agencies are bureaucratic in nature and at times have a bias against religious organizations. Working with them can be a great challenge. The six generations of lawyers in his family provided Rich with an excellent groundwork for a thorough understanding of the legal field and impressed on him the importance of ethics in his work. Rich's coworkers at Mauck & Baker continue to spur him on as he attempts to do God's work. We have a very deep desire to serve Christ,? he says. We are Christians first and that colors what we do. Rich served on the Board of the Christian Business Men's Committee for 14 years, and continues to serve on various church and foundation boards. In addition, he has served as the head of the missions program at his church and recently organized and ran an ESL (English as a Second Language) Trip to China. Rich loves teaching and has often had the opportunity to teach on religious freedom at Wheaton College and to speak on various legal topics to international students. He also enjoys running and playing the mandolinthough not at the same time. Rich has been married to Mary for more than twenty-five years. They met at church and, according to Rich, it was love at first sight. Rich takes great pride in his six children, and because only 114,000 families in the U.S. have six or more children, he notes that they are rare birds. Rich and his family live in Wheaton, Illinois and attend Church of the Great Shepherd. Education J.D., Loyola Law School, Illinois, 1980 B.A., Wheaton, College, Illinois, 1977 Cum Laude Admissions Illinois, 1980 U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois United States Supreme Court, 2004 Professional Activities (Memberships) Illinois Bar Association Christian Legal Society Practice Areas Adoption Business Formation Commercial Real Estate Constitutional Law Estate Planning Freedom of Speech & Religion Not-for-Profit Real Estate Law and Litigation Real Estate Tax Exemption: 501(c)(3) Religious Liberty Protection Residential Real Estate Zoning Law: Religious Land Use & Institutionalized Persons Act & Constitutional Protections