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On January 27, 1981, Brian Rubin’s second of his three children, Mitchell, was born. Mitch has Autism among other diagnosed special needs. The birth of Mitch changed the lives of Brian and his wife, Linda. For Brian, an attorney, his professional life, as well as his personal life took a “fork in the road”. Prior to Mitch’s birth, since 1976, Brian had been in private practice, concentrating in Estate Planning, Estate Administration, Tax Planning and Business Law. Since 1981, with Mitchell’s birth, Brian’s practice became dedicated to appropriate "Special Needs Future Planning" (SNFP) for his fellow Illinois parents and families of children and adults with special needs. This includes Estate Planning, Estate & Trust Administration, Special Needs Trusts, OBRA 93 Trusts, Adult Guardianship Proceedings, Government Benefits’ Planning, Guidance on Residential and Day Services’, Transition Planning and related matters. Brian is, by invitation, a member of the Special Needs Alliance (SNA), the national not for profit organization of attorneys who concentrate their practices in Special Needs Planning. Brian serves on SNA's Board of Directors. Brian was a Charter Member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Brian also serves on NAELA's (The National Academy of Elder Law Attoneys) Special Needs Law Steering Committee. Brian’s personal time, likewise, has been dedicated to assisting and serving his fellow families of children and adults with special needs. Brian is Vice President of the The Arc of Illinois. Brian served as Chairman of the State of Illinois Department of Human Services Statewide Advisory Council on Developmental Disabilities, by appointment of the Director of the Illinois Department of Human Services' Division of Developmental Disabilities. Brian serves by appointment of the Governor as a Member of the State of Illinois Department of Human Services' Quality Care Board. The Quality Care Board monitors and oversees operations, policies, and procedures of the Department of Human Services’ Inspector General to assure prompt and thorough investigations of neglect and abuse allegations. Brian serves as Co-Chairman of the State of Illinois Department of Human Services Task Force on Autism, by appointment of the Secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services. Brian serves on the State of Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Developmental Disabilities, Strategic Planning Team, by appointment of the Director of the Illinois Department of Human Services' Division of Developmental Disabilities. Brian serves on the State of Illinois Disabilities Services Advisory Committee (The State of Illinois “Olmstead” Committee), by appointment of the Governor of Illinois (First by Governor Ryan, and then by Governor Blagoyevich. Brian also serves and has served on other State of Illinois Department of Human Services Task Forces and Committees. Brian serves on the Board of Directors of Clearbrook, an agency that serves more than 3,000 children and adults with disabilities (He has served on the Clearbrook Board since 1989). Brian serves on the Board of Directors of PACT, Inc., the PAS/ISC Agent for DuPage County, which also is available to serve as Trustee of Special Needs Trusts, and as Guardians of adults with special needs. Brian serves on the Board of Directors of SLSF (Special Leisure Services Foundation) which supports NWSRA (Northwest Special Recreation Association). Over the years, Brian has served on various Parent and Parent/Teacher Boards, Councils and Committees in and for the Special Education District of Lake County, Illinois (SEDOL), and served as the Founding Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the SEDOL Foundation. Brian has served as an officer and as a member of the Board of Directors of KESHET (Jewish Parents of Children with Special Needs). Brian has served on the Board of Directors of the Northpointe Achievement Center (formerly known as the Lake County Society For Human Development). Brian has also served as General Counsel for Countryside Association. Brian is a former IRS Agent and a former IRS Estate Tax Attorney. Brian served by appointment on the American Bar Association's Sub-Committee on "Special Needs Trusts and Other Protective Vehicles". Brian has served by appointment of the President of the Illinois State Bar Association on that Association's "Section Council" on Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law. Brian also has served, by appointment, on that Association's "Standing Committee" on the Mentally Disabled. Brian has been admitted as a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). Brian served on the Illinois Chapter of NAELA Board of Directors. Brian is on the Faculty of the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (IICLE), specifically on the topic of Special Needs Planning and Special Needs Trusts, and also is a contributing author for the IICLE Special Needs Trusts Practice Handbook. Brian has served on the Board of Governors of the Northwest Suburban Bar Association, as Chairman of that Association's Estate Planning Probate and Tax Law Committee, as Co-Chairman of that Association's Continuing Legal Education Committee, and was the co-founder and served as Chairman of that Association's Committee on Planning for Individuals with Disabilities and the Elderly. Brian served three, four year terms, twelve years, as an elected Village Trustee in Buffalo Grove, Illinois (population 45,000) and was the founder of and served as Chairman of the Buffalo Grove Commission for Residents with Disabilities. Brian is a Past President of the Rotary Club of Buffalo Grove and has also served as an Assistant District Governor for Rotary District 6440. Brian sincerely feels that Mitchell has allowed him, his wife, Linda, as well as “big sister/assistant mom” Nicole and “little/big brother” Benjamin, to better appreciate what is truly important in life... and what is... maybe... not so important. Brian feels the tremendous responsibility of not only being the parent of a child with special needs, but also as an attorney with the knowledge and ability to assist others in special needs future planning... needed to secure the future of children and adults with special needs. While Brian wishes for Mitchell to have a long, healthy and enjoyable life, he often admits that he prays that he lives at least one moment longer than Mitchell... for that ultimately is the “Parent’s Prayer”... the desire not to ask anyone else to, or to have anyone else have to “take over” the enormous responsibility of caring for their child with special needs... as only a fellow parent could understand. Brian is a frequent author and lecturer on the topic of appropriate future planning for families of individuals with special needs, and has been interviewed on television and radio, and has been often quoted in newspapers (including the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times), books and magazines. For more information and/or to arrange for Brian Rubin to speak to your group or organization on the topic of "Future Planning for Families of Children & Adults with Special Needs", please contact our office. Please "click" on the "Lecture Schedule" link to the left for a list of where Brian will be speaking in the future, and where he has lectured in the past.
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