COOK COUNTY RECORD

A Chicago law firm is suing a client and one of his companies, claiming they failed to pay a quarter of a million dollar legal bill.

Arnstein & Lehr filed a complaint in Cook County Circuit Court against John T. Murphy and Trean Development, alleging breach of contract.

According to the complaint, John R. Joyce joined Arstein in March 2012, at which time Murphy retained Arnstein and transferred his pending legal matters there in order for Joyce, who handled his business matters in the past, to continue to represent him and several of his real estate ventures.

Arnstein says it provided legal services to the defendants, who made several partial payments, but still owe $225,022.54. It says Murphy, individually, owes $71,634.20.

The firm is suing the defendants for that amount, plus 14 percent interest per year and costs, and is represented by Jeffrey M. Feingold, special counsel for Arnstein & Lehr.

Cook County Circuit Court case number: 2014L011628.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at Cook County Circuit Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note that a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt and it represents only one side of the story.