An IRELA CLE Webinar

Case Law Update 2025

Joseph R. Fortunato Jr.

MCLE tentative for 1-hour Professionalism CLE credit

Registration is Free for IRELA Members
Non-Members ~ $50*

This presentation will include distribution of summaries of recent case decisions of interest to real estate attorneys. Rather than reading directly from the summaries, the speaker will share separate comments on each decision, including efforts to harmonize what may appear to be conflicting legal theories from various courts of review.

Joseph R. Fortunato Jr.

Joe Fortunato joined the Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS® on October 1, 2024 as in-house counsel after more than 50 years of private law practice. He has represented Mainstreet and its predecessor entities as outside counsel since 2001. During his active practice of law, he concentrated on residential and commercial real estate matters, as well as on civil litigation. He is a member of the drafting committee of the Multi-Board Residential Real Estate Contract, which is the latest standard contract for purchasing residential real estate in Illinois and participated in drafting multiple prior versions of the Contract. He is a frequent lecturer for the Illinois State Bar Association and other regional bar associations.

Mr. Fortunato has testified extensively as an opinion witness in cases involving real estate law issues and, in 2015, authored the book “Getting Started as a Real Estate Attorney,” published by the American Bar Association. He is a past chair of the ISBA Real Estate Section Council. He has been appointed Chair of the DuPage County Bar Association Real Estate Law & Practice Committee for 2025-26, after having chaired the committee on three previous occasions. He is a former president and former board member of the Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association. Mr. Fortunato was also the Special Assistant State’s Attorney for DuPage County Division of Transportation from 1996-2001.

He received a B. A. in Political Science from Northern Illinois University in 1970 and a J. D. from the John Marshall Law School in 1973. He has been licensed to practice law in Illinois since November 27, 1973.

*Join IRELA