Attorney Profiles

John was born in Evergreen Park, Illinois. He grew up in Blue Island, Illinois, and spent his first 36 years mostly on the South Side and South Suburbs. John attended St. Ignatius High School on Roosevelt Road in Chicago, and all post high-school education was in Chicago.

John's first career, from 1967 to 1974, was at Jewel Food Stores, where he was a Jewel Scholarship winner and worked in ten different stores in the Southwest Area. After Jewel, in 1975, John graduated from University of Illinois at Chicago in Accounting, with honors . John's second career was in public accounting. He passed the CPA exam on his first attempt in 1975, and worked in two Big Eight (now Big Four) accounting firms, first on the audit staff and then on the tax staff.

John attended Northwestern University Law School from 1976-1979, graduating and passing the bar in 1979. He was the law school's social chairman his last two years there, and was nominated for the Wigmore Scholar award, awarded annually to the graduating student who most exemplifies the ideals of the Law School. After law school, John worked for the first year at an accounting firm, but changed to the private law practice in 1980 with a firm noteworthy at that time for, among other things, incorporating what came to be Household International and being that company's law firm from the 1880's to 1979. John did the domestic and international tax planning for a key client's expansion into Europe over seven years.

During John's legal career he has done the tax work on two tax cases which made the front page of one or more business journals, and worked on financial aspects of the longest arbitration in Cook County history. John has obtained many refunds for tax clients, several of which exceeded the $250,000 refund amount which requires Congressional committee approval prior to payment. After many years downtown, John hung out his "shingle" in early 1992, and currently practices law in Park Ridge , working on taxes, estate planning, real estate closings, and corporate and other business matters.

John and his wife, Mary (born and raised in Evanston) married in 1986. They moved to Park Ridge in 1989. John is active in the Park Ridge Rotary Club, chairing two of their last three community picnics, and is a member of bar and professional associations and St. Paul of the Cross. Mary is active in Park Ridge Community Women, and works in the home since their children were born. Daughter Bridget is 8 years old and is in 2nd Grade at St. Paul of the Cross Parish in Park Ridge. Jack (John Joseph Pembroke III) is an active 3 1/2 year old.

When John is not working, he reads to keep up on current events, biographies and history, and science fiction and other novels for fun. Mary likes to say she had been to Europe each year from 1977 to 1989, but their travel since then has been closer to home.

John has earned and maintained for many years an AV peer review rating of his ethical standards and legal ability from Martindale, Hubble's Peer Review ratings process. This process continuously solicits opinions of John, his ability, and his general ethical standards from other practicing attorneys who know of John's character, reputation, and quality of work. According to Martindale-Hubble's ratings system, John's AV rating is "an indication of an exemplary reputation and well-established practice. A typical lawyer in mid-career, with a significant client base and high professional standing."

One of John's colleagues has this to say: "I have known John Pembroke as a lawyer and accountant for 14 years. He has a solid record as a professional, undoubted integrity and an agreeable personality and demeanor. Based on my lengthy experience with John, he is a public spirited citizen who would make a fine Judge of the Cook County Circuit Court." Adlai E. Stevenson III, U.S. Senator from Illinois.