By Celeste Bott

Law360 (July 8, 2020, 6:41 PM EDT) -- A handful of Chicago-area law firms scored the biggest loans — between $5 million and $10 million — from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, and a majority of large loans to Prairie State law offices went to those headquartered in Chicago.

The six Illinois firms receiving those largest loans are: Brinks Gilson & Lione, Freeborn & Peters LLP, Litchfield Cavo LLP, Schiff Hardin LLP, SmithAmundsen LLC and the Bannockburn, Ill.-based Law Offices of Gerald Shapiro, a nationwide network of law firms specializing in foreclosure litigation.

More than 650 Illinois law firms were among the businesses approved for loans of $150,000 or more under the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program, which is intended to ease the economic impact of COVID-19, according to newly released data. Roughly 60% of the 671 Illinois firms that received more than $150,000 in loans are based in Chicago, and PPP loans of over $1 million were received overwhelmingly by Chicago-based firms, while downstate firms tended to receive loans ranging from $150,000 to $1 million.

For Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP, one of 30 Illinois firms to receive between $2 million and $5 million in federal loans, the money helped prevent layoffs and furloughs as business slowed, firm managing partner Patricia Brown Holmes told Law360.

Holmes said that while she had heard people questioning the need for law firms to receive large loans, the money has preserved the jobs of staffers such as secretaries, receptionists, paralegals and mailroom workers.

"Those would be jobs people would have lost. They could have lost health insurance," Holmes said. "I've been hearing a lot of folks say, why should law firms get all that money? That money isn't going into my pocket."

Holmes said the lag time between a firm's work and its billing cycle could easily get a firm into trouble. And she emphasized the limitations on how the funds could be used: to pay salaries, rent and bills associated with rent.

"It wasn't going toward buying shoes," she said.

At Brinks Gilson & Lione, the PPP loan helped the firm avert layoffs, furloughs and salary reductions for associates, paralegals and other staff, Gus Siller, an intellectual property attorney and president of the firm, told Law360 Tuesday. He said the firm had seen reduced revenue in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

"This loan was only one part of our overall efforts to protect the financial stability and long-term viability of our firm," Siller said. "Brinks took steps to decrease expenses and strengthen cash flow. These steps included a reduction in shareholder compensation, decreases in all non-essential operational expenses and other financial options at our disposal."

None of the other Illinois firms receiving more than $5 million in PPP loans immediately returned requests for comment.

Other firms receiving the $2 million to $5 million loans include Swanson Martin & Bell, Goldberg Kohn, HeplerBroom LLC and Tressler LLP.

Thirty-seven firms received $1 million to $2 million through the program, among them Donahue Brown Mathewson & Smythe LLC, Pretzel & Stouffer, Chartered, and O'Hagan Meyer.

The nearly $660 billion Paycheck Protection Program offers government-backed private loans up to $10 million to employers that generally must have fewer than 500 workers. The loans will be forgiven if used at least 60% for payroll, with the remainder going to certain expenses like commercial rent.

More than 170 of the largest law firms in the U.S. were among the businesses approved for loans. While most firms received less than $350,000, data shows that 128 BigLaw firms and other law offices received forgivable loans between $5 million and $10 million.

--Additional reporting by Emma Cueto & Xiumei Dong. Editing by Peter Rozovsky.

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