CONTACT INFORMATION
(312) 641-1555
PRACTICE FOCUS
Product Liability Litigation
Professional Liability
Transportation Litigation
EDUCATION
B.A., Princeton University, 1961
BAR & COURT ADMISSIONS
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Federal Trial Bar)
LEGAL EXPERIENCE
McKenna, Storer, Rowe, White & Farrug, 1967-1970
Home & Automobile Insurance Company, 1970-1973
Jacobs, Williams & Montgomery, Ltd., 1973-1985); Williams & Montgomery, 1985-1987
Contact Information
Practice Focus
Civil Litigation and Insurance Defense
Product Liability Litigation
Professional Liability
Transportation Litigation
Education
J.D., University of Chicago, 1964
B.A., Princeton University, 1961
Bar & Court Admissions
Illinois
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Federal Trial Bar)
Legal Experience
Jacobs & McKenna, 1964-1967
McKenna, Storer, Rowe, White & Farrug, 1967-1970
Home & Automobile Insurance Company, 1970-1973
Jacobs, Williams & Montgomery, Ltd., 1973-1985); Williams & Montgomery, 1985-1987
Awards
My first boss told me as I began practice that if I could successfully try an automobile case, I could try anything. That seemed counter-intuitive given all the stress legal marketers like to place on specialization in substantive areas. I realized, over time, that he was right.I learned to develop and try cases by cutting my teeth on minor and increasingly serious auto accident claims. As the years passed I found myself litigating through investigation, motion practice, discovery, trial or settlement and occasional appeal all manner of tort, contract and administrative claims including products liability (vehicles, all manner of machines, chemicals, drugs and food), professional liability ( M.D.’s, nurses, hospitals, nursing homes; attorneys, accountants, construction contractors, architects, insurance and real estate brokers, and computer programmers), civil rights, employment discrimination, real estate, insurance coverage, family law, and contracts of all kinds.
The common thread to all is the understanding of the litigation process, the tactics and techniques of the proof of facts, the use of cross examination and development of persuasive presentation to move juries, judges and administrative fact finders.
It has been a personally rewarding experience to witness the fairness and judgment of those fact finders when they have available to them the relevant information to apply the law and reach an appropriate result. It has also helped me to give counsel to clients as to their risks and exposures and negotiate with adversaries.
It is also personally rewarding, as a co-founder of the firm, and mentor to young attorneys, to witness our partners and associates repeating my experience for the benefit of the firm’s clients and their own sense of professional accomplishment in the effective administration of justice.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
- American Bar Association
- Illinois State Bar Association
- Chicago Bar Association
- Trial Lawyers Club of Chicago
- Illinois Defense Counsel
- Society of Trial Lawyers (Board of Directors, 1990-1992)
- International Association of Defense Counsel-Defense Research Institute
- Past Chairman, Insurance Section Council (ISBA)-1985
- American Board of Trial Advocates
- Arbitrator, American Arbitration Association