Our Latest Featured Speaker is Ed Samuelson!

Our latest Featured Speaker is Ed Samuelson!

Ed spoke on Tuesday at our Winning Motions for Summary Judgment: From Discovery Strategy to Persuasive Writing (IL and Federal) webinar. Thank you, Ed. We always love having you.

Good news, we have Ed again next month. Ed opens Part 1 of our 16th Annual Circuit Court Boot Camp: The Nuts and Bolts on October 27 with “Building the Case from Day One: Themes, Pleadings, Defenses, and Early Motions,” teaching alongside Kim R. Walberg. They cover early case assessment and themes, the complaint and the rules and strategies behind it, answering the complaint, defenses versus affirmative defenses, motions directed at the pleadings including motions to dismiss and motions to strike, and the case management conference.

Now in its 16th year, the Boot Camp remains the preeminent litigation training program in Illinois for attorneys handling or returning to state court practice. Whether you are newly admitted or simply need a comprehensive refresher, it is the essential foundation for success in Illinois civil litigation.

Hon. Patricia O’Brien Sheahan, Hon. Eileen Marie O’Connor, and Hon. Chloé G. Pedersen give candid commentary throughout on what they see in their courtrooms every day, what works and what does not, covering pleading and motion pitfalls, oral argument, deposition conduct, discovery disputes, and trial readiness. Paired with practical instruction from experienced plaintiff and defense litigators, attendees walk away knowing how to handle complaints, early motion practice, depositions and discovery including e-discovery under the new rules, and what judges actually want to see in motions and argument.

You can see the detailed agenda and sign up to watch it live, or purchase OnDemand Streaming or a recorded package download, here.

Click here for full details and registration for the Boot Camp.

Ed brings something to a summary judgment program that very few speakers can. He spent nearly 12 years as a judicial law clerk at the Circuit Court of Cook County, working for Judges Ronald S. Davis, John P. Kirby, John “Jack” P. Callahan, Jr., and Melissa A. Durkin. He wrote orders on motions, prepped judges for hearings, reviewed settlement petitions, and assisted with courtroom proceedings. When Ed talks about what makes a motion work, he is describing what he watched happen from inside chambers.

Ed also taught two classes at The John Marshall Law School, now the Law School at U.I.C. One was for judicial externs, through which he came to know many Northern Illinois state and federal court judges. The other was called Illinois Civil Motion Practice and focused on the practical side of litigating, walking students through the chronology of motions at every stage of a case, from motions challenging venue and jurisdiction through motions for a good faith finding.

Ed is recently retired. In practice he focused on personal injury, medical malpractice, and nursing home neglect cases, joining Levin & Perconti as an associate attorney in 2022. Before his years as a judicial law clerk, he was an associate attorney at another Chicago personal injury firm.

Ed came to law after an academic career in French. He holds a Master of Philosophy and a Master of Arts in French Studies with Distinction from New York University, and a Master of Arts in French with Distinction from the University of Illinois at Chicago, along with a Bachelor of Arts in Medieval Studies with a minor in Economics from Northwestern University. He then graduated cum laude from The John Marshall Law School in 2008, earning the Dean’s Scholarship, the Baim Scholarship, and the Herzog Scholarship for Academic Excellence.

Thank you again, Ed! We are so glad to have you back in October.