About

I was born in Evergreen Park, Illinois and grew up in the Chicago area. Following graduation from Brother Rice High School, I attended the University of Illinois as a Chick Evans Scholar. At the U of I, I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance. I then worked as a trader’s assistant in the bond pit at the Chicago Board of Trade before deciding to return to law school. I was accepted to the law school at Washington University School in St. Louis. While in law school, I served as a notes and comments editor of the Washington University Journal of Urban and Contemporary Law. I graduated from the Washington University School of Law with my Juris Doctorate degree in 1995, passed the Illinois Bar Exam, and have been a licensed Illinois attorney for over 20 years.

Following law school, I returned to Central Illinois, where I began my career with the Urbana law firm Johnson, Frank, Frederick, & Walsh. Early on, I undertook a busy practice representing people who had been injured in accidents and in the work place. In 2001, I switched sides in the litigation battle after accepting a job at Hughes, Hill & Tenney in Decatur, where I spent nearly ten years defending physicians and business interests. Then, in 2010, I returned to the Champaign area, working for a period of time for a plaintiff’s firm based in Danville.

During my eighteen years as an attorney in Central Illinois, I have tried numerous personal injury cases to jury verdict and have assisted at the defense table in complex medical malpractice trials. I have had the unique experience of representing numerous individuals injured by the negligence of others as well as defending people and businesses charged with negligently injuring others. I have also taught business law at Millikin University in Decatur, where I was twice selected as the outstanding adjunct faculty member. Additionally, I served as the president of the Decatur Bar Association during my final year in Decatur.

Since 2012, I have been practicing individually in Champaign and have represented people in court on a variety of matters, including guardianship proceedings, adoptions, business disputes, traffic law, and other matters rooted in family relationships. More recently, I have had the opportunity to associate with Attorney Daniel B. Kennedy, and when Mr. Kennedy retired at the end of 2013, I took over his office and began the latest phase of my career as a general practice solo practitioner in downtown Champaign.