Illinois Civil Litigation Lawyers

Civil Litigation

211 North Broadway, Suite 2625, Edwardsville, IL 62025

Judge Ann Callis (retired) is a partner at Holland Law Firm and heads up the firm’s Madison County, Illinois office. She serves as local counsel and leads major civil litigations in state and federal courts in Illinois and Missouri. Ann Callis was the first woman Circuit Judge in Madison County, Illinois and was the first woman Chief Judge in Madison County, where she served for 18 years. She served in every division in the 3rd Circuit Court where she presided over hundreds of jury and non-jury trials including complex litigation, environmental, personal injury, and professional negligence (legal and medical). She spent 8 years on the circuit bench on the Felony docket. In addition to handling a full civil docket, Chief Judge Callis was instrumental in creating the nationally recognized Veterans Treatment Court, the first of its kind in Illinois, where Veterans involved with the justice system are given necessary assistance and counseling to become once again productive members of society. She also established the Mandatory Foreclosure Mediation Program that saved hundreds of families their homes. As an attorney, Judge Callis concentrates her practice on mass torts, products liability, environmental disasters and commercial practice. She is currently handling many aspects of the opioid litigation, where she represents more than thirty Governmental Entities in Illinois and Missouri and has also been appointed to the Plaintiffs ’Executive Committee for the Statewide Opioid MDL in Illinois. Judge Callis also represents women in the Illinois Essure Litigation. She has received many awards and recognition for her judicial service including an Achievement Award from the Alton Branch of the NAACP, the Coalition of Concerned Citizens of Alton Chairman Award (for promoting Justice for All), the Community Counseling Center Mental Health Hero and an award from the St. Clair/ Monroe Counties Salute for Protecting the Children from the Storms of Life. Judge Callis obtained her B.A. Magna Cum Laude from St. Louis University in 1987 and went on to earn her law degree from S.LU. in 1990. She also completed a public managers program at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard College.

Civil Litigation

156 North Main Street, Edwardsville, IL 62025

Beth Gori graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1995 with a degree in Biology. She attended law school at St. Louis University and graduated with a J.D. and certificate in Health Law Studies in 1999. Mrs. Gori is licensed to practice law in Missouri and Illinois and the U.S. District Court Southern District of Illinois. She has worked for many years in the field of personal injury and as a Madison County Assistant State's Attorney. She is a member of the American Bar Association, Illinois Bar Association and the Madison County Bar Association. In the community, Mrs. Gori serves on the board of directors for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Southern Illinois and is also a member of the board of the Friends of the Wildey.

Civil Litigation

311 South Wacker Drive, Suite 1500, IL Chicago

Brad Gordon is the managing partner of the firm’s Chicago office. He focuses his practice on litigation, representing the interests of corporations and insurance companies throughout the United States. Mr. Gordon has extensive experience in all phases of complex litigation, as well as aggregation of mass tort claims. In addition to handling subrogation matters involving product failures and construction defects, Mr. Gordon has also prosecuted high-profile claims involving Ford Ignition Switches, Ford Speed Control Deactivation Switches and Torchiere Halogen Lamps. Mr. Gordon takes great pride in his long-standing relationships with clients as he leads them through all phases of litigation. He is also well-versed in resolving matters through alternative dispute resolution in forums such as the American Arbitration Association and Inter-Company Arbitration. Mr. Gordon is licensed to practice law in Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota. He is also admitted to the United States District Court for the Central, Northern and Southern Districts of Illinois, the Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin, the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana, the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas, the Northern District of Texas, the District of Colorado and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Iowa in 1993 and his Juris Doctor from DePaul College of Law in 1997. Mr. Gordon frequently presents and lectures at the National Association of Subrogation Professional’s annual conference, along with other regional insurance seminars. Recent presentations include Fundamentals of a Relationship between Origin and Cause Investigator and Attorney, Spoliation of Evidence, and Aggregation of Claims. Recently, he was a participant in an expert panel at the Annual Meeting of the Illinois Association of Arson Investigators and was named to the IAAI Insurance Training and Membership Advisory Committee. In 2015, he achieved an AV Preeminent Martindale-Hubbell rating, the highest possible rating for an attorney for both ethical standards and legal ability. In his spare time, Mr. Gordon has volunteered his time with the local YMCA and Y-ME programs, along with becoming involved with the Court Appointed Special Advocates program of Lake County, Illinois. Mr. Gordon also spends his time volunteering for the Lincolnshire Sports Association.

Civil Litigation

27 North Wacker Dr., same, 446, IL 60606

Mr. Busse has concentrated his practice in the defense of tort and insurance coverage litigation. He has handled hundreds of personal injury and wrongful death cases in various Illinois venues, including automobile, trucking, premises liability, product liability, aviation and construction injury claims, as well as fire and explosion and property damage claims. Mr. Busse has defended numerous cases involving churches and other charitable organizations. Mr. Busse has also prosecuted and defended numerous insurance coverage cases. He has obtained numerous jury verdicts in favor of his clients in both state and federal courts. Mr. Busse has also defended a large number of lawsuits in alternative dispute resolution forums, including American Arbitration Association, Mandatory Court Annexed Arbitration and in numerous private alternative dispute resolution forums.

Civil Litigation

114 E Everett St suite 300, Dixon, IL 61021, USA

Courtney E. Kennedy concentrates her practice in commercial and civil litigation, residential and commercial real estate, residential and commercial zoning, business matters, municipal law, agricultural law and environmental law. Mrs. Kennedy graduated magna cum laude from Ashford University in 2013, where she obtained her Bachelor of Social Sciences degree, completing her undergraduate degree in just three years instead of the standard four-year program. During her time at Ashford University, Mrs. Kennedy played on the Women’s Basketball Team and served as President of the Pre-Law Society. Mrs. Kennedy joined Ehrmann Gehlbach Badger & Considine, LLC, as an associate attorney in 2016 and was named a partner in 2021. Prior to joining the Firm, Mrs. Kennedy graduated cum laude from Northern Illinois University College of Law, completing her law school education in two and one-half years rather than the standard three-year program. While at Northern Illinois University College of Law, Mrs. Kennedy served as Vice President of the Environmental Law Society, was a member of the Christian Legal Society, and served as a mentor for the Women’s Law Caucus. She also tutored first-year law students in Civil Procedure. She completed a judicial externship with the Judges in Ogle County, Illinois, during her second year of law school. Mrs. Kennedy is a member of the American Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the Lee, Ogle, Whiteside and Winnebago County Bar Associations. She has served as Treasurer/Secretary for the Lee County Bar Association since 2017 and is a board member for the Lee County Health Department. She has co-authored articles for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education. In addition, she serves as a mentor for first-year law students at Northern Illinois University College of Law.