Civility and Awareness of Distinct Procedures Key to Success in Northern District of Illinois, Murray Advises

Law360 interviewed Shook Chicago Managing Partner Lynn Murray on the court rules and procedures for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, which can be challenging for out-of-state lawyers, in “3 Things Lawyers Should Know About Litigating in Chicago.”

For example, some Chicago federal judges require in-person court appearances for “presentment hearings” while lawyers may be used to only written orders for new motions. Murray advises using local counsel to handle these special issues.

“If you’re lead counsel or someone who wanted to be at that hearing and doesn’t want to appear by telephone, what you need really is somebody in Chicago who you trust to go to the hearing and deal with the issues,” Murray told Law360.

Chicago federal courts also stress civility. “Our federal judges here feel very strongly that lawyers should litigate on the facts and not make rhetorical arguments or attacks against each other,” said Murray, who has practiced in Chicago courts for more than three decades.

Murray leads the Chicago office of Shook. She is an experienced trial attorney who handles business litigation matters in a variety of industries and is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers.