Jeff graduated from Eastern Illinois University and from Valparaiso University School of Law. He clerked for a federal judge in South Bend, Indiana before setting out as a criminal defense lawyer and general practitioner. He established himself as a federal public defender and federal civil trial lawyer before relocating to Chicago.

Jeff handles litigation and appeals in all areas of transportation. He represents national trucking companies, railroads, and air transportation companies in catastrophic death and personal injury cases. He has tried dozens of cases to verdict in multiple jurisdictions. He is often called upon to provide insurance coverage opinions and to handle coverage litigation at the trial and appellate levels in Texas, Illinois and Indiana. He has appeared before appellate courts in Illinois, Indiana, and the Seventh Circuit on numerous occasions. He has also appeared before the United States Supreme Court and the Illinois Supreme Court.

Jeff is admitted to practice in Texas, Illinois, Indiana, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, including Trial Bar, the United States District Courts for the Central and Southern Districts of Illinois, the United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern District of Indiana, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the Texas State Bar Association, and Indiana State Bar Association. He is a sustaining member of the Texas State Bar Litigation Section.

• Education:

  • J.D., Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana, 1986
  • B.A., Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois, 1982

• Professional Memberships & Associations:

  • CLM Transportation Committee
  • DuPage County Bar Association
  • Indiana State Bar Association
  • Texas State Bar Association – Litigation Section

• Seminars & Presentations:

  • “Premises Liability Training,” Cincinnati Insurance March 2024
  • “Claims Training,” Texas Insurance, October 2022
  • “Reopening Your Business Amid COVID-19,” Downey & Lenkov Clients, July 2020
  • “Assessing Liability in Evans v. Walmart & Other COVID-19 Wrongful Death Suits,” April 2020
  • “Employer Third Party Liability & the Kotecki Doctrine,” Downey & Lenkov Clients, March 2020
  • “Kotecki At 25: The Minefield of Employer Liability In Third Party Tort Actions In Illinois,” Downey & Lenkov Clients, May 2016
  • “Spills, Thrills and Bills,” Downey & Lenkov Clients, November 2014
  • “Understanding NTSB Accident Investigations,” Downey & Lenkov Clients, February 2014

• Articles & Publications:

  • “Illinois Appellate Court Finds Fact Questions Preclude Summary Judgment for on Issue of Whether an Employer is a Borrowing Employer under the Workers’ Compensation Act’s Exclusive Remedy Provision,” Downey & Lenkov Construction Newsletter, September 2025
  • “Tariffs and the New Risks to be Addressed in Construction Contracts,” Downey & Lenkov Construction Newsletter, May 2025
  • “CLM National: May 2021,” CLM Magazine, May 2021
  • “Discovering New Protections,” CLM Magazine, January 2021
  • “Walmart’s COVID-19 Problem,” CLM Magazine, June 2020
  • Co-Editor – Downey & Lenkov General Liability Newsletter, September 2013 – present