Attorney Profiles

Jon Loevy is an extremely accomplished trial lawyer, having won more than $64 million in jury verdicts for his clients, all in cases involving challenging fact patterns and difficult to prove allegations against the government. Loevy has won 17 out of his last 19 jury trials, and his $64 million total in career jury awards includes nine separate jury verdicts of $1 million or more. For more, click here: Recent Successes - Trials.

Loevy is also a highly successful appellate lawyer. Civil rights cases are notoriously hard to win, but Loevy was won 11 out of the last 13 he has argued before the federal appellate courts (ten wins in the Seventh Circuit and one in the Eighth), the majority of which were on behalf of the appellant seeking to overturn an adverse ruling. For more, click here: Recent Successes - Appeals.

Jon Loevy's $28 million verdict in Regalado v. Chicago in 1999 is still the largest civil rights verdict in the City's history. Since that time, he has received million dollar-plus jury verdicts as lead counsel in eight other "long shot" civil rights cases, including Duran v. Chicago in 2008 ($4.2 million for interference with child custody); Coffie v. Chicago in 2007 ($4 million for police brutality); Dominguez v. Waukegan in 2006 ($9 million for wrongful conviction); Manning v. United States FBI in 2005 ($6.6 million for wrongful conviction); Ware v. Chicago in 2007 ($5 million for fatal police shooting); Garcia v. Chicago in 2003 ($1 million); and Russell v. Chicago in 2003 ($1.5 million for fatal police shooting); and Waits v. Chicago in 2002 ($1.5 million for police brutality).

After one victory, the Honorable James F. Holderman, Chief Judge of the Northern District of Illinois summarized Loevy's trial skills in a written decision reported at Garcia v. Chicago, 2003 WL 22175620 (N.D.Ill. 2003):

Jon Loevy is an outstanding trial lawyer. His ability belies his years of experience, and he certainly should not be held in a lock-step position based on his law school graduation year with regard to his hourly rate. . . Not only did Jon Loevy display tremendous advocacy skills during the trial before the jury, he handled all the matters involved in this litigation with great aplomb. His case was well-organized. The evidentiary progression was easy to follow. His examinations of adverse witnesses [1], and his dealing with the sometimes improper tactics of his opposing counsel, were highly professional.

Jon Loevy's poise, analysis, and demeanor in front of the jury, as well as his rappier-like cross-examination style, are reminiscent of the trial skills displayed by some of the nationally recognized trial lawyers in this community when they were the age that Jon Loevy is now. [1] Among those nationally recognized trial lawyers whose trial skills the court is familiar with when they were Jon Loevy's age are: Royal B. Martin of Martin, Brown and Sullivan; Michael D. Monico of Monico, Spevack and Pavich; Thomas R. Mulroy of McGuire Woods; Anton J. Valukas of Jenner & Block; and Dan K. Webb of Winston & Strawn. Additionally, Jon Loevy's overall performance ranks among the finest displays of courtroom work by a plaintiff's lead trial counsel that this court has presided over in several years.

For more on Jon Loevy's trial practice, click here.

In addition to the $64 million in jury verdicts, Loevy has also obtained tens of millions more for his clients in settlements. All told, Loevy and his firm have won close to $100M on behalf of their clients.

Loevy graduated from Columbia Law School in 1993, where he served as a Senior Editor of the Columbia Law Review. At Columbia, he was a Kent Scholar (approximately top 1% of the academic class), as well the recipient of the Young B. Smith Prize given to the student with the top examination in torts, and the Paul R. Hayes Prize given to the student with the top exam in civil procedure.

Upon graduating, Loevy clerked for Judge Milton I. Shadur of the Northern District of Illinois for a year, after which he took a year off and travelled around the world. Upon returning home, he joined the firm then-known as Sidley & Austin, where he spent a year and a half before leaving to start his own firm, first as a solo practitioner, and then in partnership with his wife, Danielle Loevy.

The firm he formed, Loevy & Loevy, has since grown to 13 lawyers, and is now one of the largest firms devoted to civil rights in Chicago, if not the entire country.

Loevy is also a lecturer at law at the University of Chicago, where he co-teaches a clinic on wrongful conviction litigation with other members of his firm. Loevy also teaches Trial Advocacy to clinic students at the University of Chicago.

Loevy was previously named one of the Law Bulletin's prestigious "40 under 40" attorneys to watch in Chicago, as well as one of Chicago Lawyer's "Next Generation Rising Stars of the Trial Bar." Loevy was also invited to speak at the National Lawyers' Guild's (NLG) National Police Accountability Project Conference in Austin, Texas in the Fall of 2006 on the topic of "How to Win Big Jury Awards in Police Abuse Cases." He presented on that topic to more than 50 police abuse lawyers from around the United States. In 2007, Loevy was asked to be the moderator for the NLG's National Police Accountability Project conference in Washington D.C.

Loevy lives in Chicago with his wife, Danielle, and three sons, Carter, Ethan and Oliver.