People

Noted civil liberties attorney Burton Joseph, 79, of Evanston, passed away late last month in San Francisco. Mr. Joseph was a partner in the Chicago law firm of Joseph, Lichtenstein & Levinson. He defended activists arrested at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, acted as executive director of the Playboy Foundation and was a founding member of  Lawyers for the Creative Arts. In his most celebrated case, in the late 1970s, he successfully persuaded the American Civil Liberties Union to back the National Socialist Party of America --a Nazi group -- in its efforts to be allowed to march through heavily Jewish Skokie. As the son of Jewish cemetery owners on Chicago's West Side, Mr. Joseph's stand cost him some friends, but "though he violently disagreed with what the Nazis said, he strongly believed in their right to say it," his daughter Jody said. The Nazis were eventually allowed to march but decided to do so in Chicago instead. The battle was later dramatized in the TV movie, "Skokie," and inspired scenes in "The Blues Brothers." Obituaries for Mr. Joseph: Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, New York Times

Dean W. Jackson, 55, passed away on April 11 at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield. Mr. Jackson graduated from Galena High School and went on to study at Western Illinois University, University of Iowa, Oxford University England Queen's College Law School and Southern Illinois University School of Law. He was an attorney and was employed as the ICC Chief Administrative Law Judge since 2004. Click here to read the full obituary in the Springfield State Journal-Register.

[caption id="attachment_10695" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Paula Rieghns"][/caption] Franks, Gerkin & McKenna is pleased to announce that Paula Rieghns has joined the firm. Paula is an accomplished attorney with impressive experience. Before joining FGM, Paula practiced contract, property, and family law in Sycamore. She has conducted many trials, notably working on a month long precedent-setting trial involving pollutants caused by a factory farm. This trial generated extensive media attention. Prior to working in Sycamore, Paula practiced insurance defense in Bloomington. Besides trial work, Paula excels in writing. She has authored appellate briefs and co-authored a supplement to a chapter in the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education’s Federal Practice book. Paula is a member of the Illinois and Indiana bar and is also admitted to the Federal General District Bar. She is currently a member of the DeKalb County, Kane County and Illinois State Bar Association. She attended Northern Illinois University College of Law for law school and undergraduate at Indiana University, where she graduated with honors. Franks, Gerkin & McKenna, P.C. – Law firm of forty years, with practice areas including personal injury, workers’ compensation, litigation, real estate, estate planning, criminal defense, family law, land use and zoning, probate, commercial transactions, bankruptcy, and traffic violations.

Keith A. Hebeisen and Kevin P. Durkin, partners at Clifford Law Offices, have been inducted into the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Active Academy members are limited to 500 in the U.S. A comprehensive screening process identifies the most distinguished members of the trial bar by means of both peer and judicial review. Hebeisen and Durkin, partners at Clifford Law Offices for more than 25 years, have made a mark in the courtroom through their trial work over the years. Hebeisen has achieved many multi-million verdicts and settlements, particularly in the area of medical malpractice. Durkin also has received numerous multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts, mainly in the area of aviation and transportation litigation.