Christopher A. Koester

Accomplishments

Practice Areas:

• Commercial Litigation
• Insurance Defense
• Personal Injury (plaintiff/defense)
• Wrongful Death
• Arbitration & Mediation
• Insurance Law
• Automobile Cases
• State and Federal Trials

Special Recognition:

• Designated as one of "America's Premier Lawyers" by Fortune Magazine in 2008-2009.
• Featured on "Sky Radio Network" as leading attorney on issue of business competition, restrictive covenants and Trade Secrets Act. Sky Radio Network provides business, technology, health and entertainment programming to some of the largest airlines in the world, including United, American, Delta, Northwest, US Airways and Virgin America.
  Listen to the interview aired on Sky Radio

Past Success:

• Received largest jury verdict in Effingham County history on behalf of local family who was hit by drunk driver.
• Successfully defended Effingham Community Unit 40, Effingham Board of Education and local administrators in three week jury trial wherein the plaintiff requested that his clients pay in excess of 3 million dollars. The jury returned a verdict in favor of all Defendants.
• Successfully defended Bible Pork, Inc. in lawsuit filed by 21 residents claiming that the state of the art facility was a "public and private nuisance". The Clay County jury returned a verdict in favor of Bible Pork after hearing nearly 3 weeks of testimony. The case received national attention from pork and beef producers across the United States. The verdict was affirmed by the Fifth District Appellate Court of Illinois on November 15, 2011. 
• Represents Menard, Inc, a home improvement retail business with stores throughout the Midwest. In March 2010, Mr. Koester successfully defended Menards in Effingham Circuit Court in a lawsuit filed by a patron claiming to have received personal injuries while shopping at store. The jury entered judgment in favor of Menards and denied the Plaintiff’s request for damages. The verdict was affirmed by the Fifth District Appellate Court on December 7, 2011.
• Successfully represented families, individuals, businesses in connection with persons involved in automobile accidents and wrongful death claims. Mr. Koester has successfully negotiated settlements on behalf of his clients utilizing mediation, arbitration and litigation.

Representative Clients:

Trial Practice/Appellate Practice:

Mr. Koester has successfully represented clients in state and federal courts.