| James W. Fessler Partner
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Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communications. He received his Juris Doctor degree summa cum laude in 1988 from the John Marshall Law School, and his L.L.M. cum laude in Real Estate from the John Marshall Law School in 2008. While pursuing his Juris Doctor at John Marshall, Mr. Fessler served as an extern law clerk to the Honorable Brian Banett Duff of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He was also a member of the 1987 National Administrative Law Moot Court Competition Team where his brief was awarded second place honors, and he was elected to the Order of John Marshall. Immediately following law school, Mr. Fessler served for two years as a judicial clerk and administrative assistant to the Honorable Thomas J. Moran, Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court.
A noted appellate and insurance coverage attorney, he has handled more than 100 appeals, including representation of clients before the Illinois Supreme Court and all five districts of the Illinois Appellate Court. He is admitted to practice in the State of Illinois, before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, and he was recently qualified for admission before the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the Appellate Lawyers Association and the Illinois State Bar Association. At Klein, Thorpe and Jenkins, Ltd., Mr. Fessler practices in the areas of appellate, insurance coverage, school law, municipal law, library law, real estate and general litigation.