“ Our legal community has been strength- ened and lifted with the efforts of Bill Rog- ers for 49 years. He is respected by our bench and both sides of the bar. Attorneys are analyzed as “minders, grinders and finders,” Bill Rogers is the rare “triple threat” who does it all. Bill is renowned for his in- tegrity, honesty and ethical practice, and is a force to be reckoned with in and out of the courtroom. Yet he is the ultimate extro- vert who develops fast and lasting friend- ships. I have worked with Bill Rogers for 50 years. His commitment to excellence is part of his life outside of the practice. Well into his fifth decade of marriage with his lovely wife, Mary, their clan of three sons, their wives and eight grandchildren is his ultimate joy in life. The competitive spirit of Bill Rogers de- veloped with his love of team sports as a young athlete and blended with a superb intellect to develop a modern knight who could represent those who could not de- fend themselves. With over one hundred jury verdicts and hundreds more trials he gives back to the profession with his lead- ership in organizations such as, The Illinois Society of Trial Lawyers, The American Board of Trial Advocates and the American College of Trial Lawyers to name a few. Having worked with him for fifty years and having watched our families grow along- side each other, I can say with confidence that the world is a better place because of Bill Rogers. This honor is most richly deserved.” Francis R. Petrek Jr.,
Despite the challenging nature of the case, the jury came back with a verdict in favor of Rogers’ client. The defense that Rogers mounted proved effective. “That was a difficult hurdle to get over,” Rogers said. “We had to say that we did not know the reason. We had to put our faith in the jury system.” And one more personal case? In 1986, Rogers’ wife was pregnant with what turned out to be their third son. Rogers’ wife had a scheduled cesarean sec- tion on April 2 of that year. Rogers was assigned to a trial that was scheduled to overlap that date. Fortunately, the judge did have an off day scheduled for April 2. Rogers attended the birth of his son and returned to the courtroom the next day. On that next day, the jury came back with a verdict in his client’s favor. “The judge said congratulations on both the case and the birth of my son,” Rog- ers said. “I will always remember that trial.” Rogers has also focused on pro bono work during his career. As he says, he has a great job that he loves. He says that he also has a responsibility to give back to the community, whether that means pro bono work, teaching or serving on industry associations and councils. “It’s important for lawyers to give back to the community,” Rogers said. “I was taught that and I believe it. At different times, I’ve done different things. I worked in the legal clinic when I was in law school. After law school, I handled pro bono cases for Northwestern University’s legal clinic. I’ve worked with the Settlement Assistance Program for pro se litigants. Lawyers should do something for the community. There is so much that we can do.”
Senior Counsel, Swanson Martin & Bell LLP
Rogers Family – Nantucket, August, 2024. Bottom row sitting: Cody, Keir, Mary, Milly, Bill, Emmy, Caden, Ryan, Connor, Grant; Top row kneeling: Brian, Annie, Kevin, Jenna, Colin, Sarah.
“ As a young lawyer, I knew Bill by repu- tation to be an outstanding trial lawyer. His peers like Dick Donohue would say that there was no one smarter about the medicine than Bill. When I moved in-house and was man- aging professional liability claims, I knew I had to take the opportunity to work with him. In several cases, Bill successfully defended our physicians and nurses.
Bill is a natural born teacher and gener- ously gave me his time and advice, de- spite how busy he was. At one point he encouraged me to get back in the game and be his second chair at a trial for one of our physicians, which I did. I learned a ton, and he led us to a not guilty. You could tell the judge and jury enjoyed him, and in his own “regular guy” way, he commanded the courtroom and got us a great result.
I am proud to know Bill and am delight- ed that he has been selected to receive this honor, because in addition to being an excellent lawyer, he is also a great person.” Julia Kelleher Lynch,
Senior Associate General Counsel, Northwestern Memorial HealthCare
JURY VERDICT REPORTER • 2024 ANNUAL TRIAL LAWYER EXCELLENCE AWARDS 75
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