William F. Cunningham Bill Cunningham’s secret to success? It’s all about preparation.
By Dan Rafter, Special to Law Bulletin Media
There’s no secret formula behind the long and successful career of Chicago attorney William Cunningham. No, this veteran lawyer and founding partner of Chicago’s Cunningham Meyer & Vedrine points to one key factor: He’s focused on always being the most prepared person in the courtroom. This approach has paid off. Cunningham has tried more than 100 civil jury cas- es during his career, including those focusing on product liability, catastrophic injury and professional negligence. And he’s earned a steady string of winning results for his clients in these cases. Cunningham has also appeared before the Illinois Supreme Court on behalf of his clients three times. This includes the landmark McDonnell v. McPartlin case in which Cunningham helped establish the “empty chair” defense in Illinois. In this key legal strategy, defendants argue that an injury suffered by a plaintiff was caused by a party who is not currently being sued. The defendant instead claims that this “empty chair” is at fault, a strategy designed to shield the de - fendant from blame. The establishment of this defense in Illinois is just one example of how Cun- ningham’s approach of hard work and intense preparation has earned this at- torney a reputation as one of the top legal minds in his field. Cunningham points to one trial in which this approach paid dividends. Cun- ningham had done his research to prepare for this case, one involving many medical records. The plaintiff’s attorneys, though, had not done the same, and couldn’t pinpoint specific page numbers in these records when asked. Cunning - ham, though, could. Eventually, the judge asked Cunningham to provide specific page numbers to the plaintiff’s attorneys to help move the trial along. This hap- pened several times during the trial, Cunningham said.
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If a judge is relying on me for information, that automatically makes me relatable to the jurors. That is how I practice, knowing the records and law better than the other person.”
And it made an impression on the jurors.
“This was my way of taking over the courtroom,” Cunningham said. “If a judge is relying on me for information, that automatically makes me relatable to the jurors. That is how I practice, knowing the records and law better than the other person.” By studying a case thoroughly before it goes to trial, Cunningham has often un- earthed information that has helped sway a case in his favor. This information might have remained hidden had Cunningham not spent the long hours poring over documents and researching his cases before the start of his trials.
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