C. William Busse, Jr.
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C. William Busse, Jr. is the President of the law firm of Busse & Busse, P.C., P.C. He has 38 years of legal experience handling civil jury trials and appeals.
Legal Experience
Mr. Busse has concentrated his practice in the defense of tort and insurance coverage litigation. He has handled hundreds of personal injury and wrongful death cases in various Illinois venues, including automobile, trucking, premises liability, product liability, aviation and construction injury claims, as well as fire and explosion and property damage claims. Mr. Busse has defended numerous cases involving churches and other charitable organizations. Mr. Busse has also prosecuted and defended numerous insurance coverage cases. He has obtained numerous jury verdicts in favor of his clients in both state and federal courts. Mr. Busse has also defended a large number of lawsuits in alternative dispute resolution forums, including American Arbitration Association, Mandatory Court Annexed Arbitration and in numerous private alternative dispute resolution forums.
Publications
Mr. Busse is the co-author of “Disclosure of Mental Health Records in Illinois, Obtaining Records in a Civil Proceeding,@ IDC Quarterly, Volume 11 #2, June 2001. Mr. Busse also co-authored the Defense Update, specifically The Chairman’s Corner: Recent Testimony Regarding Supreme Court rule 213, Spring Edition, 2002, Civil Practice and Procedure. Mr. Busse is also the co-author of “Apportionment and the Minimally Culpable Defendant – 2-1117 after Unzicker”, IDC Quarterly, Volume 13, #1, March 2003. Mr. Busse is also the co-author of “Message from the Chairs”, Defense Update, Volume 4, #1, March 2004. Mr. Busse was a contributing author to the Legal Workbook for Religious Organizations which was prepared by the Chicago Bar Association Interfaith Law Committee. In 2014, Mr. Busse co-authored, “The 50 Year History of the IDC”. Mr. Busse is the author of “Respondents in Discovery”in the Civil Practice Committee Newsletter, Volume 19, Number 3.
Presentations
Mr. Busse has presented and moderated numerous seminars on federal and state civil practice, tort reform, negotiation techniques, post judgment procedures, litigation cost containment, third party practice and medical depositions. He has made a number of television appearances as a panelist to discuss legal issues related to churches and religious institutions.
Professional Memberships
Mr. Busse is a member of the Defense Research Institute where he serves on the DRI Veterans Network. He served on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel (IADTC) from 2002 to 2014 and from 2018 to the present. He formerly served as the Co-chair of the Civil Practice and Procedure Committee of that organization as well as on the organization’s Think Tank. He also served as the Co- Chair of the Legislative Committee. He currently is a member of the Construction Law, Insurance Law, Civil Practice and Legislative Committees of that organization. He is also active in the Chicago Bar Association (CBA)and Illinois State Bar Association. Mr. Busse is a past chair of the Bench/Bar Relations Committee and the Civil Practice & Procedure Committee of the Chicago Bar Association. He is also a founding member of the CBA Interfaith Law Committee. Mr. Busse was awarded the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel’s 2009 President’s Award for coordinating the legislative efforts of the Association and in 2015 for his service and commitment to the defense bar. He has served on a number of task forces for the IADTC. Mr. Busse is an active member of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance. Mr. Busse was voted into the Leading Lawyers Network (2013-), a distinction earned by fewer than 5% of all of the lawyers licensed to practice in Illinois.
Education
Mr. Busse received his Juris Doctor in 1982 from The John Marshall Law School. He received his B.A. in Political Science from Western Illinois University in 1975 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army. He spent three years in various command capacities in Western Europe before embarking on a career in the law.
Admitted to Practice
Mr. Busse is admitted to practice before the Illinois Supreme Court, and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit. He is also a member of the Trial Bar of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
When it matters most, experience counts
With nearly a century of combined trial litigation experience, Busse & Busse, P.C. has a long history of obtaining optimal results for our clients. Click on the profile links below for more information about our exceptional attorneys.