Deane B. Brown

Partner

Deane B. Brown has earned a highly regarded reputation for her legal work in the areas of commercial litigation, employment law and professional responsibility. Ms. Brown represents businesses and individuals in employment matters, including severance negotiations, employment discrimination issues, and non-competition, non-solicitation and trade secret disputes, as well as contract and partnership disputes, business torts, and property and lease disputes. In the area of professional responsibility, Ms. Brown regularly represents attorneys before the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission and has been retained by attorneys and companies to prepare opinion letters on various ethics issues. Ms. Brown recently served as the Chair of the Illinois State Bar Association's Professional Conduct Committee.

Ms. Brown is recognized by the Leading Lawyers Network as being among the top lawyers in Illinois in commercial litigation.  Ms. Brown was profiled in Leading Lawyers Network Magazine- Women's Edition for 2009, and she is also listed in the Top 100 Leading Women Lawyers in Illinois and Top 100 Leading Women Business Lawyers in Illinois.

In addition, Ms. Brown was named to the list of Top 50 Women Lawyers in Illinois in the 2010 and 2009 issues of Illinois Super Lawyers Magazine published by Law and Politics in conjunction with Chicago Magazine.   Ms. Brown has been named repeatedly as an Illinois Super Lawyer in the area of business litigation.  Only the top 5% of lawyers in Illinois are selected as Super Lawyers, using a multi-step evaluation process involving a statewide survey of lawyers, independent panel research and in-depth evaluation of background and experience by practice area.

Ms. Brown has also been selected by her peers for inclusion in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® in the specialty of Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law.  Additionally, Ms. Brown has received an AV rating under the Martindale-Hubbell Lawyer Rating System, indicating that she has "reached the height of professional excellence" and "is recognized for the highest level of skill and integrity."

Education

• J.D., Boston University School of Law, 1990
  • Note Contributor, Boston University Annual Review of Banking Law
• M.Phil., University of Cambridge, England, 1987
• B.A., The Johns Hopkins University, 1986

Court Admissions

• Illinois, 1990
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 1991
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, 1991

Professional Activities

• Women's Bar Association of Illinois
  • Second Vice President, 2009-2010
  • Treasurer, 2008-2009
  • Member, Board of Directors, 2007-2008
  • Co-Chair, WBAI Public Office Committee
  • Member, The Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening
• Professional Women's Club of Chicago
  • President, 2006-2007
  • Vice President, 2005-2006
  • Chair, Programs Committee, 2003-2005
  • Advisory Committee Member, 2008-present
• Illinois State Bar Association
  • Appointed to the Legislation Committee, 2009
  • Appointed to the Supreme Court Rules Committee, 2007
  • Appointed to the Standing Committee on Professional Conduct, 2000-2009
  • Chair, Standing Committee on Professional Conduct 2005-2006
  • Vice-Chair, Standing Committee on Professional Conduct 2004-2005
  • Secretary, Standing Committee on Professional Conduct 2003-2004
  • Member, Standing Committee on Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, 2000-2001
• Chicago Bar Association
  • Member, Committee to Prevent Attorney Malpractice, 2000-2007
• Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers

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