Nicholas J. Motherway of Counsel

Nick Motherway co-founded the firm of Motherway & Glenn in 1982, which became the firm of Motherway, Glenn & Napleton on January 1, 1999. On January 1, 2003, the firm became Motherway & Napleton. He has been a trial lawyer since he began prosecuting criminal cases for the Cook County, Illinois State’s Attorney’s Office. Before he left that office he prosecuted literally thousands of cases, in the process obtaining two death penalty verdicts, one against the convicted killer of a police officer and securing the conviction and incarceration of hundreds of violent criminals while he served as Chief of Organized Crime and Special Prosecutions. He then entered the private practice of law as a civil trial lawyer representing plaintiffs, primarily in cases involving profound injury or death.

Mr. Motherway continues to concentrate in that area, while also litigating selected commercial cases. He has obtained numerous multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements while remaining active in numerous trial lawyer organizations. He is a graduate of the DePaul University College of Law, Chicago and has served as Chairman of its Advisory Board. Mr. Motherway is a member of the American, Illinois and Chicago Bar Associations. He is an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association. He has been recognized by the Leading Lawyer’s Network as a top arbitrator/mediator.

He served nine years as a member of the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee. He serves on the Board of Managers of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. He was elected to the Board of Governors of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America three times, serving for 5 and 1/2 years. He was invited to membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates and is a past-president of the Illinois Chapter. He served twenty years as a member of its National Board of Directors. He has served as a trustee of its Legislative Analysis Fund. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, whose membership by invitation is limited to no more than one percent of the bar of the members’ state. He was selected for membership in “Leading Illinois Attorneys” based upon a peer-selected survey. He has been selected for the Leading Lawyers Network and has been peer-rated as an Illinois “Super Lawyer” by a widely read professional journal. He has been listed in Who’s Who in American Law and in Who’s Who in America. He is a member of the Society of Trial Lawyers and the Public Justice Foundation.  He is a member of the Pound Civil Justice Foundation, The National Trial Lawyers and the American Association for Justice. He is the recipient of Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and the Jury Verdict Reporter.  He has been awarded the high honor by the Illinois State Bar Association of being named a Laureate of its Illinois Academy.

Nick is a frequent lecturer before bar groups and his lecture materials are reprinted on this page from time to time. For the past 35 years, he has been a contributing author to the Illinois Civil Procedure Handbook on topics relating to discovery.