Sara E. Cook, Partner
815.334.9692 PDF
Born, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. B.A., University of Iowa, with Honors, 1975; J.D., Loyola University of Chicago School of Law, 1980. Associate editor and member of the Loyola University of Chicago Law Journal. Law clerk to the Honorable Mark McCormick, Justice of the Supreme Court of Iowa, 1980-1981; Certificate of Professional Achievement in Mediation Training, June 2003.
Admitted to the Bar of Illinois, 1980; United States District Court, 1981; United States Tax Court, 1982; Trial Bar of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 1983; Eastern District of Michigan, 1999; Eastern District of Wisconsin, 2010; United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, 1985; United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, 1993; and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, 1994.
Practice Areas:
- Loan Workout, Documentation, and Review
- Bankruptcy and bankruptcy litigation
- General Business representation; small to medium, general counsel
- Licensed professional representation before licensing bodies, regulatory agencies
- Professional liability, including accountants and attorneys
- Complex commercial and business litigation, including surety litigation
- Director and officer defense
- Insurance coverage litigation, insurance and fraud investigations.
- Appellate practice and procedure
Professional Memberships and Activities:
- Federal, Seventh Circuit, Bar Association
- McHenry County Bar Association
- Panel Mediator for Small Claims cases
- Defense Research Institute
- Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel
- Commercial Law League of America
- Woodstock Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Publications:
Co-Author, The Uniform Mediation Act: Illinois Newest Privilege, Illinois Bar Journal, February 2004
Co-author, Courts Are Beginning to Permit Excess Insurers to Maintain Malpractice Actions Against Their Insured’s Attorneys, ABA Tort & Insurance Practice Committee News, Fall, 1998.
Co-author, D & O Liability and the Year 2000: A Repeat of the 1980s?, Illinois Bar Journal, 1998, Vol. 86, No. 9.
Co-author, An Excess Insurer’s Right to Maintain a Malpractice Action Against the Insured’s Attorney: An Undecided Issue in Illinois, IDC Quarterly, Fourth Quarter, 1997, Vol. 7, No. 4
Co-author, The Procedural Relationship Between Truth-In-Lending and Creditor Contract Claims, Loyola University of Chicago Law Journal, 1981.
Author, Attorney-Client and Husband-Wife Marital Privilege, Loyola University of Chicago Law Journal, 1979.
Faculty Appointments:
DePaul University Law School:
- 1984-1994, Adjunct faculty teaching Pre-Trial Litigation Strategy
- 1983-1984, Adjunct faculty teaching Legal Writing and Moot Court Instructor
- 1981-1982, Full time Fellowship, teaching Legal Writing and Moot Court
Faculty, 1991, Resolution Trust Corporation Training Seminars on discovery and document handling.
Speaker:
2008 IDC Basic Skills Seminar – Basics of Mediation
2007 IDC Young Lawyers Association Luncheon - Basics of Mediation.