Deane B. Brown
Partner

Deane B. Brown has earned a highly regarded reputation for her legal work in the areas of commercial litigation 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 was named to the list of Top 50 Women Lawyers in Illinois in the 2009 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 laywers in Illinois are selected as Super Lawyers, using a multi-step evaluation process involving a statewide survey of laywers, independent panel research, and in-depth evaluation of background and experience by practice area. In addition, Ms. Brown is recognized by the Leading Lawyers Network as being among the top lawyers in Illinois in commercial litigation and she 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

Treasurer, 2008-2009

Member, Board of Directors, 2007-2009

Co-Chair, WBAI Public Office Committee

Member, The Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening

Illinois State Bar Association

Appointed to the Supreme Court Rules Committee, 2007-2009

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

PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS