April Otterberg

Practice Areas

April Otterberg represents leading law firms and professional services firms, as well as lawyers and other professionals in their most challenging professional liability disputes. A co-chair of the firm’s nationally recognized Law Firm and Professional Services Defense Practice, April was ranked in the Up and Coming category for Nationwide Law Firm Defense by Chambers USA, with clients commenting, “she is extraordinary. If I had a big problem, she’s the person we’d hire. She has absolute devotion to the client's cause,” and “she’s a phenomenal attorney. April is as smart as they come and a deeply strategic thinker too.”

April knows how to dig in and investigate professional liability claims and then to use that depth and breadth of knowledge to shape effective and practical defense and resolution strategies, from pre-complaint through to litigation. Recently, her practice has included defending lawyers and law firms against claims of intentional torts and aiding and abetting fraud, such as claims arising from Ponzi and other fraudulent schemes. She also represents clients in business litigation matters that involve professional liability, including breach of fiduciary duty and related claims under ERISA, as well as cases involving trade secrets and restrictive covenants.

April maintains an active pro bono practice that focuses on reproductive rights and criminal defense matters for indigent clients. For example, she has represented a client on federal death row for virtually her entire career, first in his appeal and now in his ongoing post-conviction proceedings. She is a past Chair of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Professional Conduct and a past member of the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Lawyers' Professional Liability, and she regularly speaks and writes on professional liability and trade secrets topics. She is also a longtime participant in the Firm’s associate mentoring program and its Women’s Forum affinity group.