Jill B Berkeley

Practice Areas

Jill formerly chaired the firm’s Insurance Policyholder practice group, and remains an active member of the group. She represents policyholders and claimants in insurance coverage disputes involving toxic torts and hazardous wastes, environmental pollution, construction, products liability, intellectual property, first-party property, business interruption and excess liability matters.

In addition to her robust litigation practice, Jill provides counsel on clients’ development of proactive risk management strategies, and she frequently serves as an arbitrator, mediator, and expert witness in a variety of disputes involving insurance coverage. She has served on the American Arbitration Association’s Commercial Arbitration panel for over ten years. She also counsels businesses and professionals in connection with all types of insurance policies, including directors’ and officers’ and professional liability, commercial general liability, first-party property and builder’s risk, and personal and advertising injury liability.

Jill represents a diverse group of clients all over the country that face complex insurance coverage challenges as part of their everyday risk management strategy, including utility and energy providers, general contractors, manufacturers, professional service providers, financial institutions, transportation companies, real estate developers and many more. She frequently collaborates with plaintiff and defense attorneys who value her exceptional experience in communicating with insurance providers and resolving tort and commercial litigation matters involving sophisticated coverage issues.

A creative problem solver and effective negotiator who excels at incentivizing insurance providers to implement her clients’ objectives, Jill prides herself on being a trusted advisor no matter what needs and challenges her clients face with respect to the shifting insurance coverage landscape.

Year after year, leading industry publications and legal directories recognize Jill as a top attorney in her field. She is routinely recognized in Chambers USA in the top level in Illinois and nationally and currently has the status of Senior Statesperson. She is consistently ranked in Lawdragon 3000, International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, International Who’s Who of Insurance and Reinsurance Lawyers (2008-present), Best Lawyers of America (2006-present), Leading Lawyers of Illinois (Top 100 Attorneys and Top 50 Leading Women Business Lawyers in Illinois), and Illinois Super Lawyers (Top 100 Attorneys and Top 50 Female Attorneys). She was also awarded Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in the 2017, 2019 and 2021 editions. Jill has been named a "litigation star" for the state of Illinois in the 2014 edition of Benchmark Litigation, The Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys.

Career

Senior Counsel; Insurance Policyholder Practice Group Former Chair

Professional Memberships

Fellow, American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel; Former Chair, Fellows, ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (TIPS); Former Chair, Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, ABA TIPS.

Publications

Author and lecturer on insurance law topics.

Personal

Northwestern University School of Law (JD, 1975); University of Michigan (BA, 1972).