James Kearns

James Kearns

Attorney in Champaign, IL

Jim is now Senior Counsel, having spent his entire career at Heyl Royster, joining the firm in 1975.  Along with Attorney Ed Wagner, Jim opened the firm's office in his hometown, Champaign/Urbana, in 1981. He was the Office Managing Partner of that office until 2010, when he took Of Counsel status.

Jim has dedicated his practice to defending serious claims in the areas of medical malpractice, product liability, and transportation negligence, including railroad, plane, and vehicle accidents. Jim has also done a significant amount of employment law, representing employers in that area.

Along the way, Jim has been routinely named a "Leading Lawyer" and a "Super Lawyer," designations limited to the top 5% of Illinois lawyers. In 2003, he was elected to the American College of Trial Lawyers, North America's preeminent organization of trial lawyers.

In addition to his highly successful career as a trial attorney, Jim has been instrumental in establishing basic principles of tort law in Dunn v. B&O Railroad (defining negligence in comparative law cases), Babb v. Roesch (placing limits on good faith in settling cases), and Dukes v. J.I. Case (establishing the limitations on bringing contribution actions against employers). 

Jim shared his expertise by teaching trial preparation at the University of Illinois Law School for many years, retiring from that role in 2022. Through it all, he has still found time to volunteer at the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen as a "Retired Senior Volunteer."