Appellate Practice and Procedure

Craig & Craig has, throughout its history, been involved in appellate practice in the State Appellate Courts and Federal Courts of Appeal. Craig & Craig has been involved in several landmark decisions in Illinois, including Darling v. Charleston Community Memorial Hospital, 33 Ill.2d 326 (1965), cert. denied, 383 U.S. 946 (1966), the principal case with regard to institutional negligence causes of action involving hospitals and medical care facilities, Trower v. Jones, 121ILl.2d211 (1988), which expanded Illinois law regarding cross-examination of expert witnesses; Evans v. Shannon (Vogler Motor Company, Inc.), 201 Ill.2d 424 (2002), being the Illinois Supreme Court’s most recent authority with regard to negligent entrustment causes of action, and Unzicker v. Kraft Food Ingredients Corp., 203 Ill.2d 64 (2002) addressing the issue of joint and several liability in Illinois as to employers’ liability.

Members of the firm have been active in the Appellate Lawyers Association and have lectured and written on appellate practice. Craig & Craig handles its own appeals and, also, handles appeals for other attorneys.

Gregory C. Ray is a member of the Appellate Lawyers Association and handles appeals in primarily the Appellate Court for the Fourth District and for the Fifth District. He recently obtained a reversal by the Appellate Court for the Fifth District of a denial by the Circuit Court of St. Clair County denying a Motion to Transfer Venue by reason of intrastate forum non conveniens. (Rule 23 Order issued September 29, 2009.) He is one of the firm’s lawyers who handle Workers Compensation and Occupational Disease Act cases continuously from the arbitration level up the appellate ladder into the Appellate Court before the Workers Compensation Division of the Appellate Court.

Paul R. Lynch is a member of the Appellate Lawyers Association. He has handled numerous appeals in the Appellate Court of Illinois, Fourth and Fifth Districts, and has also argued appeals in the Illinois Supreme Court and in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

John F. Watson has been active in the appellate practice throughout his career, being involved in a number of cases that have set precedent. He has handled numerous appeals in the Illinois Appellate Court, with briefs being filed and arguments made in the First, Third, Fourth and Fifth Appellate Districts. Mr. Watson has also filed briefs before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Mr. Watson is a member of the Illinois Appellate Lawyers Association. Mr. Watson is also the Vice Chair of the IDC Amicus Committee, and in serving in such capacity makes recommendations to the IDC Board with regard to Amicus involvement, and has also authored several Amicus Curiae briefs filed with the Illinois Supreme Court and the Illinois Appellate Court.