President, Chicago Bar Association (1981-1982)

Chairman, Compensation Review Board, State of Illinois (1984-2009) – Board set proposed salary levels for Illinois constitutional officers, legislators, judges and agency heads. Under his leadership, the salaries of Illinois judges rose from one of the lowest to the highest in the United States.

Member, Review Board of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (1997-2005) – Board members are appointed by the Supreme Court. Board sits as appellate tribunal in attorney disciplinary matters.

Counsel, Federal Judges Association (1982-2022)

President, Federal Defender Program (Northern District of Illinois)

Member, Senator Richard Durbin Judicial Screening Committee (2009-2016) – Committee evaluates, interviews and recommends applicants for vacancies on the federal courts in Illinois

Chair, Chief Justice Anne Burke’s Judicial Screening Committee (2006-2022) – Committee evaluates candidates being considered for judicial appointment by Supreme Court of Illinois

Member, Illinois State Bar Association, Federal Bar Association, Bar Association for the Seventh Circuit and the Appellate Lawyers Association

Past President, The Celtic Legal Society

Founding Director and President, The Wendy Will Case Cancer Research Fund

Founding Director, The Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois

Founding Director and Board Member, The Spencer Williams Foundation for an Independent Judiciary

2012-present. Partner, Forde & O’Meara LLP

1970-2012. Managing Partner of Kevin M. Forde, Ltd., a five-lawyer office concentrating in commercial litigation, including both trials and appeals

1968-70. Faculty Member, The John Marshall Law School

1966-70. Law Clerk to the Honorable William J. Campbell, Northern District of Illinois

1964-66. Counsel to President of Cook County (later Illinois Supreme Court Justice) Seymour Simon

Loyola University of Chicago Law School

Marquette University

United States v. Will: This was a groundbreaking U.S. Supreme Court case involving a novel constitutional question under the Constitution’s Diminution Clause.  We represented the class of all federal judges in this class action brought to challenge the constitutionality of certain Acts of Congress that withheld cost-of-living salary adjustments due to the judiciary. We briefed and argued the case in the lower courts and in the U.S. Supreme Court.  In addition to substantial salary increases, this case produced back-pay awards totaling $10 million for federal judges.

Jorgensen v. Blagojevich: We represented the class of all Illinois judges in this class action challenging the constitutionality of executive and legislative branch actions that prevented payment of cost-of-living adjustments to Illinois judges. We successfully argued the case in the Supreme Court of Illinois.  The case resulted in a salary increase and back-pay awards of more than $10 million for Illinois judges.

Hertz Corp. v. City of Chicago:  We represented Enterprise Rent-a-Car in this constitutional challenge to the City of Chicago’s “Extraterritorial Car Rental Tax.”  We successfully obtained review, and won, in the Supreme Court of Illinois.  The Court found the tax unconstitutional.

Rahm Emanuel Residency Litigation:  We were trial and appellate counsel for then-candidate Rahm Emanuel in the litigation challenging his qualifications to run for Mayor of Chicago.  The Supreme Court of Illinois unanimously reversed the Appellate Court and affirmed the Hearing Officer’s recommendation that Mr. Emanuel was qualified to run for Mayor.

Price v. Philip Morris: We acted as co-counsel in a successful appeal to the Supreme Court of Illinois, obtaining a reversal of a $12 billion judgment against Philip Morris.

Chicago Board of Trade Demutualization Litigation: We successfully represented the Chicago Board of Trade and its Directors in litigation in the federal, Illinois, and Delaware courts over the CBOT’s demutualization.

CME Group, Inc., et al. v. Chicago Board Options Exchange, Inc. et al.:  We represented the class of CBOT members in this lawsuit that arose when the CBOE attempted to terminate the CBOT members’ ownership and trading rights on the CBOE.  The litigation involved proceedings in the Delaware Court of Chancery and before the SEC.  We obtained a settlement for our clients of cash and stock worth $1 billion.

LAMPERS v. CBOT Holdings, et al.: We represented the CBOT and its Directors in this shareholder lawsuit litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery resulting from the CBOT’s Board approval of the merger with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and rejection of a competing proposal.  The case settled, the merger closed, and the merger created the largest futures exchange in the world.

Guvenoz v. Target Corporation and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.: We successfully represented the plaintiff in this appeal involving a products liability lawsuit brought against a generic drug manufacturer and distributor that asserted federal conflict preemption defenses. The case was one of the first in the United States in which a court rejected a federal preemption defense raised by a generic drug manufacturer.

Ammons v. Canadian National Railway: We successfully represented CN in this appeal to the Supreme Court of Illinois.  The Court reversed the Appellate Court and upheld the right of the railroad to assert a counterclaim for property damage in a FELA case.