Hon. Brendan A. O'Brien, (Ret.)

Hon. Brendan A. O’Brien, (Ret.)

Hon. Brendan A. O’Brien, (Ret.) is a highly respected former trial judge and accomplished civil litigator with nearly 30 years of combined courtroom, trial and dispute resolution experience. His intelligence, thoughtfulness and unmatched work ethic are qualities that garnered success as a respected trial judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County and throughout his career. Widely regarded for his fairness, preparation, command of the law and ability to gain the trust of all parties, Judge O’Brien became one of the most sought-after settlement judges in the Law Division, frequently requested by both plaintiffs’ and defense counsel for pre-trial conferences.

Judge O’Brien has settled more than 1,000 cases in the last five years during his tenure as a law division trial judge. Beyond presiding over a record number of jury trials and pre-trial conferences as a jurist, he was a partner at Hinshaw and Culbertson before taking the bench, focusing on medical malpractice, FELA and construction accident cases among others. Judge O’Brien’s abundant settlement experience as a judge and his deep understanding of the risks and challenges inherent in trial for all parties gives him a unique and valuable perspective as a mediator and arbitrator.

Types of Cases Resolved

Asbestos
Auto Liability
Aviation
Construction
Construction Accidents
Contract
Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA)

Fee Dispute
Insurance Coverage
Landlord-Tenant
Legal Malpractice
Mass Torts
Medical Malpractice
Nursing Home

Personal Injury
Premises Liability
Professional Malpractice
Property Damage
Toxic Tort
Wrongful Death

ADR Experience and Qualifications

Since joining ADR Systems in 2026, Judge O’Brien has served as a full-time mediator and arbitrator
10-year judicial career in the Circuit Court of Cook County, including Circuit Judge, Law Division Motion Section where he earned recognition for achieving one of the highest disposition rates in the Division and later served in the Law Division Trial Section where he successfully resolved 75% of the matters before him, 2016-2026

20-year legal career concentrating on construction, professional liability, insurance defense, personal injury, medical malpractice and other high exposure civil matters as a partner at Hinshaw & Culbertson, LLP, 1999-2016; associate at Connelly & Schroeder, 1996-1999; appropriations and research analyst for the Illinois House of Representatives, 1991-1992

Representative Cases

Construction Accidents: settled case for $7.3 million involving ironworker moving suspended load with a tagline when tagline broke, causing him to fall, sustaining Maisonneuve fracture with syndesmotic disruption and other injuries requiring surgery, including later ankle fusion
Construction Accidents: settled case for $5.3 million involving ironworker working on a jet bridge replacement at international airport; plaintiff’s hand was crushed while doing torch cutting work on electrical box welded to bottom of jet bridge
Medical Malpractice: minor child suffered hypoxic-ischemic brain injury during labor and delivery; mother with preeclampsia induced and during labor fetal monitoring progressed to Category III tracing, but resuscitative measures not performed and cesarean delivery delayed; case settled for $5.25 million
Medical Malpractice: settled case involving surgery for hiatal hernia following prior surgery; procedure allegedly resulting in a gastro-pulmonary fistula, causing further injuries and complications with additional surgeries
Medical Malpractice: settled case where teenage girl presented to pediatric clinic with pallor, fever, dizziness, flu-like symptoms and signs of anemia; provider allegedly suspected respiratory condition; child later suffered a midbrain stroke and was diagnosed with anemia due to acute myeloid leukemia

Medical Malpractice and Wrongful Death: settled case for $12.75 million involving allegations that hospital, emergency physician and outpatient provider failed to timely escalate care for patient diagnosed with two intracranial aneurysms
Medical Malpractice and Wrongful Death: settled case where patient became hypotensive during surgery and unstable after surgery; plaintiff alleged failure to monitor blood pressure, provide timely fluids, or transfer to ICU promptly
Medical Malpractice and Wrongful Death: settled case involving patient with sickle cell anemia, presenting to the hospital twice with fainting and worsening symptoms; plaintiff alleged defendants failed to provide life-saving intervention, including dialysis, despite signs of acute renal failure
Personal Injury: woman on bicycle sustained an acetabular fracture requiring surgery when a vehicle door was opened into the path of her bicycle
Premises Liability: settled case involving an altercation at an entertainment venue where a plaintiff was shot when a fight broke out; plaintiff sustained permanent nerve injury

Professional Activities and Awards

Judge of the Year, 2024, American Board of Trial Advocates
Celt of the Year, 2024, Celtic Legal Society of Chicago
Former Member, Asian American Association
Former Member, Chicago Bar Association (CBA)
Former Member, Cook County Judicial Retention Committee
Former Associate Member, Emerald Society of Illinois
Former Member, Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois

Former Member, Illinois Judges Association
Member, Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA)
Former Member, Unity Bar Association
Former Member, Women’s Bar Association of Illinois
Former Trial Competition Judge, University of Chicago, AAJ Law Student, CCLRE Public High School and Howlett Catholic High School Trial Competition
Former Judge, National Latino Law Student Moot Court Competition

Presentations and Publications

Presenter, “Current Trial Issues and Practice Tips on Pretrial Conferences,” Defense Research Institute (DRI)
Presenter, “Anatomy of a Trial from the Judge’s Perspective,” American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
Presenter, “Damage Issues and Jury Instructions on Claiming Future Damages in Illinois,” Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA)
Presenter, “Current State of the Law Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County,” Illinois Society of Trial Lawyers
Presenter, “Mediation Practice for Young Lawyers,” Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Presenter, “Trial and Discovery Common Mistakes,” and “Tips for Young Lawyers Practicing in the Law Division,” DePaul University College of Law
Presenter, “Medical Malpractice Cases, from Filing to Trial,” Northern Illinois University College of Law

Presenter, “Law Division Motion Class for Young Lawyers,” and “Mediation and Pretrial Conferences in the Law Division,” University of Illinois Chicago School of Law
Presenter, “Medical Malpractice and Mass Torts in the Age of COVID,” and “Issues in the Law Division,” CBA
Presenter, “Tips for Young Lawyers in Jury Selection,” DuPage County Bar Association (DCBA)
Presenter, “Liens Affecting Personal Injury Lawsuits,” ISBA
Presenter, “State of the Law Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County,” Bohemian Lawyers Association
Presenter, “Matters before the Law Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County and Jury Selection,” Law Bulletin Annual Seminar
Presenter, “Jury Instructions” and “State of the Law Division in the Circuit Court of Cook County,” Hinshaw & Culbertson, LLP

Education

JD, University of Illinois Chicago School of Law
BS, Illinois State University

Admissions

Illinois State Bar
US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Disclosure

I was a sitting judge for over 10 years, practiced law and have been a mediator and arbitrator since 2026. Many attorneys have tried cases in my courtrooms or mediated or arbitrated a case with me.

The disclosures listed above will not affect my neutrality in this dispute.

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