Esther Seitz

EXPERIENCE:

Esther is a savvy litigator and trial attorney who has handled numerous high-profile cases involving:

• First Amendment, FOIA, privacy and intellectual property rights
• Construction and design defects
• Multi-million-dollar construction claims
• Government procurement
• Eminent domain

As part of her active appellate practice, Esther has argued over a dozen appeals, including as lead counsel in the Illinois Supreme Court on precedent-setting media and constitutional law cases. Esther also routinely represents both governments and railroads before the Illinois Commerce Commission. Her transactional experience includes negotiating construction-related contracts for large infrastructure projects on behalf of owners, contractors and designers.

EDUCATION:

LL.M. IP, Munich Intellectual Property Law Center, Max-Planck Institute for Intellectual Property and Competition Law, Munich, Germany

J.D., University of Arkansas School of Law

B.A., Economics, Centenary College of Louisiana
B.A., English, Centenary College of Louisiana

CLERKSHIPS:

Hon. D. Price Marshall Jr., Arkansas Court of Appeals, Little Rock, AR

LANGUAGES:

German & French

JUDICIAL CLERKSHIP:

Hon. D. Price Marshall Jr., Arkansas Court of Appeals, Little Rock, AR

BAR ADMISSIONS:

Illinois Supreme Court
Federal District Court for the Central District of Illinois
Federal District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

MEMBERSHIPS:

Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) Review Board, vice chairperson
Lincoln-Douglas American Inn of Court, president-elect & board member
Society of Illinois Construction Attorneys (SOICA), member

SELECT PUBLICATIONS:

• What Construction & Transportation Leaders Need to Know About Agreements that Curb Employee Mobility, Road Builders Magazine, at 39-41.  April 2024
• Chapter 5: Enforcement under the Freedom of Information Act, in Illinois Sunshine Laws (IICLE, 2024) (co-author). Jan. 2024
• Chapter 7: Pleadings, in Illinois Civil Practice: Opening the Case, (IICLE, 2023) (co-author). Feb. 2023
• Has Cannabis Really Been Decriminalized in Illinois?105 ILL. B.J. 30. April 2017
• No Fooling FOIA; public servants should be expected to comply fully and in a timely manner, The News-Gazette, Oct. 18, 2015, at C1, reprinted online as Private Email Doesn’t Fool FOIA, The State Journal-Register, Oct. 19, 2015 (co-author). Fall 2015
• Illinois Chapter in Media Libel Law 2014-15, MLRC 50-State Survey (Media Law Resource Ctr., Inc. ed., 2015) (co-author). Fall 2015
• #Oyez, #Oyez: Why Judges Should Let Reporters Tweet from the Courtroom, 101 ILL. B.J. 39, Jan. 2013
• Illinois Reporter’s Privilege Shields Tech—Tech Blog Deemed “News Media” Under Functional Approach MLRC Media Law Letter (Media Law Resource Ctr., New York, N.Y.), at 10. July 2012
• Illinois Judge Snubs Tech Blog—Holds Reporter’s Privilege Inapplicable MLRC Media Law Letter (Media Law Resource Ctr., New York, N.Y.), at 29. Jan. 2012
• Illinois Chapter in Open Government Guide: Access to Public Records and Meetings in 50 States and D.C., 6th ed, The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, ISBN 1-58078-200-0 (co-author) (available at http://www.rcfp.org/illinois-open-government-guide). Fall 2011
• Unscrambling the Confusion: Applying the Correct Standard of Review for Rape-Shield Evidentiary Rulings, 34:2 Am. J. Trial Ad. (co- author). Fall 2010
• Privacy (or Piracy) of Medical Records: HIPAA and Its Enforcement, 102 J. Nat’l Med. Assoc. 745-48. Aug. 2010
• Fact-Gathering in Patent Infringement Cases: Rule 34 Discovery and the Saisie-Contrefaçon, MIPLC Studies Series, Vol. 4 Nomos Publ., ISBN 978-3-8329-4855-9. Fall 2009

SELECT PRESENTATIONS:

• “Government Construction Contracts – Recent Amendments to the Procurement Code & the Future of Affirmative Action,” Illinois Road & Transportation Builders Association Annual Convention, Koloa, Hawaii. Feb. 2025
• “FOIA: What Construction Lawyers Need to Know,” Society of Illinois Construction Attorneys, virtual event (co-presenter). May 2023
• “Legal Grab Bag: Copyrights in Construction Plans, Claims & Non-Competes,” Illinois Road & Transportation Builders Association Annual Convention, Nassau, Bahamas. Feb. 2022
• “Non-Compete Agreements; Copyrights in Engineering Designs & Bid Protests with IL State Agencies; When Good Procurement Goes Bad,” Illinois Society of Professional Engineers (ISPE-IL), PE Bootcamp (co-presenter). Oct. 2021
• “How SE’s Can Design a Better Foundation for their Services Agreements,” The Structural Engineers Association of Illinois, virtual event (co-presenter). Feb. 2021
• “What Construction Contractors & Managers Should Know About Procurement Protests in Illinois,” American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), Annual Conference, virtual event (co-presenter). Sept. 2020