STEPHEN R.
KAUFMANN

Practice Description

Mr. Kaufmann is a trial attorney with a primary emphasis on the defense of products liability, general negligence and insurance lawsuits, medical malpractice, toxic torts, labor and employment law, and Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) actions against Illinois attorneys. He has tried numerous jury and non-jury cases to verdict in both the state and federal courts of Illinois.

Kaufmann also helps manage the Springfield office, which handles litigation for HeplerBroom clients throughout central Illinois.

Bar/Professional Associations

• Defense Research Institute
• Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel
• Illinois Bar Association
• Sangamon County Bar Association
• Madison County Bar Association
• The Missouri Bar
• Seventh Circuit Bar Association
  • Board of Governors

Awards, Honors & Distinctions

• AV Preeminent® Attorney by Martindale-Hubbell
• Illinois Leading Lawyers (2003-2020)
  • Advisory Board
• Illinois Super Lawyers (2010-2021)
• Top Attorneys in Illinois (by Chicago Magazine) (2010-2016)

Law School Honors/Involvement

• Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology
  • Note and Comment Editor

Published Legal Writing

• "Juror Questions During Trial: An Idea Whose Time Has Come Again," Illinois Bar Journal (June, 2011). (Co-author.) This article prompted the 2012 adoption of Illinois Supreme Court Rule 243. (The article can be read here.)
• “Temporary Nuisance Production Agriculture in the Cross-Hairs Again,” Illinois State Bar Association: Agricultural Law (August 2016). (This article can be read here.)
• "The Learned Intermediary Doctrine and Pharmaceutical Company Liability," Illinois Bar Journal (April 2007). (Co-author.) Summarizes the learned intermediary doctrine in Illinois and provides practice pointers to attorneys defending pharmaceutical companies in failure to warn cases. (This article can be read here.)
• "First District Refuses to Find Exception to Learned Intermediary Doctrine," IDC Quarterly (3rd Quarter 2006). (Co-author.) Discusses the recent case of Kennedy v. Medtronic, Inc., 851 N.E. 2d 778 (1st Dist. 2006). (This article can be read here.)

Legal Lectures & Presentations

• “What’s Needed for Successful Settlement Negotiations,” Tips of the Trade, Illinois State Bar Association (Springfield IL, 2019). 
• “Legal Ethics in Illinois," Lorman Education Series (Springfield IL, 2014).

Representative/Recent Case Results

• Battery/false imprisonment defense verdict (St. Clair County, 2017)
• Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation nuisance defense verdict (Scott County, 2016); affirmed on appeal (2020)
• Bank fraud defense verdict (Sangamon County, 2014)
• Automobile defense verdict (Adams County, 2014)
• Farm partnership plaintiff verdict (Christian County, 2011)
• Asbestos defense verdict (Sangamon County, 2009)