William Cook
BIOGRAPHY
William “Bill” Cook is an associate at Hall Prangle’s Chicago office. Bill focuses his practice on the defense of healthcare organizations, hospitals, and professionals.
Prior to joining Hall Prangle, Bill was an Assistant Corporation Counsel at the City of Chicago—Department of Law for six years. Most recently, he served in the City’s Torts and Federal Civil Rights Litigation (“FCRL”) divisions, where he defended the City and City employees in personal injury cases and civil rights cases brought pursuant to Section 1983. He previously served in the City’s Aviation, Environmental, Regulatory, and Contracts division (“AERC”), advising about procurement disputes and prosecuting municipal code violations on behalf of the Chicago Department of Public Health and the Chicago Department of Aviation.
He also served in the City’s Legal Information and Prosecutions Division (“LIP”), defending the City in actions brought pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), and advising City departments about responding to a high volume of FOIA requests during the COVID pandemic. In addition, he prosecuted numerous municipal code violations on behalf of the Chicago Police Department during his time in LIP. He has seen successful results at different phases of litigation ranging from administrative hearings to summary judgment, to jury verdicts.
Prior to working for the City, Bill was a Research Staff Attorney at the Illinois Appellate Court, where he drafted written orders for criminal appeals. During law school at The John Marshall Law School, Bill had the opportunity to prosecute employee dismissals as an extern for Chicago Public Schools. He also served as an extern at the Office of the Illinois Attorney General in its Civil Appeals division, and served as an extern to the Honorable Mathias Delort of the Illinois Appellate Court, First District. He was a Lead Articles Editor for The John Marshall Law Review, and received CALI awards for coursework in constitutional law and secured transactions.
AREAS OF PRACTICE
CREDENTIALS
EDUCATION
The John Marshall Law School, cum laude (2017)
University of Iowa, B.A., Phi Beta Kappa (2013)
BAR ADMISSIONS
Illinois
COURT ADMISSIONS
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
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