Nicholas J. Motherway will be awarded the prestigious Leonard M. Ring Lifetime Achievement Award

Nicholas J. Motherway, of Chicago, IL will be awarded the prestigious Leonard M. Ring Lifetime Achievement Award at the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA) Convention on Friday, June 8, 2012. The convention will be held at the Oak Brook Hills Marriott Resort in Oak Brook, Illinois.

The criteria of the award are as follows:

“This award is given annually at the convention banquet to someone selected by a committee appointed by the president. The recipient is someone who has devoted, as Leonard did, a substantial part of their life and their practice to ITLA, someone who has done more than is called for. Someone who had the standards of Leonard, the work ethics of Leonard and the commitment to ITLA that Leonard had. At the same time, it keeps alive the memory of Leonard Ring.”

Nicholas Motherway received his undergraduate degree from Loyola University.  He enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve after college and became a commissioned officer, and served six years in a local reserve unit.  In 1965, Motherway received his law degree from DePaul University College of Law and was admitted to the Illinois bar shortly thereafter.

Early in his law career, Motherway prosecuted criminal cases for the Cook County, Illinois State’s Attorney’s Office and served as Chief of Organized Crime and Special Prosecutions.  After leaving that office, he then entered private practice as a civil trial lawyer representing plaintiffs in cases that primarily involved profound injury or death.  He co-founded the firm of Motherway and Glenn in 1982, which became the firm Motherway and Napleton in 2003.  Today, Motherway concentrates his law practice on representing plaintiffs who have suffered serious personal injuries or lost a loved one.

Motherway is active in numerous trial lawyer organizations. As a graduate of the DePaul University College of Law, he has served as Chairman of its Advisory Board. Motherway is a member of the American, Illinois and Chicago Bar Associations, and the American Association for Justice.  He is an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and a member of the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee.  He has been a contributing author to the Illinois Civil Procedure Handbook since 1987.

As a member of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Motherway serves on the Board of Managers.  He was elected to the Board of Governors of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America three times.  He was invited to membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) where he is currently a member of its National Board of Directors and serves as a trustee of its Legislative Analysis Fund.  Motherway is also a past president ABOTA’s Illinois Chapter.

Motherway is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, whose membership by invitation is limited to no more than one percent of the bar of the members' state. He was selected for membership in "Leading Illinois Attorneys" based upon a peer selected survey.  He has been selected for the Leading Lawyers Network and has been peer rated as an Illinois "Super Lawyer." Motherway is listed in Who's Who in American Law and in Who's Who in America.

“It’s humbling to receive an award given in the name of Leonard Ring.  I am proud to say it puts me in select company,” Motherway states.

Past Leonard M. Ring Lifetime Achievement Award recipients include Jon G. Carlson, Rex Carr, Robert J. Cooney, Philip H. Corboy, George J. Cullen, Joseph R. Curcio, David A. Decker, James Thomas Demos, Geoffrey L. Gifford, William J. Harte, Thomas F. Londrigan, Philip F. Maher, Nat P. Ozmon, Eugene I. Pavalon, John G. Phillips, Anthony C. Raccuglia, Curt N. Rodin and Michael P. Schostok. 

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