KATHY C. BYRNE, partner at Cooney & Conway in Chicago, Illinois, was installed as the 70th President of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA) on Friday, June 9, 2023, at its annual convention at the Sheraton Grand in Chicago, Illinois.
Byrne received her bachelor’s degree from Saint Mary’s College of Notre Dame. She graduated from Loyola University School of Law in 1988. She was admitted to the Illinois bar shortly thereafter. In addition to being licensed to practice law in Illinois, she is also a member of the Bar of the United States Supreme Court, the Seventh Circuit Appellate Bar and has also argued, by special permission of the Court, before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Bankruptcy Court.
In 1988 Byrne joined Cooney & Conway and focuses her practice in the field of asbestos litigation. She exclusively represents plaintiffs in product liability litigation at both trial and appellate levels.
Since 1997, Byrne has been an active member of ITLA and has served on the Board of Managers and the Executive Committee. She is also very active in ITLA’s Women’s Caucus. She was selected as the Third Vice-President in 2020.
Byrne is also a member of the American Association of Justice (AAJ) of which she is a former Governor; the Illinois State Bar Association and the Celtic Lawyers.
Outside the courtroom, Byrne has lectured extensively throughout the nation at litigation seminars. She has written a published chapter in the Illinois Continuing Legal Education Premises Liability Handbook. She also judges and critiques law school moot court finalists and mentors new trial lawyers through a special program instituted by AAJ.
Her charitable work includes serving as Chairman of Children’s Dental Health Month for the Chicago Chapter of the American Dental Association. She is also a charter member of the Loyola Law School Circle of Advocates which pairs trial attorney mentors with law students interested in litigation. Byrne was formerly a Commissioner of the Illinois Racing Board and remains active in backstretch and retired racehorse assistance programs.
In 2016 Byrne received the “Top Lawyers in Leadership” award from the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois. She has been named as a “Best Lawyer in America” by US News and World Reports and has been named a Leading Lawyer since 2012.
Byrne is only the second woman to become president of ITLA. She’s looking forward to leading an organization comprised of the best lawyers in the state.
Byrne comes from a family dedicated to public service and sacrifice. Her father, Lt. William Patrick Byrne Jr. was a United States Marine Aviator who died in service when his fighter jet crashed. Her mother, the Honorable Jane M. Byrne, was the mayor of Chicago from 1979 until 1983.
“It’s an incredible honor and a huge responsibility to become president of ITLA. There is no organization with a nobler purpose, which is to protect the right of Illinois citizens to attain justice by way of a jury trial. The presidents before me, from Jim Dooley to Pat Salvi II, made a bright path for me to follow and I will do my best to serve our talented membership and our heroic clients.”
Byrne is a lifelong resident of Chicago. She enjoys traveling, great Chicago restaurants, politics, the Cubs, and visiting her son Willy, now a second-year law student at the University of Kentucky Rosenberg school of law.
