Jonathan B. Amarilio
Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
Appellate

Jonathan Amarilio has already made his mark on the legal profession. From his appellate practice at Taft, where he has become one of the go-to appellate lawyers in Illinois for both sides of the bar, to his dedication to bettering the profession through the Chicago Bar Association, Amarilio stands out from the rest.

John Fitzgerald of Chicago’s Tabet DiVito & Rothstein LLC opposed Amarilio in a state appellate case, Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London v. Abbott Laboratories, 2014 IL App (1st) 132020, about an insurance award to a drugmaker after its product was recalled overseas.

“Many attorneys worked on each side of that appeal, but Jonathan’s voice came through the appellants’ brief with unmistakable clarity,” Fitzgerald said. “That brief took an enormously complex trial record, extracted from that voluminous record multiple arguments that had both legal and moral force, and conveyed those arguments clearly and persuasively. Once I read that brief, I knew right away that Jonathan had played a major role in drafting it. Few attorneys are capable of writing such a persuasive and effective appellate brief.”

One of Amarilio’s clients, a general counsel for major railroad company, praised his enthusiasm for a challenge. “Jon is always willing to take on cases, even when the deck is stacked against him,” the client said. “Recently, he assisted me with a petition for leave to appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court. We carefully considered whether to proceed, because we felt that we did not have a strong chance of success. Jon took the case without hesitation and crafted a well-reasoned, clearly articulated, and creative argument for why the court should take the appeal.”

Another Forty Under 40 nominator who’s hired Amarilio to represent her hospital on appeals in front of the Illinois Supreme Court praised his preparation: “I worked with Jonathan on a very high-profile post-trial motion and appellate brief for [the hospital]following an adverse verdict. In addition, he prepared an amicus curiae brief filed in the Illinois Supreme Court on behalf of seven major health care systems in Illinois in the case of Yarbrough v. Northwestern Memorial Hospital, et. al. In both instances, his work was excellent. He requires minimal instruction and turns out an excellent and persuasive product in a timely manner. He is mature, respectful, and will definitely be sought after in the years ahead for his appellate skill.”

When Amarilio is not drafting appellate briefs, he is busy giving back to his profession and the community. He was the 2017-18 chair of The Chicago Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section, was a member of the CBA Board of Managers, is a board member for Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth and the Chicago Bar Foundation, was vice chair of the Chicago Bar Foundation's Investing in Justice Campaign in both 2016 and 2017, and serves on the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness. Jon hosts the CBA podcast "@theBar," contributes to the Illinois Appellate Lawyers Association's blog, "The Brief" and publishes articles on appellate practice.