The son and grandson of ironworkers, Mr. Hopkins was taught the value of hard work at an early age. Working out of Ironworkers Local 392 in East St. Louis, Illinois, he financed his college and law school by working in the trade. The lessons learned on the job site have guided him well through his 31 years of practice, representing the interests of working men and women throughout the Southern Illinois area. Mr. Hopkins focuses his practice in the areas of medical malpractice, personal injury, nursing home litigation and workers' compensation. He has achieved success before both the Illinois and the United States Supreme Court, and in the year 2000 was voted as the best attorney in the Tri-City (Granite City) area. In 2002, Mr. Hopkins was elected as a fellow of the American Bar Association, an honor reserved for less than 1% of the legal profession. We have won Major Personal Injury and Class Action Cases. Recently, we reached a settlement of 28 Million dollars in Farmer vs. Jackson National Life.
Bar Admissions
Illinois, 1977 Missouri, 1990 U.S. District Court Central District of Illinois, 1992 U.S. District Court Southern District of Illinois, 1997 U.S. Supreme Court, 1989
Education
University of Tulsa College of Law, Tulsa, Oklahoma J.D. - 1977 Honors: Moot Court Finalist, 1975 St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri B.A. - 1973 Major: English
Published Works
Nursing Home Litigation, Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, December, 2001 "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night: The Case for Punitive Damages in Nursing Home Litigation", Trial Journal of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Volume 4, Number 2, Summer, 2002 Representative Clients Severely Injured Persons
Honors and Awards
Serviam Award, Marquette Catholic High School, 1994 Civic Award, Alton Branch NAACP, 1996 Civic Award, Alton Branch NAACP, 1999 Alumni Award, University of Tulsa College of Law, 2000 Life Fellow, Illinois Bar Foundation, 1998 Tri-City Lawyer of the Year, 2000 Life Member, NAACP, 1996 Elected fellow, American Bar Association, 2002 Who's Who in American Law of the 13th Edition, 2003 - 2004 Professional Associations and Memberships Madison County Bar Association, President, 1996 - 1997 Tri-City Bar Association, President, 1985 - 1986 American Association for Justice, Charter Member President's Club, 1999 Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Medical Malpractice Committee, 1992 - Present Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Civil Practice Committee, 1992 - Present Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Elected Board of Managers, 1996 - 2000 Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Elected Board of Managers, 2007 Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Elected Secretary, 2000 - 2002 Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Elected Treasurer, 2001 - 2002 Illinois Bar Association, General Assembly, 1998 - 2000 Illinois Bar Association, Committee on Future of Legal Profession Illinois Bar Association, Committee on Attorney Financial Responsibility Illinois Bar Association, Committee on Educating the Public on Judicial Process Illinois Bar Association, Committee on Judicial Evaluations Illinois Bar Association, Task Force on Allocation of Judges Trial Lawyers for Public Justice Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Campaign for Equal Justice, Madison County Co-Chairman, 2000 - 2002
Past Employment Positions
Attorney General, Illinois, Special Assistant, 1985 - 1987 Assistant City Attorney, Granite City, Illinois, 1985 - 1987
