Biography

Craig B. Simonsen is a senior environmental and litigation paralegal working primarily with the Seyfarth Shaw LLP Environmental, Safety & Toxic Torts Practice Group, in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Simonsen has been an adjunct instructor for environmental law for the Paralegal Studies Program at the former Mallinckrodt College in Wilmette, Illinois, and the Roosevelt University Program, in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Simonsen is an author and managing editor of several books, including the Pearson Prentice Hall Legal Series titles Essentials of Environmental Law, 3rd ed. (2007), and Computer-Aided Legal Research (CALR) on The Internet (2006), and the Environmental Law Resource Guide (1995), published by Clark Boardman and Callaghan. Mr. Simonsen has spoken on environmental law topics at the Solid Waste Association of North America's (SWANA) WasteCon 2008, and has spoken on environmental law topics at the Air & Waste Management Association’s (AWMA) 2008 Annual Conference, at the American Industrial Hygiene Association's 2007 Conference and Exposition, at the WasteExpo 2007 Conference, and at several National Association of Environmental Professionals Annual Conferences. In addition, he has organized and presented several webinars on environmental law topics for the SWANA, and has also been a frequent speaker for the Lake Michigan States Section of the AWMA.

Mr. Simonsen has over twenty years of experience in handling large document, multi-party litigation matters. Many such cases have been toxic tort cases. For example, one matter involved the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) contamination of a facility property, which over thirty years ended-up contaminating the entire residential neighborhood for blocks. Another matter involver the release of a sulfur trioxide (SO3) cloud in an urban community. For these and similar cases, document image databases were set-up and used extensively in the discovery and trial phases of the proceedings.

Education

M.A., Northeastern Illinois University (1985)

B.A., Northeastern Illinois University, with honors (1981)

Lawyer's Assistant Certificate, Litigation Specialty, Roosevelt University (1983)