Andrea Okun Featured in Chicago Lawyer
“Around the Water Cooler: Q&A with Andrea C. Okun”

Andrea Okun was featured in the December 29, 2008 issue of Chicago Lawyer. Below are the three questions posed to Andrea along with excerpts from her responses.

Q. What do you find the most interesting about your practice?

A. Taking all of the various aspects of the litigation process and turning them into a cohesive and compelling legal argument, be it for a brief, an argument, or a trial.

Q. What makes a good lawyer?

A. A good lawyer must understand the role we play in our clients’ overall business objectives and be committed to helping the client achieve those objectives. So, for every matter that comes in the door, the first question you have to ask yourself is “what is the most efficient way to resolve this in the best interests of the client?”  To answer this, you need to have a strong knowledge of both the relevant legal issues and the client’s needs.

Q. What is the biggest legal news right now, and what is its impact?

A. Depending upon how you define “biggest legal news,” it’s a close race between the complaint against Governor Blagojevich and the economic downturn. In terms of water cooler conversation, everyone is talking about the Governor and fallout related to Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation and complaint against him — it has created some very interesting legal issues. While the problems of our Governor are pressing and of deep concern to people, they do not have the impact on how people and businesses run their daily lives that the economy does.  Our clients face the same problems as everyone else: how can they achieve their business goals in this economic climate when they cannot get the financing they need, or when revenues are down, or when they have to reduce their staffs?  We see it every day and the way we can best serve our clients is to recognize these issues and help prevent our clients from falling into pitfalls that they might not foresee.  Litigation typically sees an increase in activity during economic downtimes, but it’s also during downtimes that litigation is toughest on businesses.  As lawyers, we can never forget that our focus cannot just be on the particular piece of litigation we are handling; rather, we need to address our clients’ overall business needs.