Attorneys

Thomas J. Gilbert
tgilbert@obkcg.com

Shareholder, Joliet Office

Thomas J. Gilbert joined OBKC&G, Ltd. as a Partner/Shareholder on January 1, 2002. He has been engaged in the general practice of law since November of 1974. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1971 with a B.A. degree and from the Loyola University of Chicago School of Law in 1974. He has been licensed to practice in Illinois since 1974 and in the State of Florida since 1980.

Mr. Gilbert began practicing in Joliet, Illinois, with William R. Penn who left the firm in 1983 to become an Associate Judge of the 12th Judicial Circuit (and subsequently Full Circuit Judge). While in law school and for several years thereafter, he served as a clerk to Labor Arbitrator Albert A. Epstein, assisting in the drafting of arbitration decisions. Since 1983, Mr. Gilbert's practice became concentrated in the area of municipal law with the representation of numerous fire protection districts, as well as an extensive litigation practice.

Mr. Gilbert has tried several cases to jury verdict, as well as participating in complicated commercial litigation over the past several years. He has appeared in the Illinois trial courts, state appellate courts, and the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois. He has been a member of the Federal Trial Bar and has served as a member of the panel of trustees for the Bankruptcy Court of the Northern District of Illinois. He has lectured on numerous occasions on issues pertaining to fire service law and has been an instructor of the fire science law class at Joliet Junior College.

From 1984 to 1995, Mr. Gilbert was a partner in the firm of Gilbert and Schoenstedt, which became Gilbert, Mason and Schoenstedt in 1995. The firm dissolved in 2001 when Richard C. Schoenstedt was appointed to the position of Associate Judge. Mr. Gilbert is a member of the Illinois State Bar, the Florida State Bar, and the Will County Bar Association. He served as President of the Will County Bar Association in 1994 and 1995. Mr. Gilbert also served on the Board of Directors of the Will County Legal Assistance Program and was the President of that organization for several years. He has received an "AV" Peer Review Rating from Lexis-Nexis Martindale-Hubbell, publishers of a nationwide directory of attorneys. An "AV" rating is the highest rating an attorney can achieve. Mr. Gilbert practices in the firm's Joliet office.