Jennifer Weller concentrates her practice in class action litigation and the representation of attorneys in legal malpractice cases. She has extensive experience litigating consumer class action cases involving claims brought under various state and federal laws, including the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Ms. Weller has represented lending institutions, debt collection agencies, debt buyers and lawyers.

Ms. Weller was counsel at the district court level with respect to the following cases:

• Olvera v. Blitt & Gaines, P.C., 431 F.3d 285 (7th Cir. 2005)
• Fields v. Wilber Law Firm, P.C., 383 F.3d 562 (7th Cir. 2004)
• Randolph v. IMBS, Inc., 368 F.3d 726 (7th Cir. 2004)
• Hyman v. Tate & Kirlin, 362 F.3d 965 (7th Cir. 2004)
• PRA III L.L.C. v. Hund, 364 Ill,App. 3d 378, 846 N.E.2d 965 (2006)

Before joining Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in September 2000, Ms. Weller was for one year an associate with the law firm of Haskell & Perrin.

During law school, Ms. Weller was a judicial extern to the Honorable Thomas P. Durkin of the Chancery Court in Chicago, and she was an extern with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Chicago. Ms. Weller also clerked at two Chicago firms -- Seyfarth, Shaw, Fairweather & Geraldson and Kevin M. Forde, Ltd. In addition, she was a licensed 711 law clerk for the City of Chicago’s Department of Law from September 1998 to January 1999, where she prosecuted traffic violations and represented the City in subsequent trials. Ms. Weller is a contributing author to “The Lawyers’ Lawyer,” a Hinshaw newsletter that addresses risk management and malpractice prevention issues. Her other publications include:

• Chapter co-author, “The Limitation of Liability Through Business Forms,” Attorney’s Legal Liability practice manual, Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (IICLE), 2002, 2005 Supplement and 2007.
• Chapter co-author, "Third Party Practice - Contribution and Indemnity," Illinois Civil Practice, IICLE, 2000 Supplement.

Ms. Weller speaks on a variety of topics. Her presentations include:

• “Fair Debt Collection Practices Act,” Illinois State Bar Association Solo and Small Firm Conference, Springfield, Illinois, October 2010.
• “Ethics for the North Suburban Lawyer,” North Suburban Bar Association, Skokie, Illinois, April 2010.
• “Navigating Debtor New Forms of Communication,” 14th Annual National Collections & Credit Risk Conference, Miami, Florida, March 2010.
• “Technology and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act,” Lorman Education Services, live teleconference, January 2010.
• “How to Communicate with Clients to Protect Yourself from Potential Legal Malpractice Claims,” Thomson-West, live webcast, November 2009.
• "Ethics for the North Suburban Lawyer," North Suburban Bar Association, Skokie, Illinois, April 2009.
• "Debt Buying in the Future: A Discussion of the Issues," Illinois Creditor's Bar Association, Chicago, Illinois, March 2009.
• "New Technology and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act," Lorman Education Services seminar, Chicago, Illinois, March 2009.