Steven Puiszis Appointed Chair of DRI's Center for Law and Public Policy

At its annual meeting in Boston on October 22, DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar named Steven M. Puiszis — partner and deputy general counsel of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in Chicago — to Chair its Center for Law and Public Policy, DRI’s research and advocacy center. Through scholarship, legal expertise and advocacy, the Center provides an effective voice for the defense bar in the national discussion of substantive law, constitutional issues, and the integrity of the civil justice system. Its voice is heard through public research materials, amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court, the DRI National Poll on the Civil Justice System, objective counsel to policy makers, and public education initiatives. 

Puiszis has served DRI in various capacities, including as Secretary-Treasurer on DRI's board of directors, and chair of several DRI committees and task forces  He co-authored “The Economics of Justice” and served as the editor of “Without Fear or Favor,” two seminal research works of the Center addressing critical judicial independence issues, and the importance of fully funding of our state-court justice systems. 

Best described as a lawyer's lawyer, in addition to serving as Hinshaw's general counsel, Puiszis is a highly experienced trial and appellate lawyer and a member of Hinshaw’s Lawyers for the Profession® Practice Group, counseling lawyers and law firms on professional liability, ethics and professional responsibility matters. He serves as Hinshaw’s Privacy Officer and has served as the head of the firm’s Electronic Discovery Response Team. 

Puiszis also was president of the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel (IDC) and received the IDC’s Distinguished Member Award. He is a Fellow in the American Bar Foundation and a member of the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys and International Association of Defense Counsel. Puiszis is the author of Illinois Governmental Tort and § 1983, now in its third edition and published by Lexis Nexus. He also has authored book chapters on mitigating law firm cyber risk, data protection and privacy in the U.S., and law firm risk management. 

Puiszis earned his J.D. (1979) from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law and his B.Sc. (1976) from DePaul University. Before joining Hinshaw, he served as an Assistant State’s Attorney in the Special Prosecutions and General Criminal Divisions of the Cook County State’s Attorneys’ Office.