James Lestikow Elected First Vice President of Illinois Bar Foundation

July 2, 2012

CHICAGO, IL. – James M. Lestikow, a partner in the Springfield office of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, has been elected first vice president of the Illinois Bar Foundation (IBF), the charitable arm of the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA). He will be installed at the organization’s annual meeting in October. He will become President of the IBF Board of Directors in June of 2014, and will be the first President from Springfield.

The mission of the Illinois Bar Foundation is to ensure meaningful access to the justice system, especially for those with limited means, and to assist lawyers who can no longer support themselves due to incapacity. This year, the Foundation will distribute more than $425,000 in grants to legal aid organizations across the state of Illinois, and in Lawyers Care Fund support to attorneys and their families in need.

Mr. Lestikow, who focuses his practice in the areas of estate planning, corporate and business law, and commercial real estate, has been a Bar Foundation director since 2004. He previously held the post of treasurer, and is chair of its Budget and Finance Committee.

Mr. Lestikow was elected a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel in 2001 and sits on its Asset Protection Committee. He is a general editor or co-editor of three law books, published by the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education on estate planning and asset protection. He was board chair of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce in 2008.

Mr. Lestikow received a B.S. from Northern Illinois University in 1970, and his J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1973.

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP is a U.S. based law firm with offices nationwide. The firm's national reputation spans the insurance industry, the financial services sector, and other highly regulated industries. Hinshaw also serves as counsel to the professional services sector, and provides business advisory and transactional services to clients of all sizes.