"Mr. Smith Rewrites the Constitution"

Read Thomas Geoghegan's feature op-ed from The New York Times about what makes the filibuster unconstitutional here.

Thomas Geoghegan in Illinois Super Lawyers magazine

Erik Lundegaard interviews Thomas Geoghegan about his law career, his 2005 book The Law in Shambles, and his 2009 run for Congress. Read the article here.

Despres Schwartz & Geoghegan wins unanimous Supreme Court decision

On December 8, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court decided UP v. BLET, 558 U.S. ___ (2009), in favor of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, represented by Despres Schwartz & Geoghegan, Ltd. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg delivered the unanimous opinion, which helps guarantee a fair hearing for railroad engineers in arbitration disputes. Read the opinion here.

Settlement Agreement: Phason et al v. Meridian et al

Read the agreement here.

DSG files class action suit against payday lenders

The suit charges Americash and other lenders stretch loan terms beyond the 120-day limit by which the state defines a "payday loan," instead distributing the funds as a consumer installment loan. Meanwhile borrowers are paying astronomical interest rates. Read the complaint here.

Despres Schwartz & Geoghegan challenges the appointment of Roland Burris

The Constitution requires a special election to fill a vacant Senate seat. In Judge v. Quinn, Thomas Geoghegan challenged the Governor's appointment of a replacement for the seat of former Senator Barak Obama. "Whether under the plain language of the Seventeenth Amendment, the Governor is required to issue a writ of election or act to set the date of an election to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate, or whether, instead, the legislature can require the Governor to make a temporary appointment to fill a vacancy or otherwise bar the Governor from issuing a writ of election." Read the brief here.

DSG's class action suit wins a groundbreaking settlement from Advocate

Advocate had been charging uninsured and underinsured patients significantly higher rates than they were charging insurance companies for the exact same procedures. In the groundbreaking settlement Tom engineered, Advocate agreed not only to refund the patients it had overcharged, but also to provide free or discounted health care to all uninsured or underinsured patients, ensuring, in the words of the Chicago Sun-Times, that "a hospital that calls itself a charity for tax purposes has to act charitably." Read the settlement here.

"I worry about the future and continue
to accept my responsibility to do something about it."

—Leon Despres