Effingham County Lawyers

Karl J. Wulff, (BA ’93, JD ’96) is the firm’s principal attorney. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Webster University in 1993. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Oklahoma City University School of Law in 1996. Prior to attending university Mr. Wulff served in the United States Navy on board the amphibious assault aircraft carrier U.S.S. Tripoli (LPH-10) in the air department from 1987 to 1989 and later on board the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Saratoga (CV-60) as a reservist, earning the Sea Service Ribbon and the National Defense Medal. Mr. Wulff is a member of the National...

Experienced intellectual property attorney handling patents, trademarks, trade secrets, copyrights, licensing and litigation. Registered patent attorney.

Lindsay Rakers is a personal injury attorney located in St. Louis, Missouri. She handles injury cases all over the State of Missouri and in Metro-East Illinois. Lindsay handles the following cases: automobile accidents, truck accidents, pedestrian accidents, motorcycle accidents, bus and taxi accidents, dangerous property, burn injuries, animal attacks, defective products, dangerous drugs, medical malpractice and nursing home neglect.

We are rooted in Montgomery County with two offices to better serve the area. Our firm handles many cases in the surrounding counties (Macoupin, Bond, Fayette, Christian, and Shelby County) as well. We have experience handling many areas of law, including personal injury (car wrecks/dog bites/slip or trip & falls/wrongful deaths/malpractice), traffic/DUI/criminal defense cases, bankruptcy, family law (custody/child support/adoption/divorce), estate planning (wills/POAs/trusts), and estate administration (non-probate and probate), and general civil practice. I grew up Nokomis (Montgomery County), where my family and I reside. My degrees are from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Thomas M. Cooley...

I am a personable and caring attorney who aims to serve those in need.

My office is located in Coles County, but happy and able to serve those as far north as Champaign-Urbana, or as far south as Effingham.

Brian is proud to continue the tradition of personal services performed by Brainard Law Offices LLC, the oldest law firm in Charleston. We have the advantage of years of experience, both from debtor, creditor, and trustee perspectives, which enables our firm to provide superior bankruptcy services for our clients. We believe each client deserves individual attention.

b 1952, Graduate Northern Illinois University, 1980

Licensed to practice law in the state of Illinois and registered to practice before the US Patent and Trademark Office. Experienced with IP (patents, trademarks, trade secrets) law in both corporate environments (Blackberry, Conversant IP Management) as well as individual inventors. Well versed in Business Law, Residential and Commercial Real Estate, Commercial and Residential Contracts, Wills, Trusts, Mergers and Acquisitions. Has 22 issued US patents and 30 additional issued patents worldwide. Held the roles as General Counsel, Senior Patent Attorney at Conversant IP Management, Leading Patent Prosecution Litigation Management for Conversant, Senior Licensing Counsel at Blackberry focusing on prosecution with concentration...

Liz Nohren has been practicing law for over 20 years. Her first 5 years were spent at a commercial litigation firm in Chicago, where she thrived and enjoyed the hustle and bustle of a city practice. However, Liz felt a pull to return home to the family firm in Shelbyville and join her father in practice. She remained lead counsel on a couple trials, including a construction litigation jury trial, and completed that work by commuting to Chicago for approximately 8 months after her move at the firm's request. Since moving home to Shelby County, Liz...

Member of Illinois Bar Association Member American Bar Association

Attorney focusing on all types of criminal and civil litigation throughout East Central Illinois.

Miranda became a partner at Spiros Law, P.C in 2010. Since then, she has established herself as a fierce and caring advocate for her clients wellbeing, showing empathy to their unique situations. Miranda's legal focus includes a variety of personal injury cases including automobile, birth and workplace injuries. She is licensed to practice in both Illinois and Florida. Miranda earned her J.D. at the University of Illinois College of Law. When she is awarded free time, Miranda prefers to spend it volunteering internationally with Meet Malawi, perfecting her many hobbies, or with her husband, Chris, and their three pets.

After graduation from Chicago-Kent School of Law in 1995, Tor Hoerman began working at the defense firm Bullaro, Carton & Stone until he got a call from a plaintiffs firm, Kralovec, Jambois & Schwartz that they may have an opening for a young associate. Tor jumped at the opportunity and learned about his passion to help injured people against those that he had previously represented.

In his years at K,J&S, Tor learned how to work the Courtroom at the Daley Center, spending most of his days either trying cases or running from floor to floor arguing motions on behalf of his...

Bill R. Tapella practices in the area of civil litigation, including medical malpractice, significant personal injuries, trucking accidents, railroad crossing accidents, wrongful death matters, product liability, and other tort litigation cases. Bill grew up in Herrin, Illinois and attended Eastern Illinois University and Southern Illinois University (SIU), Carbondale. He received his B.A. in Political Science from Southern Illinois University in 1981 and then went on to receive his J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law. While there, he received numerous academic honors, including admission to the Order of Coif, designation as a Harno Scholar, and ultimately graduated Magna Cum...

Sandra is a partner at Spiros Law, P.C. She devotes her legal career to representing injured persons in worker's compensation and personal injury matters throughout Central Illinois. Sandra has successfully tried cases in front of juries and has secured millions of dollars in settlements for clients throughout Illinois. Sandra is a member of the Bar Associations for Champaign and Vermilion Counties, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, and the Illinois Bar Association. She is a past president of the East Central Illinois Women Attorneys Association and currently serves on its program committee where she helps to design and facilitate continuing legal education...

Cari is a licensed attorney in the States of New York, Illinois, New Jersey, and Connecticut while being licensed in the District of Columbia. Cari is a general practitioner with concentrations in food/agriculture law, family/matrimonial law, civil litigation, estate planning and mediation. Rincker Law, PLLC has offices in New York City and Champaign, Illinois. Cari is a member of the Association for the Bar in the City of New York's Matrimonial Law Committee. Before starting Rincker Law, PLLC, Cari was an associate at Budd-Falen Law Offices, LLC in Cheyenne, Wyoming where her broad practice...

Experienced. Tough. Driven. Put these three words together and you have defined the lead attorney at the firm of Woodruff Johnson & Evans. Over the course of his career, Mr. Woodruff has handled thousands of injury claims, recovering millions of dollars for people who have been hurt. Through it all, Mr. Woodruff has fought tirelessly to prevent corporations and big insurance companies from trampling on the rights of working men and women. For instance, on 40 different occasions, Mr. Woodruff represented employees from the University of Illinois who were denied their workers’ compensation rights after suffering repetitive-work injuries to their...

Jim Spiros is known to all as an experienced litigator, having earned his J.D. from The John Marshall Law School, who fights for those who need it most in cases involving workplace injuries, serious traffic and trucking accidents, defective drugs and devices, medical negligence, wrongful death, and nursing home neglect and abuse. Not only has Jim been consistently named one of the Leading Lawyers in the State of Illinois by the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin consistently since 2003, every year since 2018 he has been named an Illinois Super Lawyer. When Jim is away from his office at Spiros Law,...

To seek out and maintain justice is Russell Haugen's goal as an Illinois personal injury attorney. Russell Haugen attended Illinois State University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. Throughout his undergraduate degree, Russ worked as a paralegal for Woodruff Johnson & Evans Law Offices. As a paralegal, he was able to learn a great deal about the many intricacies of both workers' compensation and personal injury law. This further convinced him to pursue a law degree. Russell Haugen attended Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan. There, he was a volunteer for the Lansing Teen Court, working...

I have been practicing law since 1988. I have served as a legal services attorney representing clients in orders of protection, divorce, and parentage matters. Next I served as a public defender for 4 years, handling criminal law, juvenile law and mental health commitment cases. I have been in private practice on my own since 1999 representing people in a variety of cases, mostly family law, juvenile law, criminal law, guardianships, powers of attorney and wills. I do a smattering of other things in general. I also hold a master's degree in social work, so...

Jon Walker is an associate attorney at Woodruff Johnson & Evans where he focuses his practice on personal injury, workers’ compensation, and Social Security Disability claims. With more than a decade of legal experience, Mr. Walker has successfully recovered millions of dollars for his injured clients. He is particularly experienced in handling workers’ compensation claims for auto industry workers. He is one of only a few attorneys in the entire state of Illinois currently helping injured workers secure expedited trial and appellate review by filing emergency hearings under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, Section 19(b-1). Call for a free consultation.

Larry joined the Springfield office of Kanoski Bresney in 1989 and opened the firm's Bloomington office in 1995. Along with his staff of dedicated legal assistants in Bloomington and Champaign, Larry has successfully represented thousands of personal injury and workers’ compensation clients throughout central Illinois for more than 30 years.

Larry was born in Freeport, Illinois, and raised in the Chicago area with three brothers. After graduating from Illinois State University in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science degree focusing on business administration and accounting, he attended the University of Illinois College of Law in Urbana-Champaign, earning his Juris Doctor degree...

Following in his father’s footsteps as a legal advocate, Springfield personal injury lawyer James Ackerman established his practice in 1989.

Our approach to the law and to meeting our clients' needs comes from Jim Ackerman's belief that clients are best served when they are fully informed and engaged in every aspect of their case. Jim is a former prosecutor who handles injury claims and who coaches other attorneys on the finer points of case preparation, taking a case to trial, and the art of handling juries. Jim brings years of legal and courtroom experience to bear on every case.

Jim Ackerman...

At a very young age, Dexter John Evans envisioned himself as an advocate for the sick and injured. The grandson of a Chicago union worker, he has always felt a strong urge to help those trying to protect their rights. It is from this foundation that Dexter established himself as an aggressive advocate for the rights of his clients. “The greatest satisfaction in my profession is the gratitude of my clients. There is no better feeling than to get a hug from a client who is in tears because they finally received the justice they deserve. The thank you letters...

Respect for working men and women is the driving force behind Jay Johnson's commitment to workers' compensation law. It is a respect that runs deep. One of Jay's grandfathers was a Kentucky coal miner; the other, a member of the United Rubber Workers. Because both his grandfathers worked extremely hard in less-than-ideal environments, Jay has great empathy for those who get hurt on the job. Over the years, Jay Johnson has recovered millions of dollars for people suffering from a variety of work-related injuries. He prides himself on thoroughly preparing for each case and staying in close, personal contact with clients....

Genavieve Perino is an experienced trial attorney and negotiator. In over 10 years of service to the injured in Missouri and Illinois, she has secured numerous settlements and judgments to get people the compensation they need to recover. She has obtained plaintiff verdicts in St. Louis City and County, St. Clair County, the Missouri Court of Appeals and the Missouri Supreme Court. She has served as lead counsel in a variety of personal injury practice areas, including auto accidents, product liability, medical malpractice, premises liability, dog bites and workers' compensation. Genavieve focuses her representation on positive client outcomes and fighting...

Jeffrey D. Frederick, Esq. is a partner of Frederick & Hagle. Mr. Frederick graduated with high honors from Chicago Kent College of Law in 1982, where he consistently achieved academic excellence and was in the top 10% percent of his class.

Jeffrey D. Frederick became a member of this law firm in 1982. He limits his practice to personal injury and consequently has been able to focus his practice of law on representing those individuals who have been injured as a result of an automobile collision, a defective product or while working in construction. Additionally, Jeffrey Frederick also handles workers compensation...

Alison Kimble joined the Spiros Law team in 2018 after graduating from Michigan State University College of Law. While in law school, she earned a concentration in trial practice from the school's nationally recognized Geoffrey Fieger Trial Practice Institute. Alison has earned a reputation of being eager to serve clients in the area of personal injury and wanting to provide justice and compassion for her clients. Her practice focuses on Motor Vehicle Accidents, Workers' Compensation, and other personal injury matters. When not in the office, Alison enjoys reading, attending sporting events, and spending time with her family.

If you are going through a divorce or family law matter, it can feel like your whole life is hanging in the balance. Not knowing what will happen to you or your family can can be overwhelming. To help clients with divorce and family law matters in their time of need, Stange Law Firm, PC has limited their practice to divorce and family law matters. For your convenience, we have offices in Missouri, Illinois, Kansas and Oklahoma in places such as St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbia, Springfield, Wichita, Tulsa and beyond. We also respond to all phone...

Kathy has spent her entire legal career advocating for fair compensation to those who are injured and believes in the mission to do the right thing, not the convenient thing on behalf of Kanoski Bresney's clients. Kathy believes the greatest accomplishments she has received are the words of appreciation and gratefulness from those she has represented.

Kathy was born in Spring Valley, Illinois, and grew up in a small town in Peoria County, Illinois. Kathy attended the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana, and she was on the Dean's List several semesters and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts...

Danielle E. Cain joined Spiros Law, P.C. in 2020. Danielle is originally from Champaign and was eager to return home after 8 years of practice in Decatur, IL. Danielle focuses on personal injury matters including motor vehicle accidents, nursing home abuse and neglect, and medical malpractice.  Danielle has established herself as an experienced litigator who has successfully settled hundreds of cases through careful mediation and negotiation. Danielle graduated from the University of Illinois College of Law with her Juris Doctor in 2011 and was admitted to the state bar in 2011. When not in the office, Danielle is passionate about rescuing cats...

After attending the University of Illinois for Undergraduate school I attended Northern Illinois University School of Law. I was a Prosecutor for the McLean County State's Attorney's office for a year and a half, before leaving the office to practice with my father Jim Finegan. I will be working closely with my father on bankruptcy, real estate and other civil cases in the Bloomington, Illinois area.

Brandon C. Mayberry grew up in Jonesboro, Illinois. After high school, Brandon attended Shawnee Community College where he earned an Associates of Arts degree. He then attended Southern Illinois University, where he earned a B.A. in Paralegal Studies with a specialization in Pre-Law graduating Cum Laude. From there, Brandon went on to attend Southern Illinois University School of Law. Brandon graduated from the SIU School of Law. While in law school, Brandon was a member and marshal of the Phi Alpha Delta law fraternity. While attending SIU School of Law Brandon began working as a law clerk for the Law...

Gary K. Burger, Jr. devotes his practice to helping injury victims and their families, providing financial recovery and protecting the future of those injured, and making our community safer through advocacy and volunteer work. ~ Chosen as a Superlawyer and a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum ~AV rated lawyer by LexisNexis and Martindale-Hubbell, “The preeminent Rating … indicating the highest level of legal ability and ethics. The pinnacle of professional excellence.” ~Board Certified in Civil Trial Advocacy and Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy ~Admitted to practice in Missouri and Illinois, and...