Scott McKenna
Scott McKenna

Name:  Scott McKenna

Age:  47    

Current residence: Tinley Park

Current position: Partner/trial attorney, Best Vanderlaan & Harrington

Past legal experience: Best Vanderlaan & Harrington, 2000-present; Richard B. Rogich & Associates, 1997-2000; Garretson & Santora, 1996-97

Campaign funds available, July 1-Dec. 31: $24,803.19

Campaign funds spent, July 1-Dec. 31: $10,010.04

Law school: IIT  Chicago-Kent College of Law, 1996

Campaign website: scottmckennaforjudge.com 

Family: Wife Tricia (criminal prosecutor), son Jack (10) and Daughter Colleen (7)

Hobbies/interests: Watching/attending sports; coaching son in Little League; attending all other kids’ events (plays, improv and soccer).

Have you ever run for office before?

No.

Why should voters support your candidacy?

I have a tremendous amount of litigation, courtroom and trial experience compared to my opponent.  I have tried over 25 cases, most before juries and most as first chair, and I have been the lead attorney on 12 appeals. I have been an active courtroom litigant for my 21-plus years of practice, and I am well familiar with the rules of evidence and the practical requirements and challenges that face trial attorneys and their clients. I have had organizational and administrative responsibilities within my practice for the past 12-plus years (attorney development, CLE coordination, attorney hiring) that have trained me to be an excellent courtroom manager so that lawyers can operate efficiently and cases move to resolution in some form.

Why do you want to be a judge?

I have been an advocate for my clients and their positions for the past 21 years, and I believe all of my clients and opponents would agree that I have done so zealously but with a great degree of professionalism and competency. To earn the privilege of being a neutral decision-maker, and ensuring that all litigants and attorneys are treated fairly under the law, is something I have desired for some time and serves as my highest calling in my professional career. I feel that I have been endowed with the temperament and experience to be a good judge that will help lawyers and pro se parties to litigate and try their cases efficiently while also holding them accountable to the rules of procedure and evidence.

What was the most interesting case you handled as a lawyer?

I represented a large farm and road construction equipment leasing/servicing company in a traumatic leg amputation case. My client leased and serviced a large concrete cutter which jumped out of a cut on I55 after hitting rebar in the concrete and propelled backwards over the plaintiff. The evidence in the case showed, however, that the employer of the plaintiff was altering/misusing the machine to bypass its emergency shut-down feature so the machine would keep running despite the operator pressing the emergency shut-down button. The issues in the case were very interesting in that they involved whether the actions of the employer in altering/misusing the machine were the sole proximate cause of the accident, whether the employer’s actions constituted willful conduct such that it voided its Kotecki protection and whether the equipment lessor should be responsible for doing more than disabling the emergency shut-down bypass.  

What would you consider your greatest career accomplishment?

Being given first-chair trial responsibilities within two years of being hired by my current firm, earning a partnership with my current law firm after only four years of employment and being trusted with the professional development of my firm’s younger lawyers since then. I am most proud of fostering the trust of my partners and my clients at a relatively early stage of my development as an attorney. I feel these early responsibilities have improved me as a lawyer and make me a better judge candidate.

What qualities do you plan to bring to the bench?

I believe my range and depth of experience in litigation and trial practice makes me uniquely qualified in my race to preside over a courtroom as judge. I believe I have earned a reputation of having the right temperament to preside over cases and guide lawyers and litigants through their cases so they are run efficiently toward either resolution or trial, but always with an eye toward common sense and practicality in knowing the realities that face lawyers on a daily basis in handling their cases.