John J. Hopkins

The son and grandson of ironworkers, John Hopkins was taught the value of hard work at an early age. Working out of Ironworkers Local 392 in East St. Louis, Illinois, John financed his college and law school by working in the trade. The lessons learned on the job site have guided him well through his 26 years of practice, representing the interests of working men and women throughout the Southern Illinois area.

Mr. Hopkins focuses his practice in the areas of medical malpractice, personal injury, nursing home litigation and workers’ compensation. He has achieved success before both the Illinois and the United States Supreme Court, and in the year 2000 was voted as the best attorney in the Tri-City (Granite City) area. In 2002 Mr. Hopkins was elected as a Fellow of the American Bar Association, an honor reserved for less than 1% of the legal profession.

Mr. Hopkins lives in Alton, Illinois, with his wife, Margaret, and three children, Brian, Michael and Bridget, in a restored ante-bellum home (circa 1840).

Bar Admissions:
Illinois, 1977
U.S. District Court Southern District of Illinois, 1977
U.S. Supreme Court, 1989 Missouri, 1990
U.S. District Court Central District of Illinois, 1992

Education:
J.D. - University of Tulsa College of Law, Tulsa, OK, 1977
B.A. - St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO, 1973 - Major: English

Published Works:
Nursing Home Litigation
Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, December 2001

Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night: The Case for Punitive Damages in Nursing Home Litigation
Trial Journal of the Illinois Trial Laywers Association, Volume 4, Number 2, Summer 2002

Honors and Awards:
Serviam Award, Marquette Catholic High School, 1994
Civic Award, Alton Branch NAACP, 1996, 1999
Alumni Award, University of Tulsa College of Law, 2000
Life Fellow, Illinois Bar Foundation, 1998
Tri-City Lawyer of the Year, 2000
Life Member, NAACP, 1996
Elected Fellow, American Bar Association, 2002

Professional Associations and Memberships:
Madison County Bar Association
President, 1996-1997

Tri-City Bar Association
President, 1985-1986

American Trial Lawyers Association
Charter Member President’s Club, 1999

Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
Board of Managers, 1996-present
Medical Malpractice Committee, 1992-present
Civil Practice Committee, 1992-present
Elected Board of Managers, 1996-2000
Elected Secretary, 2000-2002
Elected Treasurer, 2001-2002

Illinois Bar Association
General Assembly, 1998-present
Committee on Future of Legal Profession
Committee on Attorney Financial Responsibility
Committee on Educating the Public on Judicial Process
Committee on Judicial Evaluations
Task Force on Allocation of Judges

Trial Lawyers for Public Justice

Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Campaign for
Equal Justice, Madison County Co-Chairman, 2000-2002

Local, State or Federal Government Positions:
Special Assistant to Attorney General, Illinois, 1985-1987
Assistant City Attorney, Granite City, Illinois, 1985-1987

Selected as a Member of Who’s Who in American Law of the 13th Edition, 2003-04