91�ؿ�

“If you lack civility and you lack professionalism, that becomes your reputation,” says Jill Webb (LAW ’96). 

“I say this all the time when talking about trial work or my opponents, and this applies to many of us regardless of our practice areas: We may be adversaries, but we are not enemies.”

Webb believes treating your opponent and judges with respect is important now more than ever. “Threats, harassment, and even violence against the courts, judges, and politicians are encouraged on social media. We have to stop that cycle and lead, by setting better examples, even if we disagree with the other person,” she says.

The founder of a personal injury law firm, the Law Office of Jill M. Webb, Webb is heavily involved in the American Board of Trial Advocates, an invitation-only national organization of civil trial lawyers who have tried a minimum number of civil jury trials to verdict and exhibit high levels of civility and professionalism. ABOTA is dedicated to preserving the right to a jury trial, to protecting the independence of the judiciary, and to promoting professionalism and civility. Webb served as the 91�ؿ� chapter president in 2023–24 and as national secretary in 2024–25.

Webb is currently the president of the Society of Trial Lawyers, another invitation-only group of civil trial lawyers, based in Chicago and dedicated to fostering loyalty and fraternity among trial attorneys and with the judiciary. She previously served as treasurer, secretary, and vice president of the society.

She was the first female plaintiff-side attorney to serve as president of either organization.

“How am I the only plaintiff’s lawyer who’s a woman who can be president of both of these invitation-only organizations?” she asks. “There just haven’t been a lot of women who were plaintiff’s personal injury lawyers who have done it their whole career, that run their firms, who are juggling cases, legal organizations, a family, all of these things. But there’s definitely a next generation of women who are killing it, stepping up, which is fantastic.”

Growing up in a small town in Kansas, Webb didn’t have a mentor to guide her through the law school process. Now, she gets special joy from serving in that role. She mentors high school students in the public schools who are thinking about careers in the law and provides opportunities to Chicago-Kent College of Law students. “I’m always hiring law students to work for me, and I’m always looking for somebody who didn’t have all the opportunities in the world,” she says. Webb especially likes to hire Chicago-Kent students who need part-time work for six months while they prepare to re-take the bar exam, the legal accreditation test. “It gives them such a boost of confidence when you don’t judge them because they didn’t pass the bar the first time,” says Webb. She says her motto is: “You only need one or two people to see value in you for you to then believe in yourself.”

Webb has secured more than $250 million in verdicts and settlements for her clients, but that hasn’t stopped her from treating everyone with respect. —Kayla Molander