For over 30 years, Marty Morrissey has successfully provided insurance litigation defense services, trials and appeals, to companies and individuals in the Madison County, St. Clair County, and Southern Illinois regions. He began practice in Peoria, Illinois, in 1985 and relocated to Madison County with his wife, Kit in early 1988. There he joined the Reed Armstrong law firm in Edwardsville, Illinois, achieving partnership status in 1992. He was given many opportunities to try cases and from 1988 to 1995 he successfully defended to verdict 27 consecutive jury cases, 19 of which constituted not guilty verdicts. He has tried more than 80 civil jury trials.

His practice mainly focuses on tort liability, bodily injury defense, insurance coverage issues and interpretation, policy defense, and bad faith. He has defended and tried cases in the areas of vehicular negligence, trucking, premises liability, wrongful death, general and products liability, sports liability, insurance, contract disputes, agency and/or underwriting errors and omissions, bad faith, business torts, fraud, and the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act (ICFA).

Marty was born and raised in Rock Island, Illinois. He attended Alleman High School and obtained his undergraduate education at the University of Illinois, receiving his Bachelor’s Degree in 1982, graduating Magna Cum Laude. Thereafter, he attended law school at Southern Illinois University. While there he served as an Associate Editor on the Law Journal and was captain of the National Moot Court, Appellate Advocacy Team. He graduated in 1985, obtained his license, and began the practice of law that same year.

Marty has a preeminent AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell. He has been selected as an Illinois Super Lawyer for the past 10 years. He has been selected for recognition by Leading Lawyers magazine in the area of civil injury defense for the past six years. Marty was elevated to advocate level in the American Board of Trial Advocates (minimum 50 jury cases tried to verdict) in 1997.

Significant Cases

Appeals:

• Maple v. Gustafson, 151 Ill. 2d 445 (1992), which re-affirmed for Illinois trial courts the different legal standards of review to apply to jury verdicts in deciding motions for new trials versus motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or directed verdicts. The Maple case remains one of the most cited decisions in the area of civil trial practice in the State of Illinois.
• Wakeford v. Rodehouse Restaurants, 154 Ill. 2d 543 (1993), which established the criteria for disclosure of experts and their opinions for civil practitioners in Illinois, until Supreme Court Rule 220 was repealed and Rule 213 revised thereafter.
• Jackson v. Seib, 372 Ill. App. 3d 1061 (5th Dist. 2007) was one of the central decisions arising in the appellate courts concerning the relevancy and admissibility of post-accident vehicular photographs in vehicular negligence cases.
• In Peach v. McGovern, 2019 IL 123156, Marty was the primary author of the Amicus Brief presented by the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel (IDC). In this case, the Illinois Supreme Court reaffirmed the crucial role of the jury in determining injury causation and credibility issues of parties and witnesses at trial, while re-establishing the relevance and admissibility of post-accident vehicle photographs in vehicular negligence cases.

Trials:

• Alcohol Impairment; Personal Injury Auto Defense; Contributory Negligence Found; Punitive Damages Rejected
• Wrongful Death; vehicular negligence; contributory negligence; No Liability
• Auto-Bicycle Crash Defense; Minor; Fractured Knee Cap; No Liability
• Jury Rejects Fraud Claim and Punitive Damages Levelled Against Insurance Carrier
• Judge Rejects Illinois Consumer Fraud Act Claim Directed Against Insurance Carrier
• Premises Liability Defense; Paintball Eye Injury; Vision Loss; No Liability

• “The Appellate Court Administers a Healthy Dose of Common Sense to the Vehicle Photograph Admissibility Issue,” Illinois Defense Counsel Quarterly (2009)

• “Masters in Trial”
  Oklahoma Chapter of ABOTA 2010
• “Masters in Trial”
  Moderator, Missouri Southern Illinois Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) 2008

• Martindale-Hubbell – AV preeminent
• Named to Illinois Super Lawyers list for past 10 years
• Selected to Leading Lawyers 2014 through 2019 in the area of civil injury trial defense
• Advocate, American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)

• Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel (IDC)
• American Board of Trial Advocates, Advocate (ABOTA)
• Defense Research Institute
• Illinois State Bar Association
• Madison County Bar Association
• American Bar Association

• State Courts of Illinois
• United States District Court, Southern District of Illinois

• Pastor’s Cabinet, St. Boniface Catholic Church, Edwardsville, Illinois
• Legatus – Member