About Dan Wills

Daniel G. Wills is a Partner at Swanson, Martin & Bell, LLP, where he concentrates his practice on insurance coverage litigation and appeals. Dan has litigated more than 75 appeals, representing the insurers in Kunkle v. Walton, the first test case of Illinois’ tort reform legislation, and the plaintiff in Home Ins. Co. v. Cincinnati Ins. Co., a seminal insurance coverage case, both before the Illinois Supreme Court. Dan is currently an adjunct professor of appellate advocacy at The John Marshall Law School and has been a guest lecturer for the Illinois State Bar Association, Chicago Bar Association, Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel, National Business Institute, Casualty Adjusters of Illinois and The National Forum for Environmental & Toxic Tort Issues.

Practice Areas

  • Insurance Coverage
  • Appellate Practice

Professional Associations

  • Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel
  • Illinois State Bar Association
  • Appellate Lawyers Association
  • Defense Research Institute

Education

  • DePaul University College of Law (J.D.,1990)
    • Book Award in Constitutional Law
  • DePaul University (B.S. 1984)

Bar Admissions

  • Illinois
  • United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois
  • United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
  • The Supreme Court of the United States

Publications

  • “A Summary of Stop-Gap Coverage Issues in Environmental Insurance Litigation,” The National Forum for Environmental & Toxic Tort Issues, 2009
  • “Sophisticated Techniques for Writing the Appellate Brief,” National Business Institute, 2009
  • “Ethics and the Legal Profession,” Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel, 2008
  • “What Civil Court Judges Want You to Know,” National Business Institute, 2008
  • “Insurance Coverage Update,” IDC Spring Seminar, 2008
  • “Understanding Current Coverage Trends,” National Business Institute, 2007
  • “Insurance Coverage for Defense Lawyers,” IDC Quarterly, Monograph, 2006
  • “Defense Update,” IDC Newsletter, 2006
  • “Insurance Law Update,” IDC Fall Seminar, 2005
  • “Challenges in Illinois Insurance Coverage Litigation,” National Business Institute, 2004
  • “Insurance Coverage Law in Illinois,” National Business Institute, 2003
  • “What’s Covered and What’s Not: An Insurance Law Update,” ISBA, 2000
  • “Insurance Law: Third Party Coverage in Illinois,” National Business Institute, 1999.