Bruce Beeman
Bruce A. Beeman was born in California in 1947, graduated from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 1971, and received his Juris Doctor degree from The John Marshall Law School of Chicago in 1975. After serving Sangamon County, Illinois as an Assistant State's Attorney and later as an Assistant Public Defender, Beeman practiced law as a partner at Scott, Beeman & Scott for 14 years.
Over the years Beeman obtained "not guilty" jury verdicts in several significant and highly publicized criminal felony cases involving charges of attempted murder, aggravated battery, rape, burglary, sexual assault, and felony possession of a firearm. Bruce then turned his focus to civil law, obtaining several five and six figure jury awards in civil cases and negotiating settlements in other cases involving multiple millions of dollars.
Verdicts
In 1990, Beeman formed the firm of Beeman Law Offices, P.C. Later that year, Beeman obtained a $1,500,000 jury verdict in a motor vehicle collision case, then a record jury verdict in Sangamon County for a motor vehicle crash, which stood for the next eight years (Sangamon County Case # 88-L-302).
In 1997, Beeman joined Randall A. Wolter and Francis J. Lynch to form the law firm of Wolter, Beeman & Lynch. In 1999, Beeman obtained a jury verdict for $24,300,000 in Sangamon County Circuit Court, which was at that time the largest jury verdict ever obtained in the history of that court (Sangamon County Case # 93-L-58). In 2002, Beeman obtained a jury verdict of $807,948.96 in Mason County Circuit Court, which was and remains the largest jury verdict ever obtained in the history of that court (Mason County Case # 00-L-11). On January 13, 2000, Beeman became the first attorney in history to obtain an Illinois Appellate court decision that a public defender can be held accountable for legal malpractice when representing an indigent defendant in a criminal case (312 Ill.App.3d 695 and 194 Ill.2d 493). In 2006, Beeman, together with his partner Francis J. Lynch, obtained a $24,473,000 jury verdict in Sangamon County which eclipsed Bruce's own former record jury verdict. The 2006 jury verdict of $24,473,000 was and remains the largest jury verdict ever obtained in the history of the Sangamon County Circuit Court (Sangamon County Case # 02-L-157). Beeman has successfully represented clients before the Illinois Supreme Court both as lead attorney (Buffalo, Dawson, Mechanicsburg Sewer Commission v. Boggs, 109 Ill.2d 397; Johnson v. Halloran, 194 Ill.2d 493), and as Amicus for the Illinois Numismatic and Precious Metal Dealer's Association in Springfield Rare Coin Galleries v. Johnson, 115 Ill.2d 221.
Honors
Beeman has been selected annually as a leading personal injury lawyer in the Leading Lawyer Network and as an Illinois Super Lawyer. Beeman has also been named as a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, has served as an author and as a speaker for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, and as a lecturer for Sangamon State University, now University of Illinois at Springfield.
Beeman is a member of the Illinois State Bar as well as the Illinois and American Trial Lawyers Associations. Beeman is admitted to practice before the Illinois Supreme Court (1975), United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois (1975), and the United States Supreme Court (1978).