Hurley McKenna & Mertz, P.C.

Firm Phone:

(312) 553-4900

Christopher T. Hurley, founding partner in Hurley, McKenna & Mertz, P.C., has been a practicing attorney since 1984, when he graduated from Loyola University College of Law in Chicago. His experience, early in his career, working for Baker & Mckenzie, the largest law firm in the world, prepared him for his skilled pursuit of justice for seriously injured people and families. At Baker & McKenzie, his training was at the hands of many well-known and respected trial lawyers who represented major hospitals, corporations, and insurance companies. Those earlier experiences are what catapulted Mr. Hurley to the other side of the courtroom, when he decided to open a firm dedicated to the aggressive protection and championship of the wrongfully injured.

Professionally, Mr. Hurley has achieved numerous awards, to include the highest honors offered by the national and international trial bar – invitations for membership in the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers, International College of Trial Lawyers, American Board of Trial Advocates, and Society of Trial Lawyers. All of the aforementioned invitations were a result of his unimpeachable character, professionalism, honesty, and integrity. The nominating process follows stringent guidelines and is conducted by peers; and the invitations are limited to a very small percentage of trial lawyers. In addition to these honors, Mr. Hurley has also received peer recognition, as well as public support, in being named a Super Lawyer and a Leading Lawyer in the state of Illinois. Christopher Hurley is also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, composed of membership from the United States and Canada, a membership limited to the top 1% of practicing lawyers in any state or province. He is also a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and has been elected to the American Board of Trial Advocacy.

Chris Hurley has willingly served in many leadership capacities in the legal arena, and was elected to the Illinois State Bar Association Board of Governors. He is currently the Second Vice President of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and has served on the Board of Managers since 1996.

A long supporter of education in general, Mr. Hurley served as the President of the Alumni Board of Governors of Loyola University of Chicago Law School, his alma mater. He also served the school on the Elder Initiative Advisory Board and has sponsored the Christopher T. Hurley Lecture, a series to discuss issues that affect the elderly. Chris has served as an adjunct professor at Northwestern and often speaks to bar groups regarding personal injury law.

In addition to his support of professional education, Chris, along with his wife and family, are active supporters of education for the disadvantaged. Mr. Hurley travels with his family, and a group of college kids that he recently organized, to Guatemala to work with Project Common Hope near Antigua. This organization focuses on improving education and living conditions for the children of Guatemala. In Mr. Hurley’s words, “Getting to know the Guatemalans and working with Common Hope has been a life-changing experience for me.”

In the United States, Chris and his wife have established scholarship funds at Loyola University School of Law and at Colgate University. They also sponsor the annual Tim Byrnes Lecture in Political Science. Mr. Hurley serves as a Trustee emeritus and member of the Alumni Board of Advisors for La Lumiere High School in La Porte, Indiana.

Notable verdicts credited to Mr. Hurley include:

The Clark Family: Supreme Court Case

Clark v. Children ’ s Memorial Hospital , 2011 IL 108656, 955 N.E.2d 1065 (2011)
Christopher Hurley, Mark McKenna, Evan Smola, Mike Mertz of Hurley McKenna & Mertz, P.C.’s work in the Clark case resulted in a major change in Illinois law. Before the Clark decision damages were very limited for parents of profoundly brain damaged children born as a result of negligent genetic counseling. The Illinois Supreme Court adopted their argument and reversed a prior decision by ruling that parents can now recover damages for emotional distress in wrongful birth situations. When Chris Hurly and his firm take on a case, their determination and commitment, is to see it through to the very end. It took 10 years to change the law, but it was well worth the wait.

Ethel Scott etc. v. The Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, No. 01 L 15741.
Mr. Hurley recently settled an abuse claim against Catholic Charities and the Archdiocese of Chicago for $12 Million. “A Catholic Church we want to believe in—and to whom we would entrust our children—must recognize and revere the principles of justice and accountability. That’s why I have dedicated my career to the principal that individuals who have been harmed by abusers must attain justice, and that the abusers and the church officials who knew of the abuse, or were willfully blind to it, need to be held accountable for their actions.”

Main Practice Area:

Personal Injury

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