Meet William J. Cunningham

Contact Details:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 219-924-2427

Practice Focus:

• General Litigation
• Plaintiff’s Personal Injury
• Medical Malpractice
• Admiralty
• Probate, Estate Planning and Elder Law

History and Achievements

Born in New York City on October 10th, 1951, Mr. Cunningham began his legal career in 1976, when he was admitted to the Indiana Bar. Prior to this, he graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1973, where he studied English and Economics, before achieving his Juris Doctorate from Loyola University in 1976; here, he dedicated his commitment to legal education by serving a member of the Loyola Law Review.

Since his admission to the bar, Mr. Cunningham has also received a license to practice in the US District Court for the Southern and Northern Districts of Indiana, in addition to the US Tax Court. Mr. Cunningham’s achievements do not end here; however; he has also held many positions of responsibility, including:

• President of the Ogden Dunes Home Association from 1985 to 1986
• Councilman of Ogden Dunes Town between 1988 and 1991
• Member of the National Diocesan Attorneys Association between 1987 and 1991
• Member of the Lake Michigan Marina Advisory Commission from 1988 to 1990
• Member of the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association
• Member of the Loyola Law Review
• Member of the Lake County Bar Association
• Member of the Indiana State Bar Association, including the Probate, Trust and Real Property Section

In addition, Mr. Cunningham has also shown his dedication to the Boy Scouts of Northwest Indiana, including serving as Master of Ceremonies and sitting on the nominating committee each year.

Areas of Law

Mr. Cunningham’s focused areas of civil litigation include personal injury cases, wrongful death, auto accidents, medical malpractice, premises liability, construction accidents, and product injuries. He has extensive experience in successfully representing plaintiffs in state and federal trial courts across Illinois and Indiana, battling against a range of third parties, including medical staff such as doctors and nurses, negligent auto and truck drivers, construction companies, manufacturing industries, state and county governments, and insurance companies.

Mr. Cunningham also has experience in the areas of estate planning, including elder law and probate issues, with a strong interest in Medicaid planning and probate avoidance. In the past, he has worked on post-mortem estate planning, as well as the administration of trust and probate, and dealing with will and deed contests. Mr. Cunningham is also experienced in helping clients construct wills, claim against estates, and adjust existing executors.

Previous Cases

In many cases, Mr. Cunningham has successfully obtained multi-million dollar settlements for his clients. These have included cases involving medical mistakes occurring during brain surgery, birth injuries to children, failure to diagnose cancer cases, emergency room negligence which resulted in death, drug dosage mistakes, conflicts over the distribution of estates and ownership of land, questions over the value of assets, and the division of assets after the death of a beneficiary. His previous clients have included Roman Catholic Bishops, town governments, and financial institutions, along with individual citizens.

Publications and Speaking

Mr. Cunningham is the author of several articles, including:

• “Deportation Based Upon Fraudulent Entry: A Limitation of the Waiver Provision,” which appeared in 21 Loyola Law Review No. 6 (1975)
• Two chapters in the Indiana’s Pastor’s Legal Handbook (1988): Chapter 3, “Clergy Malpractice in Indiana” and Chapter 14, “Restrictions on Political and Legislative Activities of Churches.”
• Founder and author of Indiana Estate Planning which has been published annually since 2005.
• Founder and director of the Community Outreach Program of the Hilbrich Law Firm which has provided over 50 seminars and lectures to the public.
• Guest speaker for the Lake County Bar Association in 2002: “Medical Malpractice: The Cutting Edge.”