Zedrick Thomas Braden III

Zedrick T. Braden III, a Chicago resident of the Park Manor community, is a third generation attorney. He graduated from the Thurgood Marshall Law School at Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas.  He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Government from Centre College of Kentucky.  Mr. Braden is admitted to practice law in the State of Illinois,  the United States District Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the United States Tax Court and is a member of the Federal Trial Bar.  He began his legal career as an Associate with the law firm of Braden Hall Barnes and Moss which was co-founded by his grandfather, Zedrick T. Braden Sr.  While at Braden Hall Barnes and Moss,  Mr. Braden worked with and for his father, Zedrick T. Braden Jr., and eventually he and his father formed the law firm Braden & Braden where Mr. Braden was elevated to the status of partner.  Mr. Braden now continues his family tradition in the practice of law at the Chicago law firm of Ainsworth & Associates PC in Chicago, and also serves as an Administrative Law Judge with the Department of Administrative Hearings, City of Chicago, as well as a Chair Qualified Arbitrator with the Circuit Court of Cook County Mandatory Arbitration program and is an American Arbitration Association Panelist. Mr.  Braden has extensive litigation experience in many areas of the law where he continues to win a high percentage of bench and jury civil trials, and has successfully defended those accused of criminal offenses. In addition to his courtroom litigations skills, Mr. Braden has been able to obtain pardons for those deserving individuals who had felony backgrounds and who are now able to work and live responsibly.  Mr. Braden is an active and concerned neighbor in Chicago.  In the past he has served as a cooperating attorney with the local branch of the NAACP, General Counsel for the Chatham Business Association, and local General Counsel for a major Life Insurance Company based in Kentucky.  Mr. Braden, having attained the rank of Eagle Scout with Troop 534 of Chicago many years ago, continues to serve as an advisor on occasion to those regularly working with the Boy Scout Troop 534.  He has also volunteered hundreds of pro bono service hours over the years in the form of free legal advice to those throughout the Chicago area.  Mr. Braden has been a member of the Cook County Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association.  He has been a presenter at Law Day events and enjoys the opportunity to contribute to the discussion of legal topics online. Mr. Braden, in addition to mentoring law students and young lawyers, has served as a moot court competition judge for area law schools, including Northwestern Law School. Mr. Braden is presently a member of the Illinois Association of Administrative Law Judges as well as the American Bar Association.  He was honored to have been selected to serve as a Judge for the American Bar Association Law Student Division National Negotiation Competition Event at the ABA National Headquarters in Chicago on February 9, 2019. A recipient of numerous awards and honors, Mr. Braden is most thankful for his wife and two grown sons.