Andrew James Purcell

I was born and raised in Kankakee, Illinois and knew from a young age I wanted to be an attorney.  Studying the constitution and history in grade school, I was drawn to the law and spent parts of my summer vacations watching trials in the Kankakee County Courthouse. After 16 years of practicing law in Chicago, l returned to my local roots and joined Spiros Law in 2015. 

The personal satisfaction I have gained from helping injured persons and their families and a desire to help members of my own community and beyond, prompted me to bring my skills as an experienced courtroom lawyer back to Kankakee County, where I live with my wife and three children. I am based in our firm's Kankakee office, but proud to be part of the Spiros team serving clients from our offices in Champaign and Danville, Illinois as well.

My career has included 12 years (seven as a partner) at a national law firm in Chicago, where I handled a wide variety of complex litigation matters, including personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits.  My cases have involved catastrophic occurrences including industrial accidents, electrocutions, auto/trucking accidents, fires, explosions, and building collapse. 

My experience representing personal injury plaintiffs has included working with my former partner to successfully obtain a $5 million verdict for a 13-year-old girl who lost her parents and infant brother when they were killed in an accident with a tractor-trailer on a Georgia highway. This was believed to be the largest wrongful death verdict in Dalton County, Georgia at that time. I have also obtained favorable settlements for clients in cases involving a fatal helicopter crash and motor vehicle accidents.

I love the courtroom and I am a fierce advocate for my clients. I have been involved in more than 30 trials and more than 100 arbitrations and mediations. I am licensed to practice in Illinois, as well as before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Central Districts of Illinois, the Northern District of Indiana and the Eastern District of Wisconsin. I have appeared in state courts in Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, New Jersey, New York and Wisconsin.

My life is not all about the law. I believe in being active in the community where I live and work.  I serve  on the finance committee for Bishop McNamara Catholic School in Kankakee and am past president of the school's board of directors. I am a past member and vice chairman of the Kankakee County Historic Preservation Commission, and I was co-chairman of Kankakee County Courthouse Centennial Celebration in 2009. I am an active member of St. Patrick’s Church in Kankakee, where I serve as a Eucharistic Minister, and past co-chairman of the church’s 2014-2015 Capital Campaign Committee. I am a member of Knights of Columbus Council 745 in Kankakee.  I have also enjoyed serving as a coach for my childrens' youth baseball, softball and soccer teams.

Outside of practicing law, I spend my time enjoying my biggest achievement: my family -- an amazing wife and three great kids.