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PJM – Attorney

Christian E. Ketter

Christian E. Ketter

Phone: (312) 724-8032
Email: cketter@pjmlaw.com

  • General Tort Litigation
  • Commercial and Business Litigation
  • Insurance Coverage Disputes
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Education

  • John Marshall Law School, JD, cum laude, 2018
  • DePaul University, B.A., cum laude, 2014

Admissions | Certifications

  • State of Michigan
  • State of Illinois
  • Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
  • US District Court for the Central District of Illinois
  • US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • Certified Mediator: Center for Conflict Resolution—Court-appointed Circuit Court of Cook County
  • Certified Hearing Officer

Memberships

  • American Association of University Professors (2022-present)
  • Seventh Circuit Bar Association: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee (2017-present)
  • Illinois State Bar Association, Illinois Bar Journal Author (2021-present)
    • Federal Law Practice Section (2024-present)
    • Local Government Law Practice Section (2024-present)
  • Illinois Local Government Lawyer’s Association
    • Winner of the ILGA 2021 Legal Writing Competition, (2020-present)
  • DuPage County Bar Association
    • Associate General Counsel (2024-2026)
    • Board of Directors (2023-2024); DuPage County Bar Association Budgetary Committee (2023-2024)
    • Chair of the Appellate Law Section (2023-2024).
  • Appellate Lawyer’s Association
    • Moot Court Committee
  • Society of Scholars: Phi Alpha Delta (2017-present)
  • Past member: Illinois Prosecutor’s Bar Association; Will County Bar Association; Chicago Bar Association; American Bar Association.

Professional Activities

Media Appearances

National Podcast Guest

Interview

  • American Bar Association: “The Voice of Reason: Law School Offers a Classical Singer the Opportunity to Give Performers More Legal Leverage.” Author: Rick Adams (Spring 2018).

Publications

  • A Second Amendment in Jeopardy of Article V Repeal and A Legislative Proposal: Affordable Mandatory Firearms Insurance & Tax (AMFIT), Maintaining the General Welfare, 64 Wayne State Law Review 473 (2019).
    • Relied upon in 7 M.L.P. 2d CONSTITUTIONAL LAW § 11 (2nd 2024)
    • Cited by Charles Wm. Dobra, Statutorily Prohibited Places for Firearms in Illinois: Will Portions of 430 Ilcs 66/65, “The Concealed Carry Act,” Withstand U.S. Supreme Court Judicial Scrutiny Under Nysrpa v. Bruen?, 35 DCBA Brief 26, 28 (2023)
    • Cited in in University of Denver Sports & Entertainment Law Review by Spencer M. Darling, It Shouldn’t Be Sexy: Exploring the Intersection Between Staged Intimacy and the Law, 26 University of Denver Sports & Entertainment Law Journal 73, 104 (2023) (“Christian Ketter, an attorney, legal scholar, and operatic tenor, uses his unique background to describe the day-to-day working experience of a performer and the level of control they exercise over a production’s final product. In doing so, Ketter concludes that performers in the entertainment industry lack control over the manner and means of a production.”).
    • Cited by University of California, Irvine School of Law Professor Omri Marian, The Inequitable Taxation of Low- and Mid-Income Performing Artists, 30 UCLA Entertainment Law Rev. 47 (2023)
    • Cited as “a deeper exploration of the distinction between employees and independent contractors and the implications of this divide for employment equity, particularly in the context of theater” in Southern California Law Review Kira Patterson, Affirmative Acting: The Role of Law in Casting More Actors with Disabilities (A Note in Five Acts), 96 Southern Cal. Law Rev. 483, 495 (2022)
    • Covered by Cecily Fuhr, Cause of Action by Dancer at Adult Entertainment Club for Wage and Hour Violations, 105 Causes of Action 2d 295 (Nov. 2023)
    • Covered by 10 New Jersey Pleading and Practice 82 Summary
    • Cited in the American Law Reports Federal Registry, Criminal Prosecution for Treason and Seditious Conspiracy–Federal Appellate Cases 67 A.L.R. Fed. 3d Art. 13
    • Cited in Regent Law Review – Anthony M. Ciolli, United States Territories at the Founding, 35 Regent U. L. Rev. 73, 86 (2023)
    • Cited by: Charles Wm. Dobra, Statutorily Prohibited Places for Firearms in Illinois: Will Portions of 430 Ilcs 66/65, “The Concealed Carry Act,” Withstand U.S. Supreme Court Judicial Scrutiny Under Nysrpa v. Bruen?, 35 DCBA Brief 26, 30 (2023)
  • A Second Look At Willful And Wanton Police Pursuit Analysis: Revisiting The Second District’s Kimber, Suwanski, And Jackson For Questions Of Fact (DCBA Brief Vol. 36 Iss. 7)
  • A Will and A Way to Discriminate: Can Feinberg’s Dead Hand Continue Categorial Discrimination Without Changing the State Action Doctrine? 111 Illinois Bar Journal 5 (2023).
  • Federal Litigation: Evasive Opponents and Rule 36(a)(6) Motion Practice in the Northern District of Illinois for Insufficiency of Answers and Objections to Requests to Admit, 36 DCBA BRIEF 5 (2024).
  • “Searching” For An Answer With The Click Of A Key Fob, Should The U.S. Supreme Court Expand Criminal Procedure’s Binary Analysis?, 112 Illinois Bar Journal 34 (2024).
  • The Value of a Life from the Defense Counsel’s Perspective (publication impending Sept. 2024—Illinois Bar Journal).
  • An “Assemblage” of Opinions: How the Counterpoint of Roberts Court’s Second Amendment Cases Fixed Inadvertencies in John Marshall’s Treason Doctrine 51 Rutgers University Law Record 200 (2024).

Presentations

Presenter

  • Ethics: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, and Other Social Media Use by Attorneys, Social Media Advertising and Solicitation Rules— National Business Institute (impending December 2024).
  • Ethics: Competence and Civility in the Practice of Law: Duties to Clients, Opposing Counsel, and the Court: Balancing Professionalism and Civility With Effective Advocacy—DuPage County Bar Association with Michael J. Pasquinelli, Jr. (November 2024).
  • Ethics: Complete Professional Responsibility Guide for Illinois Attorneys: Balancing Professionalism and Civility With Effective Advocacy—National Business Institute with Michael J. Pasquinelli, Jr. (June 2024) (available for purchase at: https://www.nbi-sems.com/98870).
  • The Ethical Bounds of Effective Technology Use in the Practice and Advertising of Law—MyLawCLE with Michael J. Pasquinelli, Jr. (May 2024) (available for purchase at: https://mylawcle.com/products/digital-networking-for-lawyers-optimizing-linkedin-and-technology-for-success/).
  • Ethics: What Attorneys Need to Know About Internet Use—National Business Institute with Michael J. Pasquinelli, Jr. (March 2024) (available for purchase at: https://www.nbi-sems.com/96024).
  • Legal Writing for the Purposes of Publication—DuPage County Bar Association (December 2023). (https://www.dcba.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1807576)
  • Ethics: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, and Other Social Media Use by Attorneys, Social Media Advertising and Solicitation Rules— National Business Institute (August 2023) (available for purchase at: https://www.nbi-sems.com/ProductDetails/97050SVDM).
  • University of Illinois at Chicago School of Law Panelist: Current Issues in the Law: Section 1983 Trends Before the Supreme Court and Seventh Circuit (June 2023)
  • Difficult Client Scenarios: An Ethical Guide for Paralegals—Institute for Paralegal Education (February 2023)
  • Illinois State Bar Association—Presenter: The Court System and Legal Dangers of Social Media (November 2022)
  • Tokio Marine HCC—Co-Author: Section 1983 Cases Before the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 2022 (November 2022)
  • Illinois Sheriffs’ Association 2022 Conference for Chief Deputy & Jail Administrators—Co-Author: Administering Jails and Strategically Defending Inmate Suits During the COVID-19 Pandemic (April 2022)
  • Morton College—Guest Lecturer: Criminal Prosecution Plea Bargaining- Benefits and Risks (November 2020, April 2021)
  • Morton College—Guest Lecturer: Warrant Timeliness, Differing Standards: Federal vs. State. Morton College (April 2021)
  • The John Marshall Law School SCALES—Panelist: Effective Academic Strategies (June 2019, June 2018)
  • The John Marshall Law School—Incoming Student Orientation, Academic Success (May 2018)
  • Northwestern State University of Louisiana—Guest Lecturer: Performing Arts Career Tips and Pitfalls (October 2014)

Moderator

  • Illinois Supreme Court Justice David K. Overstreet—Inner Workings Of The Illinois Supreme Court, DuPage County Bar Association (February 2023)
  • First District Appellate Court Justice Jesse G. Reyes—The Do’s and Don’ts of Oral Advocacy DuPage County Bar Association, DuPage County Bar Association (October 2022)
  • Second District Appellate Court Justice Joseph Birkett and
    Third District Appellate Court Justice Liam Brennan—Appellate Advocacy Nuts & Bolts, DuPage County Bar Association (November 2023)
  • Third District Appellate Court Clerks—Zachary Hooper and Hailey Rehberg Witt—Appellate Practice in the Third District , DuPage County Bar Association (August 2023)
  • Fourth District Appellate Court Justice Robert J. Steigmann—An Appellate Judge’s Suggested Dos and Don’ts for Appellate Lawyers , DuPage County Bar Association (September 2023)
  • DuPage County Judge Kenton Skarin—The U.S. Supreme Court’s Inner Workings and Certiorari, DuPage County Bar Association (October 2023)
  • DuPage County Judge Jennifer Barron—Preserving the Record for Appeals, DuPage County Bar Association (June 2024)
  • David Mathues—An Illustrated Guide to Getting Your Case to SCOTUS in Six Easy Steps (April 2023)
  • David Mathues—Effective Storytelling in Brief Writing, DuPage County Bar Association and Appellate Lawyer’s Association (May 2024)
  • Chicago Bar Assoc. President Daniel Cotter—The U.S. Supreme Court: A Reflection on Prior Term, A Look Ahead to Current Term, DuPage County Bar Association (January 2023)
  • Michael D. Bersani—An Overview of Section 1983 Caselaw in 2023 before the Supreme Court and the Seventh Circuit, Appellate Lawyer’s Association, DuPage County Bar Association, and Seventh Circuit Bar Association, (February 2024)
  • Professors Samuel J. Olken and Arthur Acevedo, The Jurisprudence of Justice John Paul Stevens, The John Marshall Law School and Phi Delta Phi Legal Honors Society (February 2018)

Community Involvement & Interviews

    • Interviewed: DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin, Judge Ann Celine O’Hallaren Walsh, Woodridge Police Chief Brian Cunningham.
  • Combatting Domestic Violence, 36 DCBA BRIEF 5 (2024)
    • Interviewed: DuPage County Chief Judge Kenneth Popejoy.
  • Appellate Lawyer’s Association: National Moot Court Competition Judge
  • The John Marshall Law School | University of Illinois at Chicago: Alumni Mentorship Program

Christian E. Ketter is an Adjunct Professor of Law at University of Illinois Chicago School of Law and a member of the American Association of University Professors. Prior to joining Peterson, Johnson & Murray, Christian practiced municipal law, civil rights defense, and appellate matters and was an Adjunct Professor of criminal procedure at Morton College. A former prosecutor, Christian also served as an Assistant State’s Attorney in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office Criminal Prosecution Bureau. He is a certified mediator and mediated in the Cook County Circuit Courts. In his appellate work, he has practiced before the Illinois Supreme Court, the Illinois Appellate Courts, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Christian previously served in an externship at the U.S Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit under the Honorable Judge William J. Bauer. He worked as a 711 Licensed Attorney for the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and clerked in the Appellate Division of the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office. Christian was the 2021 winner of the Illinois Local Government Lawyer’s Association Legal Writing Competition. His legal scholarship has focused primarily on constitutional theory, American legal history, criminal procedure, Chief Justice John Marshall and the Roberts Court. Christian’s work has been widely published in The University of Toledo Law Review, Wayne State Law Review, Florida Coastal Law Review, The Arizona State Sports and Entertainment Law Journal, UIC John Marshall Law Review, Campbell Law Review, Illinois Bar Journal, Illinois Local Government Lawyer’s Journal, Rutgers Law Record, and Cleveland State Law Review. His scholarship on John Marshall’s treason doctrine was highlighted in the American Law Reports Federal Registry, his article about the Heck doctrine was covered by Racism.org: Race, Racism and the Law, and his article about unconstitutional application in Illinois trusts and estates was recently covered by the American Bar Association.

Christian is a Commissioner on the Itasca Board of Fire and Police Commission. He also serves as DuPage County Bar Association’s Associate General Counsel, Editor-in-Chief of its magazine (the DCBA Brief), and immediate past Chair of the Appellate Law Section. Christian is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association (serving on the local government and federal practice sections), the Society of Scholars, and serves on the Seventh Circuit Bar Association’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. He has presented before the National Business Institute, MyLawCLE, the Institute for Paralegal Education, DuPage County Bar Association, has spoken on behalf of the Illinois State Bar Association, and co-authored a 2022 presentation on jail litigation for the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association Conference for Chief Deputy & Jail Administrators and a 2022 presentation on Section 1983 trends before the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

He graduated cum laude from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago in 2018, as a Dean’s Scholarship recipient, and received his undergraduate degree from DePaul University, graduating cum laude. He was the recipient of the DuPage County Bar Foundation’s Judge William J. Bauer scholarship. While in law school, Christian served as President of Phi Delta Phi International Legal Honors Society, received an award for the highest grade in Criminal Law, and was a national competitor in Moot Court—winning an award for best oralist in appellate advocacy.

On a personal note, Christian had a previous career as an American operatic tenor, making his Carnegie Hall debut in 2014, covered by the Washington Post, his Chicago Symphony Center debut in 2015 and returning in 2023, and was the two-time national winner of the American Prize in Voice. He represents performing artists, ensuring their protection in contractual matters, his article on the rights of performing artists was published in The Arizona State Sports and Entertainment Law Journal, and cited in law reviews at USC Gould School of Law, UCLA, University of Denver, and New Jersey practice manuals.