Attorney Profiles

Laura L. Scarry has extensive experience in all aspects of defending municipalities and municipal employees in federal courts in Illinois and Indiana and Illinois state courts.  Ms. Scarry has represented a variety of public entities including school districts, public works, legislative bodies, pension boards and police departments. While working with school districts, she has represented school board members, superintendents, principals and teachers against claims arising under Illinois common law and federal statutes such as the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, Title VII and Title IX.

In the area of employment law, Laura has represented municipalities, school districts and other governmental entities against claims of discrimination and harassment.  She has represented these types of clients in several venues, from the administrative level to state and federal courts. Her experience with and knowledge of policies and procedures of state and federal administrative agencies such as the Illinois Department of Human Rights, Illinois Human Rights Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are an asset in her defense of employment litigation in state and federal courts.

The majority of Ms. Scarry's work has been in the representation of police officers, supervisors, administrators and the police agencies they work for against claims covering a wide array of law enforcement issues such as excessive force, deadly force, search and seizure, malicious prosecution, failure to train, duty to protect, police pursuit, employment discrimination, in-custody deaths and racial profiling.  What makes Laura's experience unique is that she sees cases from a practical standpoint, having been a police officer for the City of Lake Forest from 1986-1992.  She is most proud of being trusted and called on by police officers and the municipalities they work for to provide legal advice to officers within hours of their being involved in critical incidents such as officer-involved-shootings and in-custody deaths.  

Ms. Scarry is a columnist for Law Officer magazine writing about legal issues affecting the law enforcement community in a column called the Legal Eagle.  She is a legal consultant for the Police Law Institute, an organization that provides computerized training on the law to police agencies throughout Illinois . She also has lectured extensively by invitation to police organizations and municipal organizations such as the Illinois Municipal League, Public Safety Institute, International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, Illinois Police Instructor Trainers Association, Northwestern University Center for Public Safety, Performance Institute, American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Academy located in Quantico, Virginia .  She also conducts in-service training to local police departments and other municipal entities regarding all areas of civil liability and employment discrimination.

Areas of Practice

• Police Misconduct
• Civil Rights Litigation
• Municipal Liability
• Employment Law
• School Law
• Insurance Defense

Litigation Percentage

• 100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Bar Admissions

• Illinois, 1996
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois, 1996
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois Trial Bar, 2000
• U.S. District Court Central District of Illinois, 1998
• U.S. District Court Southern District of Illinois, 2006
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Indiana, 1997
• U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit, 2004
• U.S. Supreme Court, 2005

Education

• Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago, Illinois, 1995
  J.D.
  
  
• Carthage College, Kenosha, Wisconsin, 1992
  B.A.
  Honors: Summa Cum Laude
  Major: Political Science
  Major: Criminal Justice
  
  

Published Works

• Legal Eagle, Law Officer Magazine, Monthly Columnist
• Co-Author, Collateral Estoppel in Section 1983 Actions, Defense Research Institute, For the Defense, November, 2001

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel (IDC)
  
  
• Defense Research Institute (DRI)
  
  
• International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association
  
  
• International Association of Chiefs of Police
  
  
• Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police
  
  
• Illinois Tactical Officers Association
  
  
• Illinois Police Instructor Trainers Association
  
  

Past Employment Positions

• Lake Forest, Illinois Police Department, Patrol Officer, 1986 - 1992

Birth Information

• Waukegan, Illinois, United States of America