Donald T. Morrison, Attorney

Donald T. Morrison was born in Chicago, Illinois on September 7, 1928. He was educated at St. George High School in Evanston, Illinois, where he was a member of the National Honor Society. He then attended Northwestern University as a pre-medical student, and fulfilled the undergraduate science requirements in Chemistry and Biology. In 1949, he was admitted to Northwestern University School of Law. His legal education was interrupted by service in the United States Navy from 1951 to 1954 as a combat Line Officer. He served on the USS Algol AKA-54, in the Western Pacific Theatre during the Korean War. He attended the U.S. Navy School of Military Justice, and served as court martial counsel. After military service, he returned to Northwestern where he completed requirements for his degree of Juris Doctor. He was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Illinois in 1955, and began as an associate with the firm of Morgan, Halligan & Lanoff, Chicago, Illinois as a trial lawyer, and has been concentrated in the field of civil litigation ever since.

In 1977, Mr. Morrison was elected a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He was elected to membership as an Associate in Law of the American College of Legal Medicine in 1981. He has been admitted to the trial of the U.S. District Court, and before the Supreme Court of the United States.

Mr. Morrison was elected President of the Lake County Bar Association in 1977. He served as Chair of the Illinois State Bar Association Commission on Interprofessional Cooperation. He has also served as the Chair of the Illinois State Bar Association Special Committee on Specialization.

He has been involved in the field of eminent domain since 1956, when he tried and appealed to the Supreme Court the landmark case of City of Chicago vs. Blanton. He served as Special Assistant Attorney General for condemnation in Lake, McHenry & Boon Counties from 1961 to 1968. He was the chairman of the Land Use, Zoning and Eminent Domain Committee of the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association. He is the author of numerous articles and book chapters in the field of eminent domain, including "Proving Highest and Best Use" 1993, American Jurisprudence Proof of Facts, 3^rd Series, 19. P.O.F. 3d, and "Trial of Eminent Domain Cases in Illinois" 1971, 1975, 1975, Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education. He has been a guest lecturer at numerous seminars on eminent domain for ICLE, the American Right of Way Association and the American Bar Association. He has tried over 500 eminent domain cases to verdict, and has been counsel of record in over 50 eminent domain appellate actions.

Mr. Morrison completed the Goldstein Medical Trial Technique course in 1958. He has participated as a lecturer in various medico-legal seminars on such topics as "Proof of Medical Records," "Informed Consent: Bluff or Bluster" "Discovery Techniques in Medical Negligence," "Preventing Nursing Malpractice," and "Medical Staff Privileges and the 14^th Amendment." He was the organizer and producer/moderator of an Illinois State Bar Association film on euthanasia, "Hastening Death or Prolonging Life."

His negligence experience includes jury trials and appeals of personal injury and wrongful death resulting from medical malpractice, product liability, airplane crashes, vehicle collisions, slip & fall and structural defects. He has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide range of medical malpractice cases, involving hospital and nursing home care, orthopedics, obstetrics, general surgery, podiatry, dentistry, cardiovascular surgery, plastic surgery, oral surgery, colorectal surgery, anesthesia, pediatrics, urology, gynecology, radiology, internal medicine, and allergy. In addition, he has represented both hospitals and physicians in numerous hospital staff privilege cases, both at the administrative level and in litigation. He achieved the Illinois largest plaintiffs verdict for dental malpractice, and has also handled cases involving coverage of medical insurance.

Mr. Morrison has also been involved in a number of significant product liability cases, including the explosion of the National Die Casting plant in Skokie, where his investigation and testing resulted in imposition of liability on Union Carbide for a defective acetylene cylinder. He has handled cases involving exploding bottle caps, defective containers and defective machinery. He is author of a book chapter for the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education entitled "Punitive Damages in Product Liability Actions," and has appeared on several product liability seminar panels. He is a licensed commercial pilot and has also successfully prosecuted cases involving manufacturing defects in aircraft causing disastrous airplane crashes.

In the field of municipal law, Mr. Morrison has substantial experience in the field of zoning representing property owners, and has successfully rezoned several major properties, including Conway Farms Office Park. He has been successful in obtaining rezoning of 84 acres from 2 acre residential to office and research pack a case involving the largest value differential of any reported zoning case in Illinois. He also has experience in numerous subdivision, annexation and disconnection cases. His municipal law experience includes numerous cases against municipalities, and he has served as Village Attorney for the Village of Round Lake Beach.

His corporate and business litigation experience includes suits on breach of commercial leases, breach of contract, breach of covenants not to compete, tortious interference with contract, specific performance of real estate contracts, breach of employment contracts and breach of confidentiality. He has represented Waste Management in significant toxic tort litigation involving potential groundwater contamination from a sanitary landfill, and has been engaged in several cases involving solid waste disposal issues. He recently concluded a case involving construction damage to a motion picture studio, which resulted in a $4,750,000 verdict for his client.

Mr. Morrison has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in legal malpractice cases, and has litigated several major cases involving attorney's fees.

• Robinson v. Greeley and Hansen 1983

• Mielke v. Condell Memorial Hospital 1984

• Lake County Public Building Commissioners v. LaSalle National Bank 1988

• Kleinschmidt v. County of Cook 1997

• Department of Transportation v. Beeson 1985

• City of Chiago v. Blanton 1956