Kimberly Blair focuses her litigation practice on professional liability, including accountants, attorneys, insurance agents, real estate agents, technology and media professionals, consultants, brokers, architects and engineers in addition to directors and officers liability, insurance coverage and bad faith matters. Kim sits on Wilson Elser’s Executive Committee and is a cochair of the firm’s Lawyers Liability Practice. She has tried cases in Illinois and has appellate experience throughout the United States, including a number of published appellate decisions on coverage matters. She is an active member of the Professional Liability Underwriters Association (PLUS).

Carrier clients rely on Kim’s vast experience in all 50 states rendering coverage opinions on all types of professional liability insurance policies, as well as her resolute defense of wrongful denial claims and prosecution of declaratory judgment actions. Kim develops a strong rapport with the attorneys and other professionals she defends, envisioning herself in their positions and skillfully guiding them toward positive outcomes. To add further value to her client relationships, Kim frequently addresses in-house claims professionals and insureds on topics such as coverage, liability and damages.

In addition, Kim defends private- and public-sector employers in all aspects of federal and state employment discrimination laws, handling cases arising under state and federal fair employment practices statutes. She is quite literally at her clients’ side before such administrative and judicial tribunals as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board or the U.S. Department of Labor, including state and federal administrative agencies and courts. Recognizing that employers seek cost-effective resolutions to complex and potentially protracted cases, when appropriate she seeks to accommodate them through alternate resolution options, including arbitration, conciliation and mediation.

Jurisdictions
Kim has litigated actions in Illinois, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, California, Utah, Colorado, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Mississippi.

    Education

    • Vanderbilt University School of Law (J.D., 2000)
    • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (B.A., 1997)
      • magna cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa

    Bar Admissions

    • Illinois

    Court Admissions

    • U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
    • U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
    • U.S. District Court, Central District of California
    • U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
    • U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
    • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
    • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois

    Professional Affiliations

    • Chicago Bar Association
    • Professional Liability Underwriters Association (PLUS)
    • Defense Research and Trial Lawyers Association (DRI)

    Awards & Honors

    • Selected for inclusion in Illinois Super Lawyers®, 2024
    • Emerging Lawyers, 2015

Kimberly E. Blair

Kimberly Blair focuses her litigation practice on professional liability, including accountants, attorneys, insurance agents, real estate agents, technology and media professionals, consultants, brokers, architects and engineers in addition to directors and officers liability, insurance coverage and bad faith matters. Kim sits on Wilson Elser’s Executive Committee and is a cochair of the firm’s Lawyers Liability Practice. She has tried cases in Illinois and has appellate experience throughout the United States, including a number of published appellate decisions on coverage matters. She is an active member of the Professional Liability Underwriters Association (PLUS).

Carrier clients rely on Kim’s vast experience in all 50 states rendering coverage opinions on all types of professional liability insurance policies, as well as her resolute defense of wrongful denial claims and prosecution of declaratory judgment actions. Kim develops a strong rapport with the attorneys and other professionals she defends, envisioning herself in their positions and skillfully guiding them toward positive outcomes. To add further value to her client relationships, Kim frequently addresses in-house claims professionals and insureds on topics such as coverage, liability and damages.

In addition, Kim defends private- and public-sector employers in all aspects of federal and state employment discrimination laws, handling cases arising under state and federal fair employment practices statutes. She is quite literally at her clients’ side before such administrative and judicial tribunals as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board or the U.S. Department of Labor, including state and federal administrative agencies and courts. Recognizing that employers seek cost-effective resolutions to complex and potentially protracted cases, when appropriate she seeks to accommodate them through alternate resolution options, including arbitration, conciliation and mediation.

Jurisdictions
Kim has litigated actions in Illinois, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, California, Utah, Colorado, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Mississippi.

Events

Kimberly Blair focuses her litigation practice on professional liability, including accountants, attorneys, insurance agents, real estate agents, technology and media professionals, consultants, brokers, architects and engineers in addition to directors and officers liability, insurance coverage and bad faith matters. Kim sits on Wilson Elser’s Executive Committee and is a cochair of the firm’s Lawyers Liability Practice. She has tried cases in Illinois and has appellate experience throughout the United States, including a number of published appellate decisions on coverage matters. She is an active member of the Professional Liability Underwriters Association (PLUS).

Carrier clients rely on Kim’s vast experience in all 50 states rendering coverage opinions on all types of professional liability insurance policies, as well as her resolute defense of wrongful denial claims and prosecution of declaratory judgment actions. Kim develops a strong rapport with the attorneys and other professionals she defends, envisioning herself in their positions and skillfully guiding them toward positive outcomes. To add further value to her client relationships, Kim frequently addresses in-house claims professionals and insureds on topics such as coverage, liability and damages.

In addition, Kim defends private- and public-sector employers in all aspects of federal and state employment discrimination laws, handling cases arising under state and federal fair employment practices statutes. She is quite literally at her clients’ side before such administrative and judicial tribunals as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board or the U.S. Department of Labor, including state and federal administrative agencies and courts. Recognizing that employers seek cost-effective resolutions to complex and potentially protracted cases, when appropriate she seeks to accommodate them through alternate resolution options, including arbitration, conciliation and mediation.

Jurisdictions
Kim has litigated actions in Illinois, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, California, Utah, Colorado, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Mississippi.

Kimberly E. Blair

Blair, Merlo & Duff Prevail on Behalf of Attorney Client in Contentious Post-Decree Appeal

Kimberly Blair (Partner-Chicago, IL) and Chicago associates Robert Merlo and Thomas Duff represented the attorney for the wife in a very contentious divorce case; specifically, representing her in post-decree proceedings stemming from the husband’s refusal to turn over significant sums of money, over which he was held in indirect civil contempt and jailed. Subsequently, the husband filed suit against his ex-wife, his former business partner, and his wife’s attorneys (including our client) on allegations of aiding and abetting, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy – suggesting that our client’s conduct was part of a nefarious legal strategy. Kim, Robert, and Thomas were successful at having the matter dismissed with prejudice at the trial court level based on the absolute litigation privilege. An impressive brief written on appeal by Robert and Thomas convinced the Appellate Court of Illinois, First District to affirm the trial court’s decision in an extensive opinion that further solidified the litigation privilege in the State of Illinois. 

Kimberly E. Blair and Robert F. Merlo

Chicago Team Secures Affirmance for Insurance Company Client in Medical Malpractice Coverage Dispute

Kimberly Blair (Partner-Chicago), Joseph Stafford (Partner-Chicago), and Thomas Duff (Associate-Chicago) secured an affirmance of a summary judgment from the Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, in a coverage dispute brought against Wilson Elser’s client, an insurance company. The case centers on our client’s denial of coverage for two medical malpractice suits against the plaintiff, a hospital facility, due to its failure to report the lawsuits as required in its professional liability insurance policy.

In the underlying matter, Wilson Elser maintained that although an existing SIR Endorsement’s notice requirement replaced the plaintiffs’ obligation to give notice of claims to our client “as soon as practicable,” it did not supersede the plaintiff hospital’s separate obligation to report claims within the policy period. The circuit court agreed with Wilson Elser’s reading of the policy and granted summary judgment for the insurance company. The appellate court affirmed, concurring with Kim, Joe, and Thomas’s assessment that the policy was a “claims made and reported policy,” that this interpretation is not at odds with the language of the SIR Endorsement, and that their arguments presented the only reasonable interpretation of the unambiguous policy language.

Kimberly E. Blair

Medical Hospital Complex

Blair, Stafford, Merlo and Duff Secure Affirmance in Precedent-Setting Legal Malpractice Case

A Chicago office team comprising partners Kimberly Blair and Joseph Stafford and associates Robert Merlo and Thomas Duff secured the First District Court of Appeals’ affirmance of a dismissal with prejudice of the plaintiffs’ third amended complaint for legal malpractice against our law firm client. A the circuit court level, the team brought in our client’s predecessor counsel as a third party, alleging that because discovery in the underlying case closed on their watch, there was nothing our client could have done to remedy the alleged malpractice. The predecessor counsel filed a motion for summary judgment on our third-party complaint based on the successor counsel (viability) doctrine, and the court denied it, holding that by the time it appeared in the underlying case, nothing our client could have done would have prevented the unfavorable outcome for the plaintiffs in the underlying action. After that ruling, the plaintiffs were given one more chance to state a claim, but they would have had to wholly shift their theory of malpractice. The court then dismissed that complaint (with prejudice) because the plaintiffs’ allegations about what they would have done were contradicted by what they actually did in response to the underlying judgment, through yet another successor attorney.

On appeal, the plaintiffs argued, among other things, that the district court judge was incorrect to hold, as a matter of law, that no arguments could have defeated the underlying dispositive motions and improperly took judicial notice of post-judgment proceedings from the underlying case in dismissing the plaintiffs’ “last-ditch” third amended complaint. The First District affirmed, and comprehensively laid out why it agreed with our many arguments in the Response Brief. Notably, the First District’s conclusion in its published opinion essentially mirrored our conclusion in our Response Brief.
 

Kimberly E. Blair and Robert F. Merlo

Privacy Settings
Your Privacy Choices
We value your privacy. Under privacy laws in your jurisdiction, you have the right to control how your personal information is used, including the right to opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. You may also limit the use of your sensitive personal information.

Below, you can review and adjust your cookie and data sharing preferences. For more information about how we use your data, please see our Privacy Policy.

Your Rights and Choices

Opt Out of Sale or Sharing: You may opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information for advertising and analytics purposes by turning off Advertising & Targeting Cookies. We will honor your choice and will not sell or share your personal information for these purposes unless you enable these cookies again. Wilson Elser does not sell or share personal information in any other manner.

Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information: If we collect sensitive personal information, you may limit its use to only what is necessary to provide requested services by adjusting your preferences here. Please contact privacy@wilsonelser.com with any questions.

Global Privacy Control: We honor browser-based opt-out signals, such as the Global Privacy Control (GPC). If we detect such a signal, your opt-out preference will be automatically applied.
These cookies are essential for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually set in response to actions made by you, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in, or filling in forms.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. If you do not allow these cookies, some or all of these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They may be set through our site by us or our analytics partners to understand your interests and deliver more relevant content to you. If you do not allow these cookies, we will not know when you have visited our site