Richard French Obituary

French, Richard G. CUC20150 78, died on December 26, 2002. A native of Chicago, IL, he and his wife, Cornelia are residents of The Landings of Skidaway Island, GA, since his retirement in 1993. At the time of his death he still held a valid license in the State of Illinois to practice law and was "Of Counsel" to the law firm he founded, French Kezelis & Komaniarek, P.C., located in Chicago, IL and kept in daily contact with them by telephone and computer. He had practiced law as a civil trial lawyer for over 52 years specializing in products liability, medical malpractice and general insurance law. Although he tried many cases on behalf of plaintiffs, most of his later practice was on the defense side. He was unique in that he tried over 120 cases from the trial stage through the appellate stage, including to the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois and from the District Courts to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. This included trial preparation, the trial, preparation of the briefs and oral argument. He has also handled the appeal of a number of cases tried by others. All in all, he tried over 600 cases that went to verdict and many more that were settled or dismissed during the course of trial. It is said that during his career he tried more cases to verdict than any other Civil Attorney, being on trial almost daily. He was a Naval Aviator Fighter Pilot during WWII, having enlisted as a Naval Aviation Cadet at age 17. He attended JOHN MARSHALL LAW SCHOOL after the war although he had no undergraduate degree, but was able to qualify through GED tests and graduated first in his class. He took the Bar Examination before graduating and was the only one in his class that was admitted to the bar before he graduated. In his Junior Year, he was awarded the Sholarship Key from the Delta Theta Phi Legal Fraternity and upon graduation was honored with the Order of JOHN MARSHALL, based on scholarship and the vote of his professors. In 1971, the school awarded him a Citation of Merit as Distinguished Alumnus. He was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the Illinois Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division; U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana; U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Southern Division. He was a member of the American Bar Association, The Illinois State Bar Association, The Chicago Bar Association, The Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Society of Trial Lawyers (President, 1984-1985), Illinois Defense Counsel, International Association of Insurance Counsel, International Society of Barristers, American Board of Trial Advocates (President, Illinois Chapter, 1988-1991). He was a member of the American Arbitration Association since 1967 and a member of the Panel of Arbitrators of the American Bar Association. Over the years he was a speaker in Seminars sponsored by the various Bar Associations and participated in The Masters in Trial Demonstrations sponsored over the country by the American Board of Trial Advocates. In 1987-1992, he was listed in BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA. He had an AV rating in Martindale Hubbell. In June of 2000, the Illinois State Bar elected him a Senior Counsellor of that Association and the Chicago Bar Association elected him a Senior Counselor of that Association in June of 2001. His many interests included fishing on his boat, "On Trial", golfing, riding his motorcycle and spending time with his friends and family on their farm in Blue River, Wisconsin. He is survived by his wife, Cornelia R. French; their daughters, Anne French Powell and Emily French Odell; their son, Richard G. French Jr., also his daughters, Judge Dorothy French Mallen and Leslie French Daniels, also surviving are nine grandchildren and two brothers, Charles J. French Jr. and Frank O. French and their families. A celebration of his life will take place at 3 p.m., on January 4th, at the Italian Village, 71 West Monroe, Chicago, IL. A Memorial visitation will be held on January 14, 2003, at 4 p.m., at Fox & Weeks Funeral Home in Savannah, GA. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice Savannah, P.O. Box 13190, Savannah, GA 31416. Visit Guest Book at www.suntimes.com