Nationally Renowned Attorney Jan R. Schlichtmann to Present the Marla Dickerson Lecture on Public Interest

DeKalb, Ill. -- Northern Illinois University College of Law will welcome Jan R. Schlichtmann, a nationally renowned attorney and advocate for public justice and environmental issues, as the featured speaker for the Marla Dickerson Lecture on Public Interest.   The lecture will be held on Wednesday, April 16 at 3 p.m. in the Francis X. Riley Courtroom at the College of Law, Swen Parson Hall in DeKalb, IL and will be followed by a reception.

Mr. Schlichtmann is one of the country’s most notable plaintiff attorneys concentrating in the areas of consumer, environmental, product, and toxic torts and mass tort litigation. In 1986, he received national recognition for his representation of eight Woburn, Massachusetts families against W.R. Grace and Beatrice Foods for the contamination of the Woburn city water supply. The groundbreaking nature of the Woburn case has been the subject of a number of national and international television and radio shows, press reports, and magazine stories. His career and involvement in the Woburn case was chronicled in the national best seller, “A Civil Action,” which became a major motion picture starring John Travolta as Mr. Schlichtmann.

In 2005, Mr. Schlichtmann co-founded The Legal Broadcast Network, designed to leverage new media tools to reach a very specific, high value audience of lawyers from all over the United States. This unique broadcasting venture is the first online podcast radio/TV program specifically designed for trial lawyers, their clients, and the experts who help serve the legal community. In 2007, he founded The Civil Action Center, LLC, a place where he and his associates not only work to help people find the right lawyer for their case or cause, but act as an incubator of ideas for the legal community to provide the best service and innovative practice models for their clients.

The Marla Dickerson Public Interest Lecture Series was established to further the mission of the Northern Illinois University College of Law and appropriately honor the spirit of former student, the late Marla Rene Dickerson (1969-1994). Funded by a donation from the Dickerson family, this lecture series brings nationally known speakers to NIU Law to discuss current issues relating to public interest.

The lecture and reception are free and open to the public.  One hour of CLE credit will be given for this lecture.

For more information: http://www.niu.edu/law/calendar/events/2014/dickerson_lecture_2014.shtml.