Hon. Diane Joan Larsen (Ret.) joined JAMS following more than 20 years of distinguished service to the Cook County (Illinois) courts, including 14 years in the Law Division and another six years in Chancery.  Prior to taking the bench, Judge Larsen was chief of policy litigation at the City of Chicago Law Department, where she specialized in civil rights policy challenges and class action matters in both state and federal courts.

Judge Larsen has been an adjunct professor of appellate advocacy for over 30 years at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She co-authored the civil litigation curriculum at Loyola and is a sought-after lecturer on various constitutional, civil and criminal law procedural issues at the Chicago Bar Association; the Illinois State Bar Association; the Police Foundation in Washington, D.C.; the Chicago Police Academy; the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police; and the Hispanic Institute of Law Enforcement, among others.

ADR Experience and Qualifications

Judge Larsen is a longtime advocate of early dispute resolution and champions ADR because it lets lawyers and their clients craft their own solutions. She has conducted more than 1,000 pre-trial conferences during her career, oftentimes for other judges. 

Representative Matters

Judge Larsen has substantial litigation, judicial and settlement experience in the following areas:

• Business/Commercial, including all forms of contract and fraud disputes
• Civil Rights
• Education/Colleges and Universities/Public and Social Service Agencies
• Employment/Employment Contracts/Discrimination
• Government/Public Agencies
• Personal Injury/Torts
• Privacy related claims, including BIPA (Biometric Information Privacy Act)
• Professional Liability, including medical, legal, accounting and insurance matters
• Real Property, including commercial and residential transactions, rights of first refusal (ROFR) and condominium and homeowners’ association disputes
• While on the bench, adjudicated medical billing/coding disputes between insurers and providers

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

• Federal Trial Bar License, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• Author and Editor, Illinois Judges’ Civil Motion Practice Manual
• Participant, Judges in the Classroom Project, American Judicature Society
• Past Chair, Civil Justice Committee, Illinois Supreme Court
• Member, Board of Directors, Nordic Law Club of Chicago
• Past Member, Board of Managers, Chicago Bar Association
• Past Member, Board of Directors, Women Everywhere: Partners in Service Project, Inc.
• Past Member, Board of Directors, Illinois Judges Foundation
• Past Chair, Harold Sullivan Scholarship Committee
• Recipient, Hooton Award, Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, 2008
• Past Member, Committee on Education, Judicial Conference of Illinois
• Topic Editor, Civil Law and Procedure Benchbook
• Outstanding Partner Award, Women Everywhere: Partners in Service Project, Inc., 2008
• Volunteer Moot Court Judge, Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition, Brand Names Education Foundation, 2003–present
• Mentor, Mercy Home for Boys & Girls, 2008–2010

Selected Speaking Engagements and Publications

• Co-Author, Legal Implications of Data Collection at Airports, Airport Cooperative Research Program, National Academy of Sciences, May 2021 (Exploring state and local laws on biometrics information usage, including BIPA.).
• Moderator and Speaker, Taking and Defending Depositions in State and Federal Court, Chicago Bar Association, June 14, 2018
• Host, 19th Annual Women Everywhere: Partners in Service Project, April 26, 2018
• Speaker, Attacking the Affidavit Seminar (Illinois Supreme Court Rule 191), Chicago Bar Association, Young Lawyers Section, April 20, 2018
• Instructor, Equitable Remedies, Illinois Judicial Conference, April 9, 2018
• Volunteer Judge, 35th Annual Citywide High School Mock Trial Competition, Chicago Coalition for Law-Related Education, April 9, 2018

Background and Education

• Judge, Cook County Circuit Court, Chicago, Illinois, 1998–2019
• Chancery Division, General Chancery Section, 2013–2019
• Law Division, Motion Call “B” of the Master Calendar, 2000–2012
• Law Division, Trial Assignment and 2005 Motion Call, 1999–2000
• First Municipal District, Traffic Section, 1998–1999
• Chief of Policy Litigation, City of Chicago Law Department, 1984–1998
• Adjunct Professor of Law, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, 1990–present
• Illinois Civil Litigation Practice
• Appellate Advocacy
• J.D., Loyola University Chicago School of Law, 1983
• B.A., summa cum laude, Psychology, DePaul University, 1979