Donald Patrick Eckler is a Partner in Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP’s Chicago office where he serves as Office Co-Chair. Mr. Eckler is also Vice-Chair of the firm’s Midwest Coverage practice team, Vice-Chair of the firm's Transactional Risks/Representations & Warranties practice team, and a member of the firm’s Appellate Advocacy Section. He is a highly experienced litigator who focuses his practice on professionals, insurers, and businesses in disputes in state and federal courts across Illinois and Indiana. In addition to working at the trial level, he has successfully represented clients in numerous appellate matters and filed several amicus briefs on behalf of defense organizations.

Mr. Eckler is active in the organized defense bar both at the state and national level. He is a past president of the PLDF and current Second Vice President of the Illinois Defense Counsel. He is on the Amicus Committee of the Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana and is a member of the DRI Third-Party Litigation Task Force. He publishes a weekly column, For the Defense, in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, is the civil practice columnist for the IDC Quarterly, and is a frequent contributor to the PLDF Quarterly. He is a member of the Rules Committee and Chair of the Special Committee on Advocacy for the Appellate Lawyers Association. He also gives an annual Illinois insurance coverage update to the Insurance Law Committee of the Chicago Bar Association. He is very active on LinkedIn with three posts daily focusing on developments in the law in Illinois and Indiana and trends impacting civil justice.  Finally, he co-hosts the Podium and Panel Podcast where they discuss recent oral arguments before the Illinois and Indiana courts of review, the Seventh Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

After completing his undergraduate degree, Mr. Eckler taught history and coached high school and college basketball for three years before attending law school at the University of Florida. In his final semester of law school, he served as a certified legal intern with the Public Defenders’ Office of the Eighth Judicial Circuit, where he represented defendants in misdemeanor criminal cases.

Florida

Illinois

Indiana

U.S. District Court for the Northern, Central, and Southern Districts of Illinois

U.S. District Court Southern District of Indiana

U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana

• “Indiana Supreme Court doubles down on finality: Post judgment amendments barred,” FMG BlogLine
• “When the appellate clock starts ticking: Electronic dockets, stamps and a harsh result,” FMG BlogLine
• “Absolute litigation privilege continues its expansion in Illinois,” FMG BlogLine
• “Most consequential civil decision of 21st Century issued by Illinois Supreme Court on standing,” FMG BlogLine
• “Interpleader recognized as safe harbor under Indiana law,” FMG BlogLine
• “Half-sheet, whole problem: A lesson in appellate timeliness,” FMG BlogLine
• “Read the not so fine print: Indiana draws a hard line time frame to bring claim against insurance broker,” FMG BlogLine
• “Illinois trial courts must adhere strictly to Supreme Court Rule 305(b),” FMG BlogLine
• “All-in’ advancement? Insurer’s advancement gamble backfires in the eyes of Indiana Appellate Court,” FMG BlogLine
• “Not Everything is Black and White: Jurisdictions are at Odds in Determining the Enforceability of an Arbitration Clause in an Attorney-Client Agreement,” PLDF Quarterly, Vol.16, No. 4, Ryan Kelly, Jessica Sterna, and Donald Patrick Eckler
• “Conforming Your Multijurisdictional Practice to the Ethics Rules,” The Brief, Winter 2024, Jennifer Bovitz and Donald Patrick Eckler
• “Numerous Recent Decisions Elucidate Important Procedural Rules,” IDC Quarterly, Vol. 34, No. 3, Donald Patrick Eckler
• “That’s The Way: Conforming Your Multijurisdictional Practice to the Rules,” PLDF Quarterly, Vol. 15, No. 3, Jennifer Bovitz and Donald Patrick Eckler
• “Combatting Reptile Theory & Dodging Nuclear Verdicts,” IDC Quarterly, Vol. 34, No. 2, Andrew Corkery, Donald Patrick Eckler, C. William Busse, and David Warnick
• “In Wake of Clanton the Fourth District Charts Course Favorable to Arbitration,” IDC Quarterly, Vol. 34, No. 2, Donald Patrick Eckler
• “Browning v. Advocate: Many Lessons to be Learned,” IDC Quarterly, Vol. 34, No. 1, Donald Patrick Eckler and Joshua W. Zhao
• “What Duties Does a Lawyer Owe?” Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, For the Defense, April 28, 2021
• “2021 and Beyond…After COVID-19, Business Interruption Losses Will Never Be the Same Again!”, Co-Presenter, CLM Property Committee, April 22, 2021
• “You Have Got to Have Good Faith: Trends in Handling of First Party Property Claims to Avoid Bad Faith,” Co-Presenter, April 14, 2021
• “Medical Bills Should Not Be Excepted from Proper Foundation,” Co-Author, Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, For the Defense, March 3, 2021
• “What Is A ‘Good Faith’ Settlement?”, Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, For the Defense, December 17, 2020
• “Illinois Insurance Law: Year in Review,” Presenter, Chicago Bar Association, Insurance Law Committee, November 4, 2020
• “Series of Rulings Show that While Protection Dead Man’s Act Are Alive and Well, Applicability Is Not Guaranteed,” Co-Author, IDC Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 4
• “Should I Talk with You? Potential Issues in Communicating with Brokers and Claims Advocates,” Co-Presenter, 2020 CLM Workers’ Compensation and Retail, Restaurant, & Hospitality Conference, June 16, 2020
• “We Are Settled, Right? Settling Claims of Minors, Disabled Persons, And The Deceased,” Co-Presenter, IDC Webinar, April 17, 2020
• “Emerging and Expanding Lawyers Professional Risks … Are We Prepared?”  Co-Presenter, PLDF Annual Meeting, October 4, 2018

Representative Appellate Victories:

Ahlgren v. Stonegate Insurance Co., Inc., 2025 IL App (1st) 240905

Scott v. American Alliance Casualty Company, 2024 IL App (4th) 231305

First Chicago Insurance Company v. Jones, 237 N.E.3d 1122 (Ind. Ct. App. 2024)

Safeway Insurance Company v. Al-Rifaei, 2024 IL App (1st) 231391

Unique Insurance Company v. Tate, 2022 IL App (1st) 210491

Recent Amicus Briefs

Skrabek v. Woodman Food Market, Inc. (2025), joint brief in support of plaintiff on behalf of Illinois Defense Counsel with the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (arguing that a circuit clerk is not vest with authority to reject an electronically submitted complaint that does not include a Rule 222 affidavit as it is not consistent with Illinois Supreme Court Rule, the Local Rules, or the administration of justice).

Piasa Armory v. Raoul (2024), brief in support of respondent to the Illinois Supreme Court for the Illinois Defense Counsel and DRI (arguing for importance of intrastate forum non conveniens)

Baldwin v. Standard Fire Insurance Company (2024), brief in support of petition to transfer to the Indiana Supreme Court for the Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana (arguing use of interpleaders in dealing with policy limit demands)

Passafiume v. Jurak (2023), brief in support of petitioner to the Illinois Supreme Court for the Illinois Defense Counsel (arguing for unity of material services with loss of consortium damages)

Murphy v. Indiana University Health North Hospital, Inc. (2023), brief in support of appellee to the Court of Appeals of Indiana for Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana (arguing for discharge of principle following judgment for alleged agent)

• Appellate Lawyers Association
  • Special Committee on Advocacy, Chair
  • Rules Committee member
• Association of Defense Trial Attorneys (ADTA)
  • Publications Committee member
• Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana (DTCI)
  • Appointed member of the Amicus Committee
• DRI Center for Law and Public Policy
  • Appointed Third-Party Litigation Funding Task Force
• Illinois Defense Counsel (IDC)
  • First Vice President 2025
  • IDC Quarterly:
    • Managing Editor 2025
    • Civil Procedure & Practice: Columnist
  • Second Vice President 2024
  • Secretary/Treasurer 2023-24
  • Board member 2015-23
• Professional Liability Defense Federation (PLDF)
  • President, 2020-21
  • President-Elect, 2019-20
  • Treasurer, 2017-19
  • Professional Liability Defense Quarterly:
    • Editor, 2016-20
    • Legal Columnist, 2017-20

• Illinois Super Lawyers, 2022-2026
• Illinois Press Association Division D 1st Place, Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, 2024
• Distinguished Member Award, Illinois Defense Counsel, 2020
• Meritorious Service Award, Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel, 2018
• Volunteer of the Year Award, Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel, 2016
• David C. Hilliard Award for Outstanding Committee Service, Chicago Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section Tort Litigation Committee, 2011—2012
• Rising Star Award, Chicago Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section, 2011

• Your Jurors: Impacts of Reptile Tactics, Lawyers Advertising, and Third-Party Litigation Funding, PLDF Annual Meeting, Atlanta, September 26, 2024
• The Expansion of Multijurisdictional Practice, Monica Logan, Danielle Parry, and Patrick Eckler, ClaimsXchange Education on Location: Chicago, July 18, 2024
• Illinois New Attorney Basic Skills: Model Rules 1.7, 1.9, 1.10, and 1.16, NBI, June 12, 2024
• Misconduct in the Representation of a Client, NACLE, May 2, 2024
• Model Rule 8.4(g) and Unconstitutional Limits on Attorney Expression, Strafford, April 18, 2024
• New Duties for Lawyers to Monitor Their Clients? The Amendment to Model Rule 1.16, Federalist Society – Chicago Lawyers Chapter, March 27, 2024
• The Current Social Milieu and Civil Litigation, IDC/TADC Joint Meeting, February 1, 2024
• “All’s Fair In The Rules of Professional Conduct: Threats and Fees,” NACLE (2023)