Donald Patrick Eckler is a Partner in Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP’s Chicago office and is Co-Chair of the firm's Professional Liability / Errors and Omissions national practice section, Vice-Chair of the firm’s Midwest Coverage 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 of 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.
