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William Wolf
The Law Office of William Wolf, LLC
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Biography
William Wolf has been a criminal defense lawyer for 25 years. He has an extensive amount of experience handling all kinds of cases ranging from homicide to sex crimes to narcotics.
Mr. Wolf excels in strategic thinking which has helped him serve thousands of people to win at trial or get the best deal possible. He has vast experience in jury trials, bench trials, and motion hearings to protect his clients from overzealous law enforcement and prosecutors.
He has been published in the State of Illinois and nationally on topics including defending homicide cases, cross-examining expert witnesses, and Confrontation Clause litigation. Mr. Wolf also has lectured nationwide on these and other topics at seminars given for fellow criminal defense lawyers.
Mr. Wolf is active in both the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers where he serves on their Board of Directors and the Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers where he is a Past-President. He has worked on a large number of projects in both groups. His most recent project is a "Carpenter blog" which is an ongoing discussion of the effects of the Supreme Court's recent decision of Carpenter v. United States, the recent Fourth Amendment case that discussed searches of cell site location information.
Mr. Wolf has a long track record of success in litigation and plea-negotiations that is due not just to effective strategic thinking, but also a lot of hard work. The bottom line is that a defense case that's not well thought out is not going to succeed. While no lawyer can guarantee success for a client, the Law Office of William Wolf can guarantee a well thought out strategy, coupled with hard work to maximize that client's chances of success.
Practice Areas
- Criminal Law
- Criminal Appeals, Drug Crimes, Expungement, Fraud, Gun Crimes, Internet Crimes, Sex Crimes, Theft, Violent Crimes
- DUI & DWI
- Domestic Violence
- Domestic Violence Criminal Defense, Domestic Violence Restraining Orders
- Juvenile Law
- White Collar Crime
- Cannabis & Marijuana Law
- Marijuana Business Formation, Medical Marijuana
Fees
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Free Consultation
I give free initial consultations for all prospective clients. Nobody gets billed until a retainer agreement is signed. My Office also has a policy that there is never any billing for time spent discussing and clarifying fees for the client. - Credit Cards Accepted
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Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
My current retainer fee schedule is based on hourly rates of $350.00 per hour for time spent on the case and $125.00 per hour for travel time.
Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice
- Illinois
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- 7th Circuit
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- U.S. Supreme Court
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Professional Experience
- Attorney, Assistant Public Defender
- Cook County Public Defender's Office
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- I spent over 11 years in the Office's Homicide Task Force defending First Degree Murder cases at the trial level. This included defending death penalty cases until the State of Illinois abolished the death penalty. I also spent years defending a large variety of other kinds of felony cases and supervised lawyers who handled trials, appeals, and post-conviction cases until I left the Office.
Education
- Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology
- J.D. (1993) | Law
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- Worked with a 711 Student Law License under the supervision of attorneys at the Cook County Public Defender's Office during plea negotiations and hearings, motion hearings, bench trials, jury trials, and sentencing hearings.
- Activities: Worked at the Law Offices of Chicago-Kent College of Law in the Criminal Defense Clinic under the supervision of Professor Richard Kling. Worked at an externship with the Cook County Public Defender's Office at the Felony Trial Division at 26th and California.
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- University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
- B.A. (1990) | Political Science
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- Double Minor in History and Philosophy
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Awards
- Presidential Commendation
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
- Presidential Commendation
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
- Presidential Commendation
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
- Presidential Service Appreciation Award
- llinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
- Presidential Commendation
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Professional Associations
- State Bar of Illinois # 6217067
- Member
- Current
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- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
- Member of Board of Directors
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- Activities: I have also previously served on their Board of Directors from 2002-2007 and from 2010-2016.
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- Chicago Bar Association
- Member
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- Women's Criminal Defense Bar Association
- Member
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- Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
- Past-President
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- Activities: I served as President of the Organization for 2 years after previously having served as First Vice President, Second Vice President, and as a member of their Board of Directors. I previously served as Chair of their CLE committee where I started IACDL's popular Annual Defending Violent Crimes Seminar held every year in November in Chicago. In 2017, I co-authored an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court for IACDL in United States v. Rod Blagojevich.
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Publications
Articles & Publications
- A Tale of Two Counties and Two Very Different Outcomes
- The Champion Magazine
- Response to the Threat of His Client’s Loss of Counsel (Gideon’s Champions).
- The Champion Magazine
- Minor Crimes, Massive Waste: The Terrible Toll of America’s Broken Misdemeanor Courts
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
- Defining ‘Testimonial’ and other trends in the wake of Crawford and Confrontation in Illinois
- Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
- The 48 Hour Rule: What’s Left to Argue When Suspects Are Held Indefinitely?
- Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Speaking Engagements
- Building a Defense Case, CCPD's Three Days in a Nutshell, Oakbrook, IL
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
- Preparing to Cross-Examine the Homicide Detective, NACDL's Annual Meeting and Seminar, San Francisco, CA
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
- Preparing to Cross-Examine an Expert Witness, BCPD In-House Training, St. Joseph, MI
- Berrien County Public Defender's Office
- Preparation for Winning Videotaped Confession Cases, BCPD In-House Training, St. Joseph, MI
- Berrien County Public Defender's Office
- Ethics, the A.B.A. Guidelines and You, UACDL Death Penalty Conference, Salt Lake City, UT
- Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Legal Answers
118 Questions Answered
- Q. if a search warrant is obtained for a weapon and drugs r found in a closed drawer can the party be. charged w drugs
- A: There isn't enough information here to answer the question for certain. One would have to review the police reports and the warrant application, as well as any camera footage because in every case where someone wants to challenge a search, each search is fact specific where the presence or absence of something may make a difference. The best answer is it's possible.
- Q. Do people in stolen vehicles get 4th amendment rights? Does it matter if they know that the vehicle is stolen?
- A: People have 4th Amendment rights to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. The question here, is whether the search or seizure was reasonable. There isn't enough information to answer the question. You need to see an experienced criminal defense lawyer to answer whether there was a 4th Amendment violation by law enforcement, and if so, does that help you? There also isn't enough information regarding the issue of knowledge to answer your question. It's not clear based on your post what the charges are. Please go see a good criminal defense lawyer on an appointment in person to talk about these issues. Many offer free consultations.
- Q. Can a Psychopath and serial killer argue and win for a plea of insanity based on Illinois law?
- A: Very few things in life are impossible. That being said, it is extremely difficult for anyone to win an insanity defense, especially in the State of Illinois. The idea that lots of people raise the insanity defense and "get off" is frankly, a lie. The insanity defense is raised in less than 1 percent of all criminal cases. The insanity defense is successful in less than 1 percent of the cases where it is raised. When people are found "not guilty by reason of insanity", they are often committed for a long time in a Department of Human Services locked facility. Illinois law requires, in order to be found not guilty by reason of insanity that the person not be able to appreciate the criminality of their conduct. In other words, one cannot distinguish between right and wrong. Whether a serial killer meets this criteria will depend heavily on the nature of his or her psychiatric illness. Many don't. But some may. One must evaluate each case individually rather than based on a group stereotype.
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