William Wolf
The Law Office of William Wolf, LLC
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.
- 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
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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.
- Illinois
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- 7th Circuit
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- U.S. Supreme Court
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- 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.
- 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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- 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
- 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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- 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
- 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
- Q. I called DCFS on my child for being physically and sexually abusive to his younger siblings. What are my rights?
- A: Yes. You should be concerned. DCFS and the local State's Attorney's Office in the County where you live could conclude that you placed your children at risk of harm and screen the case into juvenile court for a judge to make that determination. There, you'll need a trial lawyer who's experienced in these kinds of cases to assist you in fighting to keep your kids who can make the most persuasive possible case to the judge. I would contact a lawyer right away. Best of luck to you.
- Q. Hi, I am currently deeply twisted up in some very deep legal issues and am desperate for help! I have no idea what to do
- A: You need to call an experienced criminal defense lawyer and meet with him or her. That's what you need to do. Not an anonymous call for help. And you absolutely should not post any more online. What you say or write, including on the internet, can be used against you. Many lawyers offer free consultations to people. I would meet with several lawyers. The idea behind the consultation is that you can learn something about the lawyer to decide who is the right lawyer for you. The idea behind the consultation from the lawyer's point of view is to learn something about the case to get an idea of how much work would be involved so a reasonable fee may be quoted to you. I hope this helps. Good luck to you.
- Q. What happens when i am given a notice to appear on a charge of battery in Illinois?
- A: It means you're being charged with a crime and you have to appear in front of a judge. If it's a misdemeanor battery, that's a Class A misdemeanor that could carry up to 364 days in the County Jail. If it's a felony Aggravated Battery, then it's more serious. How much more serious would depend on the way the Aggravated Battery is charged. You need an experienced criminal defense lawyer to help you right away. I'd start making calls. Many offer free initial consultations. Best of luck to you.
