- 2026-01-21
Kimberly A. Hartman
Partner
Kim is an experienced appellate attorney. Over the past 15 years, she has focused her practice on trial, post-trial, and appellate proceedings. She has successfully litigated insurance coverage, construction defect, product liability, professional liability, premises liability, and first-party property matters before state and federal courts across the nation.
When hired as trial monitoring counsel, Kim collaborates with defense counsel to develop, draft, and argue dispositive pre-trial motions, motions in limine, jury instructions, verdict forms, and post-trial motions. She assists in developing key themes and strategies, setting the stage for successful trial outcomes and properly postured and preserved appeals.
Memberships
- Appellate Lawyer's Association
- Defense Research Institute
- Asian American Bar Association
- American Bar Association, Appellate Advocacy Section
Awards & Rankings
- Illinois Super Lawyers, 2022-2026
- Illinois Rising Star, 2011-2016
- Obtained reversal of the denial of summary judgment against concrete contractor whose work on allegedly defective sidewalk was completed and accepted years before plaintiff’s accident.
- Persuaded appellate court to reverse summary judgment denial to concrete contractor whose allegedly-defective sidewalk work was completed and accepted years before the accident.
- Handled appeal of a case of first impression to the Kentucky Supreme Court, in which Kentucky adopted the economic loss rule without recognizing an exception for calamitous or sudden accidents.
- Prosecuted Seventh Circuit appeal on issue of first impression related to "insider status" of LLC member under federal Bankruptcy Code.
- Successfully persuaded appellate court to uphold an "any auto" policy exclusion, precluding client's obligation to provide coverage for negligent snow removal operations involving parked vehicle.
- Negotiated favorable settlement during course of appeal, saving the client significant amounts relative to multimillion-dollar jury verdict being appealed.
- Obtained affirmance of judgment for apartment complex owner in premises liability action involving drowning minor decedent on grounds of inconsistency between the general verdict and special interrogatory.
- Obtained affirmance of summary judgment on behalf of insurer who issued home, auto and umbrella policies to insured involved in an accident while driving a non-owned vehicle on grounds that no coverage was owed under the auto or umbrella policies because "other vehicles" exclusion applicable to family members did not cover the named insured; coverage was also precluded under the home policy's exclusion for bodily injury involving the use of a motor vehicle.
- Successfully defended school district on appeal from federal due-process claims brought by student who was expelled for using gang signs during a lunch room melee.
- Obtained affirmance of judgment for non-supervisory contractor on claims involving alleged labor-law violations.
- Successfully prosecuted professional liability appeal in which the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, extended the loss causation doctrine to a financial planner.
- Successfully obtained affirmance in favor of insurers from New York Appellate Division in connection with numerous church-abuse claims on grounds that there were numerous occurrences implicating coverage in effect over various policy periods, such that the applicable self-insured retentions were not fully and properly exhausted, precluding client's indemnity obligation for multi-million dollar settlement.
- Obtained summary judgment in favor of insurer regarding application of “unavailability exception” in environmental liability coverage case under Alabama law.
- 2023-01-24
- 2022-01-28
- 2016-06-13
- 2016-03-14
ADDITIONAL SPEAKING & WRITING
- "Whistleblower Retaliation Claims in the Dodd-Frank Era: Defenses that Work and Defenses that Don't," Corporate Counsel Review, April 10, 2012.