Sara Jesser

Sara B. Jesser is a senior litigation paralegal experienced in products liability matters—namely toxic tort defense—who assists attorneys in all phases of litigation relating to chemical exposure, indoor air, food additives and asbestos cases.

She is the coordinating paralegal for the firm’s Toxic Torts practice for Northern and Central Illinois counties and also serves as the client reporting liaison and settlement coordinator for many asbestos clients.

Sara is skilled in witness location and interviewing, alternative discovery methods, business verification and location of its officers, as well as obtaining archived documents locally and nationally. She is often assigned to perform investigations and research where a professional private investigator would have been hired.

In addition, Sara has substantial experience in case and document management. She is highly skilled in digital case management, including digital imaging and e-discovery methods. Sara is also proficient in eDiscovery platforms including Relativity and Summation.

She has designed and implemented numerous databases custom-tailored for practice group and client specific data and document management. Sara also serves as the firm’s administrator for many subscription-based eFile and eService platforms, including Tyler’s Odyssey/eFileIL, Pohlman USA, File&ServeXpress and File&ServeIL, as well as for eRecords procurement/retrieval services such as RecordTrak and Pohlman.

Sara joined Hinshaw in 1999 as a litigation paralegal for the toxic torts division. Prior, she was a paralegal assistant at Brinks Hofer Gilson and Lione for two years.

In that capacity, she gained her first federal case trial experience as part of the defense team for S.C. Johnson Commercial Markets, Inc. v. The B.F. Goodrich Company, Case No.98 C 0052 S (Western District of Wisconsin). Subject: Infringement and validity of three patents relating to bulk polymerization process for making acrylic copolymers.

Sara completed her paralegal internship under the direction of a busy Chicago solo practitioner in the area of domestic relations; she quickly gained familiarity with the complexities of the Daley Center and all of its departments, divisions, court rooms and protocols.

Professional Affiliations :

• Illinois Paralegal Association, Member
• Illinois State Bar Association, Member
• Associate Board of Coordinated Advice & Referral Program for Legal Services (CARPLS), Past Event Raffle Chair and Associate Board Member

Education :

• Post baccalaureate Certificate, ABA Approved Lawyers Assistant Program, Roosevelt University, 1997
• B.A., Bradley University, Sociology / Administration of Criminal Justice, 1996