Adam C. Carter is a partner with Esp Kreuzer Cores LLP in Wheaton, Illinois where he has a diverse practice representing corporations and individuals in the defense of complex tort and commercial litigation, including construction injury and defect litigation, catastrophic loss, product liability, and professional liability litigation. He is experienced in state and federal courts and has been admitted pro hac vice in numerous courts across the country. He has written and presented on professional liability topics and civil procedure issues, including personal jurisdiction and forum non conveniens principles, proximate cause analysis, Illinois legislation, electronic discovery, and expert discovery. He was selected to receive the IDC’s Distinguished Member Award in 2021 and previously was selected as one of the Emerging Lawyers in Illinois by Leading Lawyers Network.

Adam earned his Juris Doctor degree cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law and his Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude from Augustana College. He has been an active member of the IDC since 2007. He currently serves on the IDC Board of Directors and as a member of the Civil Practice Committee and Legislative Committee. He is a former Chair of the Civil Practice Committee.

Daisy Denizard is an associate with Hawkins Parnell & Young LLP in Chicago where she advises and represents clients in complex litigation, insurance issues, and risk management. As national coordinating counsel and local counsel in Illinois and Wisconsin, she primarily defends corporations in litigation involving mass torts and toxic exposures to asbestos, talcum powder, and a range of chemicals. She also focuses on managing litigation and developing trial strategies.

Over her career, Daisy has extensive experience in an array of high-exposure and high-profile matters, including commercial litigation and disputes, business torts, environmental, Superfund/pollution, cost recovery, insurance coverage, premises and product liability. Prior to joining Hawkins Parnell & Young, she directly handled complex environmental and latent claims. She was responsible for monitoring environmental, asbestos, talc and latent type claims, including evaluation of cases, strategic planning, resolution of coverage issues, and establishment of adequate reserves.

Daisy is a member of Hawkins Parnell’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee.

Steve Grossi is an attorney with Yvonne M. Kaminski & Associates, the State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company Claim Litigation Counsel office in Chicago. He is an experienced trial attorney with a practice focused on the defense of automobile negligence, premises liability, and other personal injury matters. Mr. Grossi graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he earned both his J.D. and B.A with a double major in economics and psychology.

John P. Heil, Jr. is a shareholder with Heyl, Royster, Voelker & Allen, P.C. where he serves as co-chair of the firm’s Business and Commercial Litigation Practice Group. Mr. Heil’s practice focuses on business and commercial litigation, complex civil rights litigation, the representation of insurance carriers in liability coverage disputes, and the defense of catastrophic tort claims in state and federal courts. Mr. Heil joined Heyl Royster in 2007 after serving for eleven years with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. He received his J.D., with Honors, from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1996.

Sommer Luzynczyk is a partner at Pretzel & Stouffer, Chartered in Chicago where her practice includes Medical Negligence & Healthcare, Long-Term Care Liability, and Premises & General Liability. The majority of Sommer's practice is devoted to defending complex medical negligence matters. She has successfully defended cases involving various medical specialties. Sommer earned her J.D., cum laude, from The John Marshall Law School in 2009 and her B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Memphis in 2005. Sommer’s bar admissions include the Supreme Court of Illinois and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She is a member of the Illinois Association Defense Trial Counsel and the Illinois State Bar Association.

Tracy Stevenson of the Law Offices of Tracy E. Stevenson in Chicago focuses her litigation practice on medical malpractice defense of physicians and hospitals. Tracy has actively assisted municipal and governmental agencies in litigation including breach of contract and defense tort claims pursuant to the tort immunity act. Tracy has tried over 30 cases to jury verdict in Federal and State Courts in Illinois, Florida, Louisiana and other jurisdictions. Outside her work in the courtroom, Tracy represents litigants during arbitration/mediation, and also acts as a neutral. She was a regular columnist for the IDC Quarterly, for over 10 years, and has written and published multiple articles in trade magazines. Further, Tracy is an adjunct professor at John Marshall Law School.