Sharilee Kempa Smentek

Partner

Ms. Smentek is a partner in Arnstein & Lehr’s Litigation group. She handles a broad range of commercial litigation matters, including fraud, misrepresentation and consumer fraud claims, breach of contract claims, employment issues, matters involving real property, including actions for equitable mortgages/liens, real estate brokerage commission disputes, real estate broker/agent ethics violations, consumer finance matters, construction defect claims, defamation claims, breach of fiduciary duty matters, declaratory judgments and matters involving various injunctive and equitable remedies. Ms. Smentek has experience in all aspects of litigation, including pre-trial discovery, preparing and arguing dispositive motions, handling mediations and pre-trial settlement conferences, binding and non-binding arbitration proceedings, bench trials and the appeal process.

Professional Activities and Achievements

Ms. Smentek is a member of the American Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association,  and Chicago Bar Association.  She currently serves as a Vice Chair of the Corporate Counsel Committee in the Young Lawyers Division of the ABA.  She is an active member of  the Associate Board of Ambassadors to the American Cancer Society – Illinois Division.  She has also been named a 2010 Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Star.

While in law school, Ms. Smentek was a member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi and on the Dean’s List. She received her Certificate in Taxation and was awarded the Chicago Bar Association – Federal Taxation Committee, Outstanding Student Award for 2002.

Recent Publications and Lectures

Ms. Smentek has lectured on real estate litigation, including “Real Estate Salesperson Liability,” an Illinois State Bar Association – Real Estate Law Section seminar presented in Spring 2004.  Sharilee co-authored a chapter for the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education entitled “Commercial Real Estate.” Ms. Smentek also co-authored an article entitled “Servicemembers Civil Relief Act of 2003: Old Wine in a New Bottle?”, which appeared in the Winter, 2005 edition of the Consumer Finance Law Quarterly Report.

Education

DePaul University College of Law (J.D. summa cum laude, 2002; Order of the Coif)
University of Illinois (B.S. in Finance, 1999)
Senshu University (Tokyo, Japan)

Bar Admissions

State of Illinois; U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit;U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois-( Trial Bar); U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin