Our Attorneys

Contact Judd
  • Miner, Barnhill & Galland, P.C.
    325 N. LaSalle St. Suite 350
    Chicago, IL 60654
  • (312) 751-1170

Education

  • University of Chicago Law School, J.D. (1967) – Honors: Associate Editor, Law Review (1964-1967)
  • London School of Economics (1963-1964)
  • Northwestern University, B.A. (1963)

After completing a post-law school clerkship with the Honorable Simon Sobeloff, Judson Miner returned to Chicago on a Reginald Heber Smith fellowship to bring test cases under the newly enacted civil rights laws and in the consumer fraud areas. After his fellowship in 1971, Judd founded the law firm presently known as Miner, Barnhill & Galland, and except for the four years that he served as Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago under Mayors Harold Washington and Eugene Sawyer, he specialized in civil litigation, primarily in class actions under the federal and state civil rights laws and the United States Constitution. Judd also litigated a number of cases under the federal and Illinois False Claims Act. In addition, he has extensive appellate experience, having argued dozens of cases in the Seventh, Fifth and District of Columbia Circuits and has been responsible for the briefing and/or argument in five cases in the United States Supreme Court.

Now retired, the following is a summary of the areas in which Judd concentrated his practice.

  • Civil Rights Litigation

    Judd has successfully represented plaintiffs in matters involving employment discrimination under the United States Constitution, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. He is a nationally recognized expert in litigation under the Voting Rights Act, and has handled extensive litigation involving housing discrimination, discriminatory insurance practices and police misconduct. Judd has been lead counsel in some of the largest and most significant employment discrimination class actions, including lawsuits that broke down racial and gender barriers in the construction industry, Chicago’s fire and police departments, and some of the country’s largest companies. He was recently retained by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle to oversee the 2012 redistricting of the Cook County board.

  • Municipal Law

    As Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago, Judd oversaw the city’s legal practice in every aspect of municipal law, and interacted extensively with the state and with other local units of government.

  • False Claims Act Litigation

    Judd has litigated, on behalf of whistleblowers and both the federal and state governments, a number of false claims act cases that have recovered millions of dollars. He successfully argued in the U.S. Supreme Court for the right to bring such claims on behalf of the United States against local units of government. Judd also has represented a major local governmental body in False Claims Act litigation.

  • Other Litigation

    Judd has represented clients in litigation under the federal antitrust, RICO, ERISA and consumer laws, and cases involving issues of free speech and the separation of church and state under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. He has also represented corporate executives in severance disputes.

Community Service Activities

Judd has served on the Chicago Steering Committee of NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (1975-86); the Board of Directors of the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (1984- 86 and 1990-present); the Governing Council of the American Jewish Congress, where he chaired its Committee on Law and Social Policy (1990-1996). He was Chairman of the Insurance Consumers Advisory Panel of the Illinois Department of Insurance (1969-71).

Judd has received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Chicago Council of Lawyers and Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice, and the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs; the Distinguished Legal Service Award from the Chicago Steering Committee of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Anti Defamation League, and the Chicago Lawyers Chapter of the American Constitution Society; and the Tzedek v’Sholom award for a lifetime committed to justice and the peace from J Street.


Bar Admissions

Illinois Supreme Court (2001)

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (2003)

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (2012)

Pro hac vice admissions in state and/or federal trial courts in California, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin



Bar-Related Activities

Founder and First President, Chicago Council of Lawyers (1972-1974)

Board of Governors, Chicago Council of Lawyers (1974 -1978)

Member, Illinois Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Judicial Vacancies (1976-1979)

Delegate, House of Delegates, American Bar Association (1980-1983)

Member, Merit Selection Committee on Judicial Vacancies for the Northern District of Illinois (1992-1996)

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