Joshua Kutnick - Chicago, IL

Joshua Kutnick was born in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in Akron, Ohio. His family taught him that the greatest thing a person can do is to use his talents to help others and hopefully improve this world in some way. Josh went to college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he majored in English. While a student at Chicago-Kent College of Law, he began clerking for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. Eventually becoming licensed under Supreme Court Rule 711, he tried over 50 felony trials while still a law student.

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After working for an experienced criminal defense attorney, Josh decided to begin his own practice in 2001. Starting with traffic cases, DUIs, and misdemeanors, his practice advanced quickly to drug cases, gun possession cases, and other minor felonies. The practice soon advanced as Josh’s trial experience grew, and he also began to take on criminal appeals. Soon, success at those levels led to Josh’s current practice which involves some of the most serious criminal cases: murder and other violent offenses, large scale drug conspiracy cases, sex crimes, financial crimes, along with many others. Unlike many criminal practitioners, Josh has maintained a busy DUI practice in conjunction with his felony practice. Also, over the last 15 years, his federal criminal practice has developed to be a large portion of his casework.

In 2012, Josh successfully argued to Judge Stanley Sacks to declare the Illinois Eavesdropping Act unconstitutional. The case was part of a wave of change in an individual’s rights to record the police while exercising their public duties. He continues to be a leading authority of the topic of the Illinois Eavesdropping Act, and he continues to search for more eavesdropping cases to further challenge the Act.

More recently, Josh has authored chapters for the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education (IICLE) on Representing Clients in the Pre-Charge Stages and Trial Evidence. He has spoken at the IACDL Annual CLE 2020, Defending Sex Crimes, and most recently presented a podcast for IICLE on the Illinois Pretrial Fairness Act in 2026, a topic on which he has become a statewide expert.

Josh’s greatest ability is to analyze the strengths and weakness of both sides of a case, and to determine the best path that is in the client’s best interest. His personal style and courtroom acumen have been noted by many clients as his strongest traits. Clients remark that he is one way in his office, calm and comforting yet truthful and realistic. Yet he can be very different in the courtroom, where he can be equally savvy and tactful, aggressive when needed, and calm when appropriate. His ability to explain the details of law and the criminal justice system to his clients and their families.