Komie and Associates

Focus and practice areas

Based in Chicago, the firm works across criminal defense and civil matters, and it handles cases at the state, federal, and international level. In my opinion, the mix here says something useful about how the firm is set up. A criminal matter and a probate dispute call for different habits, and Komie and Associates keeps both under one roof.

Criminal defense

The criminal side is broad. It covers drug cases, DUI and reckless homicide, sex crimes, murder and manslaughter, corporate fraud, money laundering, mortgage fraud, domestic violence, and asset forfeiture. The firm also takes federal cases, governmental and grand jury investigations, extradition, and international criminal law. That last group puts it in courtrooms where the stakes and the procedure differ sharply from a routine state charge.

Civil and family matters

The civil side is just as varied. The firm handles estate litigation, probate, personal injury, and liquor licensing. It also represents clients in divorce and family law, and that work covers property division, parental responsibilities, and financial support. Appeals run through both the state and federal courts, which lets a client keep the same firm to challenge a trial result.

How the team is built

The firm has three attorneys, and each one carries a defined role. Stephen M. Komie is the founder. He has over 40 years of experience representing clients in state, federal, and international trials and appeals, and he has argued five cases before the Illinois Supreme Court. Argument before a state supreme court is a narrow arena, since those courts take only a fraction of the petitions filed with them, so five arguments is a concrete marker of appellate work at that level.

Brian E. King is an appellate and civil litigator in state and federal courts. He holds a J.D. and an M.S. His work includes the brief in United States v. $506,641 in United States Currency, a forfeiture case that involved the seizure of over half a million dollars from a small business owner.

Eric J. Anderson has been a Litigation Associate at the firm since 2007. He handles civil and criminal cases throughout Illinois and works a matter through to its disposition. His matters include breach of contract, fraud, probate, Secretary of State hearings, forfeiture claims, and appeals of DCFS indications. He drafts and argues motions in both civil and criminal litigation.

A small bench

Three attorneys is a small bench, and the site is direct about that number. The value of a small firm often comes down to who actually handles the file. Here the named attorneys cover trial work, appellate briefing, and motion practice between them.

What the named cases show

The firm names specific matters, and each one points to a real docket. Stephen Komie handled the defense of Sandra Fabiano on child abuse charges and the defense of Roland Breault and John Carroccia on murder charges. Those cases were reported in the Illinois media.

The forfeiture brief that Brian King prepared belongs to a particular corner of federal practice. Civil forfeiture actions name the property itself, which is why the case reads as United States v. a sum of currency. Recovering seized funds turns on documents, timing, and a claimant's ability to show a lawful source, and the firm has done that work.

As a reviewer, I find these named matters the most solid part of the firm's public record. A criminal defense case reported in the press and a federal forfeiture brief are checkable facts.

How this kind of work generally proceeds

A criminal case in Illinois moves through arrest or indictment, arraignment, pretrial motions, and then either a plea or a trial. Motion practice, the drafting and argument that Eric Anderson handles, often decides what evidence a jury ever hears. That stage carries weight well before any trial date.

Appeals run on a separate track. An appeal reviews the record made in the trial court, so the briefs and the argument matter far more than new testimony. Stephen Komie's five arguments before the Illinois Supreme Court and Brian King's appellate work both point to that written, record-based side of litigation.

Family and probate matters follow their own path through the county courts. Divorce cases in Illinois address property division, parental responsibilities, and support, which are the categories the firm names. Probate and estate litigation turn on wills, accountings, and the duties of executors and trustees. The firm handles all of these alongside its criminal work.

Where the firm works

The office is in Chicago, and the firm works across Illinois. Federal criminal cases, forfeiture actions, and appeals can pull a lawyer well beyond a single county, and the firm presents itself as ready for that travel. Komie and Associates names Peoria, Springfield, Quincy, Bloomington, Rockford, and Belleville among the Illinois cities it serves. It also appears in federal courts throughout the United States.