A. Lou Benassi was born and raised in Taylor Springs, Illinois, a small mining and farming community located near Hillsboro, the county seat of Montgomery County, Illinois. He graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1960. He attended the University of Illinois from 1960-1964 and he graduated with high honors and was awarded a Bachelor of Science in business and finance in 1964. He then worked for Illinois Bell Telephone and the Illinois Department of Public Safety for the next year. In 1965, he entered law school at the University of California at Berkeley, California (Boalt Hall) where he attended for 3 years, graduating in 1968 with a Juris Doctorate.
After graduating from law school, Mr. Benassi returned to Illinois to practice law. He immediately joined a small firm in Peoria, Illinois and in 1970, started his own firm and worked as a sole practitioner until 1980 when he formed the law firm of Benassi & Benassi, P.C., with his wife, Patricia C Benassi.
Mr. Benassi is owner and President of the Peoria firm of Benassi & Benassi, P.C., where he engages in a general civil and trial practice including family and domestic relations, personal injury, workers’ compensation, nursing home negligence, and employment separation agreements. Mr. Benassi is also a trained marital arbitrator.
Mr. Benassi has been selected to the Leading Lawyers Network continuously since 2004 and Super Lawyers continuously since 2006, and was recognized by the DePaul University College of Law in 2007 for his outstanding contribution to the practice of Family Law and his selection as an Illinois Super Lawyer. He is a former chairman of the Family Law Committee of both the Illinois State and the Peoria County Bar Associations and has served on other committees for the Illinois State Bar Association as well.
He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. He has spoken and written on family law topics for the National Business Institute, the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the Illinois State Bar Association’s Law Ed Series, and the Peoria County Bar Association.
Workers’ Compensation
Divorce
Personal Injury/Nursing Home Negligence/Medical Malpractice
Employment Separation Agreements
1980
Illinois, 1968
U.S. District Court Central District of Illinois, 1968
University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, Berkeley, California, 1968
J.D.
University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois, 1964
B.S.
Honors: Graduation with High Honors
Honors: Participant in undergraduate thesis program as senior
Major: Finance
Minor: Economics
Chapter 1, Practical and Ethical Considerations in a Domestic Relations Case, Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, Illinois Family Law, 1976 – Present
Chapter 2, Attorney’s Fees, Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, Illinois Family Law, 1988
Lecturer for Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education on family law on multiple occasions.
Lecturer for Illinois Central College on family law.
Lecturer for Illinois State Bar Association on family law on multiple occasions.
Lecturer for Peoria County Bar Association on family law on multiple occasions.
Lecturer for National Business Institute on family law.
Selected to the Law Bulletin Publishing Company’s Leading Lawyer’s Network continuously since 2004 (To be included, a lawyer must be recognized as one of the top five percent of lawyers who practice in the regional area. Selection is made by other lawyers in the regional area.)
Selected to Super Lawyers continuously since 2006
Recognized by the DePaul University College of Law in 2007 for his outstanding contribution to the practice of Family Law and his selection as an Illinois Super Lawyer
Selected to be a member of the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education Family Advisory Committee
Represented ISBA at ABA Annual Conference on Family Law, 1976
American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
American Bar Association
Illinois State Bar Association
Chairman, Family Law Committee, 1975-76; Special Committee on Legislation, 1975, 1976-77;
Standing Committee on Professional Ethics, 1977
Peoria County Bar Association
Chairman, Family Law Committee, 1977-78
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education
Family Law Advisory Committee, 2003-08
Silberstein & Napoli (Peoria, Illinois), Associate, 1968 – 1970
A. Lou Benassi, Attorney, 1970 – 1980
Alpha Sigma Phi
Our attorneys handle cases for clients throughout the state of Illinois; however, our practice is based primarily in central Illinois including the cities of Peoria, Eureka, Champaign, Bloomington-Normal, Pekin, Springfield, Rock Island, and surrounding areas. Please contact Benassi & Benassi. We are committed to providing positive resolutions to our clients’ legal disputes so they can move on with their lives.
