David (he keeps it informal) summarized this in his statement that “The positive and enduring influence that my grandparents, parents, and others had in forging my decisions and later actions as a lawyer are a huge part of whatever success I have had.”
David received his JD from John Marshall Law School, in Chicago, and has been a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, since 1975. Immediately after successfully taking the Illinois bar examination, in 1975, he joined the law firm of Fruin and Andrews, in Paris, Illinois, and later became a partner, before joining the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois in June,1986. From 1986 until 2019, he was primarily assigned civil cases, involving the United States of America, its employees, agencies and departments, while also handling assigned federal criminal cases, beginning with the Reagan Administration and continuing into the Biden Administration (1986-2024). Between 2019 and his retirement, David served as Chief of the Civil Division for this Office.
He built a solid resume, that could take up about 10 pages, and when he retired, he prepared a thank-you speech that was even longer (and thus never delivered.) In 2024 he received a special Certificate of Appreciation for service to the citizens of the US from Attorney General Merrick Garland, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, and the United States Attorney for the Central District of Illinois. He is still contributing to the legal community today by continuing to serve as an adjunct instructor for the University of Illinois Police Training Institute, in Champaign, Illinois. He also is certified by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board , so that he can serve in this position. These duties include participating with other faculty members in conducting moot court proceedings for police cadets), since 1998.
David has practiced before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States District Court and Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of Illinois, Illinois’ Fourth District Appellate Court, state circuit courts throughout the Central District of Illinois, and the Illinois Supreme Court. A partial list of these cases include appearing as an attorney of record in more than eighteen appeals from 2000 – 2024 (excluding cases from 1986 – 2000) in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and more than one thousand eight hundred cases in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois from February 2021 – 8/31/2024 (excluding cases from 1986 – 02/2021). Hiis awards also include receiving in July 2002 an Award for Superior Service “for exceptional service to the (USDA) Illinois Farm Service Agency in pursuing collection of the largest delinquent farm account.”
He also wrote a chapter in the 1983 edition of Advising Farmers from the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education.
His innovative thinking and speaking abilities also created opportunities to be a speaker and author of various articles for the IL State Bar, Association, and to be a speaker for various attorney training and education courses presented by the Department of Justice.
David also has an engaging way of relating his life stories and it makes for a delightful podcast. In his two interviews he discusses his internships as a newspaper reporter photographer, as a law student authorized to appear in court with a supervisor for the Edgar County, Il. State’s Attorney’s Office, and the Juvenile Division of the Public Defender for Cook County, Illinois, and how they impacted his decision to become a lawyer.
Although he was busy with his caseload, David still managed to carve out a personal life. He , and his wife Becky, collectively have four children, thirteen grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. David also has a stepson from a prior marriage.
David will share all sides of his story in the two interviews. As he has explained, “each case is challenging, some more than others, because every case is different, with different unique issues, that must be analyzed and addressed.
I also have learned that the secret to successful legal writing IS HEADINGS!”
Hear more of his take on a lengthy and honorable career in jurisprudence.
Close Up Radio recently featured former U. S. Attorney David Hoff in two-part interview with Jim Masters on Thursday May 29th at 1pm Eastern, and Doug Llewelyn on Thursday June 5th at 2pm Eastern
Listen to the Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/part-1-close-up-radio-spotlights-retired-and-honored/id1785721253?i=1000710797106
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-close-up-radio-242020413/episode/part-1-close-up-radio-spotlights-278536263/
https://open.spotify.com/episode/52KkHkzYnlzTBLJSY1vEWV
For more information on David Hoff and his legacy simply Google his name and title
Lou Ceparano
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