About William
William Wolf studied political science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, earning his B.A. in 1990. He continued his law school training at Chicago-Kent College of Law, the place he acquired his J.D. in 1993. Those years established the academic basis he introduced to public defense work and later private practice.
After law school he joined the Cook County Public Defender’s Office as an assistant public defender in 1993. He spent his early profession in courtrooms dealing with felony cases on behalf of indigent clients. That work shaped both his trial instincts and his understanding of how prosecutorial selections have an effect on humans’s lives. He later moved into private practice, bringing that trial experience to clients dealing with state and federal charges.
Wolf’s bar admissions include Illinois, the Northern District of Illinois, the Seventh Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Those admissions reflect a tradition that has operated in trial and appellate settings. He has been active in professional organizations associated with felony defense and the wider legal network. He served as president of the Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers from 2010 to 2012 and spent three years on the board of administrators of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, from 2017 to 2020. He has been a member of the Women’s Criminal Defense Bar Association since 2009 and joined the Chicago Bar Association in 2017.
Colleagues describe him as someone who depends on trial experience instead of concept. He has moved among public service and personal work however has remained centered on criminal protection. That continuity shows in how he approaches instances: pragmatic, grounded in process, and attentive to the client’s immediate needs.
He now operates a solo practice, The Law Office of William Wolf, LLC. In that placing he handles matters that occur in state and federal structures, and he continues to litigate in both trial courts and on attraction when wanted. His practice mixes the habits of a former public defender—quick triage, heavy court time—with the case-management needs of private practice.
Wolf maintains memberships in organizations that form criminal defense practice and remains engaged in legal circles in Chicago. He advocates for clients in felony things in state and federal courts and concentrates his current practice on felony defense and appellate work.
