Bio

Jim Geoly is a litigator with broad experience representing religious, social services, health care, and commercial organizations at Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella. He handles cases in state and federal courts at every level and before administrative agencies. He has extensive appellate experience and has filed numerous briefs in the Supreme Court. Mr. Geoly has litigated a variety of issues, concentrating on constitutional law, religious liberty, not-for-profit corporate control, professional and clergy misconduct, insurance coverage, and privilege and confidentiality. Mr. Geoly has represented religious organizations of many denominations, in a wide variety of legal matters. He has successfully represented Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic organizations in legal challenges to clergy discipline. He represented a Catholic religious order in Doe v. Holy See, in which the U.S. Court of Appeals blocked a lawsuit against the Vatican. He has represented Protestant congregations in church property and corporate control disputes. He successfully led the litigation team on behalf of the Chicago Park District in the challenges to the renovation of Chicago’s Soldier Field and the closure of Meigs Field. He authored amicus briefs on behalf of the Illinois Catholic Conference and a diverse spectrum of religious groups, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to limit the application of RICO in cases involving protesters protected by the First Amendment, and urged the Illinois Supreme Court to reject efforts to retroactively revive time-barred clergy misconduct claims. In 1999, he represented the United Methodist Church in its disciplinary trial of Rev. Gregory Dell for performing a same sex union ceremony in violation of the Church’s teachings. Mr. Geoly was a member of the team defending Joseph Cardinal Bernardin in Cook v. Bernardin and defended Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago against a challenge to its adolescent pregnancy prevention grant in the wake of Bowen v. Kendrick. Mr. Geoly also successfully argued the appeal of a First Amendment challenge to defamation claims arising from the clergy discipline process.