FIND AN ATTORNEY WITH THE EXPERTISE, TRIAL EXPERIENCE,
AND HIGH LEVEL OF COMPETENCE YOU NEED
Steve McCollum
STEVE McCOLLUM HAS PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE AS:
Chief Deputy State's Attorney for Lake County, Illinois, in charge of all Criminal Prosecutions
and Prosecutors
Chief of the Felony Review Division
for the Lake County State's Attorney's Office supervising all Grand Jury Proceedings
Chief of the Misdemeanor and Traffic Divisions for the Lake County State's Attorney's Office
Handling Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and Reckless Homicide Charges
Chief of the Juvenile Trial Division for the Lake County State's Attorney's Office (Juvenile Delinquency,
Abuse and Neglect Cases)
Chairman, Lake County Bar Association's
Criminal Trials and Appeals Committee
Former Founding
Member of the Lake County Domestic Violence Council with Extensive Experience Defending Domestic Battery cases and Litigating
Domestic Violence Orders of Protection
Extensive Trial
Experience Including Multiple Trials of First Degree Murder Death Penalty Cases, Reckless Homicide, DUI, Domestic Battery,
Juvenile Court Cases, Drug Charges, Sexual Assault, Felony and Misdemeanor Cases
Extensive Experience in Juvenile Court Proceedings including Petition for Adjudication of
Wardship, Juvenile Delinquency Petitions, Juvenile Neglect and Abuse Petitions; Many Appeals of DCFS Indicated Finding of
Abuse or Neglect
Extensive DUI and Reckless Homicide
Trial Experience
Experience with DCFS Appeals of Indicated
Findings of Neglect or Abuse
Former Member of the 19th
Judicial Circuit Capital Litigation Trial Bar Screening Committee (Appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court)
Former Member of the Illinois Supreme Court's Local Ordinance Rules Committee (Appointed by
the Illinois Supreme Court)
STEVE McCOLLUM IS CURRENTLY:
First Vice-President of the Lake County Bar Association
Member of the Lake County Bar Association's Board of Directors and Executive Committee
Member of Lake County Sexual Assault Coordinating Council
Member of the Lake County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council
Member of the Illinois State Bar Association
Member of the Jefferson Inns of Court
Welcome
to the Law Offices of Steven P. McCollum, P.C. Steve McCollum is a criminal defense attorney with offices located in
Waukegan, Illinois. As a lawyer with over 30 years of experience defending and prosecuting criminal cases Waukegan,
Illinois, Steve McCollum is available to handle felony, misdemeanor, juvenile delinquency, DUI (Driving Under the Influence
of Alcohol or Drugs), traffic, and DCFS cases. Steve has extensive experience, having been both a prosecutor in the Lake County
State's Attorney's Office and a defense attorney. Steve was the principal defense attorney in the law firm of Staben,
Kopsick & McCollum and now with The Law Offices of Steven P. McCollum, P.C. in Waukegan, Illinois, the county seat of
Lake County, Illinois.
If you or someone you care needs to defend against a Criminal Felony or Misdemeanor, Juvenile
Delinquency or Neglect, Driving Under the Influence (DUI), or Traffic charge, it can be difficult to choose between the many
attorneys that claim to have the competence and expertise necessary to successfully defend the case. It is vital that you
look at the background and experience of any lawyer you are consider hiring. There is no worse feeling than the realization
in the middle of your case that your lawyer didn't have the experience necessary to competently defend you.
The primary focus of our office is on the criminal defense of Felony, Misdemeanor,
Juvenile, Driving Under the Influence (DUI), and related matters such as Domestic Violence Orders of Protection. Steve
McCollum worked for 16 years as a prosecutor of Felony, Misdemeanor, DUI, and Juvenile cases, including 12 years as a supervisor
in the Lake County State's Attorney's Office handling serious felony murder and sexual assault cases. Since leaving the Lake
County State's Attorney's office he has 16 years of experience as a criminal defense lawyer defending all types of criminal
Felony, Misdemeanor, Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol (DUI), and Juvenile cases in Lake County, McHenry and Cook counties
in Illinois.
As the Chief Deputy State's Attorney for the Lake County State's Attorney's Office in
Waukegan, Illinois, Steve McCollum supervised all criminal prosecutors and prosecutions in Lake County.
He also personally litigated many of the most serious First Degree Murder, high profile White Collar Crime (Theft, Embezzlement,
and Financial Fraud), Reckless Homicide, and Criminal Sexual Assault cases. He tried many jury trials, including many First
Degree Murder (including seven Death Penalty cases), Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault, Reckless Homicide,
Drug Delivery and Possession, and Financial Crime (Theft) trials.
Other positions held by Steve McCollum in the
Lake County State's Attorney's Office included being the Chief of the Felony Review Division handling the Lake County Grand
Jury proceedings, Chief of the Misdemeanor and Traffic Division where he personally tried many serious DUI and Reckless Homicide
cases, and Chief of the Juvenile Trial Division where he handled and tried juvenile sexual assault, battery, burglary and
other delinquency cases.
As a defense attorney Steve has successfully defended people charged with First
Degree Murder, Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault and Abuse, Reckless Homicide, Child Pornography, Aggravated Criminal Sexual
Assault, large-scale white collar financial crimes (embezzlement and other financial fraud charges), drug charges (controlled
substance charges involving large-scale methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana trafficing charges), DUI and Aggravated DUI,
Battery, Aggravated Battery and Domestic Battery, Violation of Order of Protection, Burglary and many other types of
cases.
Steve was the Chairman of the Lake County Bar Association's Criminal Trials and Appeals Committee
for many years. He is active member of the Lake County Bar Association committees. He currently serves on the Executive
Committee of the Bar Association's Board of Directors and is the 1st Vice President having been elected by the lawyer-members
of the Bar Association. He has been elected to be the President of the Lake County Bar Association in June of 2013.
As a Member of the Illinois State Bar Association Steve was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court for three
terms as one of only four lawyers representing Lake and McHenry counties on the Death Penalty Qualification Screening Committee.
This committee determined which attorneys met the qualifications necessary to handle death penalty cases in Lake
and McHenry counties.
Steve was a founding member of the Lake County Domestic Violence Council, which
set up procedures for the police, prosecutors and the courts for domestic battery cases. As Chief Deputy State's Attorney
he was a member of the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force, which investigated multi-jurisdictional homicide and other major
crimes throughout Lake County. He has been a speaker at several seminars concerning Criminal Law, Juvenile Law, Domestic Violence
Orders of Protection, and Criminal Issues for Family Court Lawyers for the Lake County Bar Association. He was appointed by
the Illinois Supreme Court to a committee to determine new Supreme Court Rules for the State of Illinois concerning local
ordinance violations.
What is most important to you is that this experience translates
into results. Steve has repeatedly convinced Judges to suppress evidence resulting in his client's criminal
charges being dismissed. His past experience working with prosecutors and police has enabled him to convince prosecutors to
dismiss many cases against his clients. His experience in using and cross-examining expert and other professional witnesses,
such as police officers, doctors, psychiatrists, and forensic evidence experts of all kinds has resulted in repeated findings
of "not guilty" in trials in the Lake County court system. Even in cases where there has been substantial evidence
against his clients, Steve has been able to get charges reduced so that the result was a disposition of the case that didn't
affect his clients' lives on a long-term basis.
All clients of the
Law Offices of Steven P. McCollum, P.C. are treated in a courteous, professional manner. We truly care about
what happens to our clients and do our best to vigorously defend them and solve their problems. To do that,
Steve McCollum and his staff use a combination of experience, training, and compassion. We care about all of our clients,
whether you are charged with a relatively minor traffic charge or a major felony.
In addition to criminal and juvenile matters, the Law Offices of Steven P. McCollum, P.C. also handles
a number of DCFS Appeals, civil litigation, personal injury, divorce, and other legal matters, often in conjunction with
other well-known attorneys.
If you have any type of legal matter, please call for an appointment. There
is no charge for the initial consultation. If we are unable to handle your case, we will try to refer you to an attorney
who has the experience and expertise necessary for your needs.
Law Offices of Steven P. McCollum, P.C. 415 Washington Street, Suite 103, Waukegan, Illinois 60085-5564 Telephone: 847-662-2474 Fax: 847-360-9100
Steve McCollum is a well respected Lake County,
Illinois criminal defense and juvenile defense lawyer, with over 30 years of experience as a prosecutor and defense attorney
representing both adult and juvenile clients concerning cases throughout Northeastern Illinois, including the cities of Antioch,
Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Deerfield, Fox Lake, Grayslake, Gurnee, Highwood, Highland Park, Lake Villa, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest,
Lake Zurich, Libertyville, Lincolnshire, Lindenhurst, Long Grove, Mundelein, Round Lake Area, Spring Grove, Vernon Hills,
Wauconda, Waukegan, Zion, and all other areas of Lake County, Illinois. Our experience and types of cases handled includes:
Murder, Robbery, Aggravated Battery, Domestic Battery, Juvenile court cases, Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol (DUI),
Theft, Criminal Trespass, Burglary, Speeding and other traffic charges, DCFS Appeals, Criminal Sexual Assault, Predatory Sexual
Assault, Child Pornography, Solicitation of a Minor, and all other areas of felony and misdemeanor criminal defense, drinking
and driving, and Juvenile Law.
