{"id":47,"date":"2018-02-09T18:50:59","date_gmt":"2018-02-09T18:50:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/18www20.nicolaydart.com\/nd\/?page_id=47"},"modified":"2026-04-21T17:04:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T23:04:32","slug":"our-professionals","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nicolaydart.com\/nd\/index.php\/our-professionals\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Professionals"},"content":{"rendered":"

JOHN D. NICOLAY <\/strong>has been a partner of the firm since its founding in 2005.\u00a0 Prior to that, he directed state governmental representation at Winston & Strawn LLP for seven years.\u00a0 Previously, he served as general counsel to Illinois Senate President James \u201cPate\u201d Philip, where his responsibilities included staffing and operations for the Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee.<\/p>\n

Prior to his work with the office of the Senate President, he served as a legislative liaison for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, where he helped secure passage of more than 50 pieces of legislation, including major sentencing and evidentiary reforms. He also served as an Assistant State’s Attorney and practiced in the area of commercial and governmental litigation at Shefsky & Froelich, Ltd.\u00a0 In addition, Mr. Nicolay served as a Legislative Aide to former Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson and as a special assistant to Governor James R. Thompson.<\/p>\n

Mr. Nicolay has represented major corporations, trade associations, and entrepreneurs in the General Assembly.\u00a0 He also has negotiated and litigated on behalf of clients before municipal and administrative law tribunals.\u00a0 He is a frequent speaker on legislative process and governmental ethics, and served as outside ethics counsel to the Senate President.\u00a0 Mr. Nicolay is the co-author of Effective Dates of Illinois Legislation<\/em>\u00a0in the Handbook of Illinois Administrative Law<\/u><\/em> (Illinois State Bar Association, 2001).<\/p>\n

In January 2008, Mr. Nicolay was named as a \u201cRising Star\u201d in the Illinois Super Lawyers\u00a0<\/em>edition of Chicago Magazine<\/u><\/em>, having been nominated by fellow members of the Illinois bar.\u00a0 Since February 2019, he has been named a \u201cSuper Lawyer\u201d each year in the area of Government Affairs in the same publication and was the only state government lobbyist so honored.<\/p>\n

Mr. Nicolay is past President and serves on the Board of Directors of The Advocacy Group, an international governmental affairs organization.\u00a0 He serves as the Vice-Chair of the Illinois Governor\u2019s Mansion Association, a not-for-profit corporation which administers the public use of the Governor\u2019s Mansion in Springfield and the Hayes Mansion in DuQuoin.\u00a0 Additionally, John is a member of the Board of Directors of the 100 Club of Illinois, which supports the families of first responders killed in the line of duty. He also serves as an Advisory Director to Farnsworth Group, a national full-service engineering, architecture, and survey firm. John has also served as Chair of the Board of Trustees of MacMurray College, served two terms on the Board of Directors of the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce, and served on the Board of Directors of Intermountain Corporate Affairs Company. He is honored to serve on the Advisory Board of Misericordia\/Heart of Mercy Home in Chicago, a residential facility for over 600 developmentally disabled children and adults, which is a pro bono <\/em>client of the firm.<\/p>\n

Mr. Nicolay received a B.S. in history and political science from MacMurray College and a J.D. from DePaul University College of Law. He is admitted to practice in the Illinois Supreme Court and the United States District Court for the Northern, Central, and Southern Districts of Illinois.<\/p>\n

In 2010, Mr. Nicolay was selected by his peers to serve as Speaker of the Illinois Third House, which is the trade organization for Illinois governmental affairs professionals.<\/p>\n

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