Zach (Courtney’s brother) graduated from high school at Mt. Zion and college at the University of Illinois-Springfield. He worked for his grandfather’s construction company for years and continued working in the construction industry as a union fire sprinkler fitter for Local 669 after graduating college.

A couple of years after graduating college, Zach took the law school admissions test not knowing if he would actually attend law school. As luck would have it, he separated his shoulder shortly before the test, forcing him to take a couple of months off work (and also forcing him to take the admissions test left-handed!).

While waiting on his admissions test results, he was hired as a law clerk as a law firm in Decatur. While there, he received his test results and was admitted to the University of Illinois with a significant merit-based scholarship.

Throughout law school, Zach continued working at the same firm as a law clerk. He was hired there as an Associate Attorney after graduation and was promoted to Partner a year later. He remained there until becoming a co-founder of 217 Law LLC in 2025.

Zach’s practice is focused on helping injured clients. Because of his construction background and his own injury, he especially enjoys guiding clients injured at work through workers compensation claims. He also regularly helps clients injured in auto accidents, through slip-and-falls, and as a result of nursing home abuse. Some of the larger cases he has litigated include:

• $1.5 million Construction Accident

• $1.5 million Auto Accident

• $1.25 million Auto Accident

• $1.2 million Auto Accident

In addition, Zach has been appointed to leadership committees of nationwide products liability mass tort/class action cases. He has represented clients throughout the country and has defended or conducted depositions throughout the United States. Collectively, he has helped recover over $48 million for clients through his products liability practice.

Zach is married to Morgan, an ICU nurse. They live in Mt. Zion with their two children, Greta and Vera, and their two goldendoodles, Izzy and Mabel.