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Team: Attorneys Attorneys
Education

  • Southern Illinois University School of Law (J.D., 1994)
  • Illinois State University (B.S., 1991)

Admissions

  • Illinois
  • United States Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois

Sean Michael Smoot currently serves as Director and Chief Counsel for the Police Benevolent & Protective Association of Illinois (“PB&PA”) and the Police Benevolent Labor Committee (“PBLC”). In those capacities Sean is responsible for administering the provision of legal services for over 7,500 legal defense plan participants. As the organizations’ primary legislative advocate, Sean writes legislation, testifies before legislative bodies, and speaks often regarding police related topics such as, Public Employment Labor Law, Pension & Benefits Law, Section 1983 Civil Rights Litigation, and Police Use of Force. Sean also serves as an Area Vice President of the National Association of Police Organizations (“NAPO”), a national law enforcement advocacy group representing over 250,000 police officers.
 
Mr.  Sean holds several Certificates in Police Union Leadership from Harvard Law School. On November 13, 2015, Sean was appointed by Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner to serve on the Illinois Commission on Police Professionalism.
 
Sean is very honored to have served as a police and public safety policy advisor to the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Teams. Sean was appointed by the President of the United States to the Task Force on 21st Century Policing on December 18, 2014.
 
A nationally recognized subject matter expert regarding police related topics, Sean speaks regularly at state, national, and international forums regarding community policing, public safety, and public employee labor and pension issues and Sean has written several articles for police publications and newsletters. Sean co-authored “Police Leadership Challenges in a Changing World” published in July 2012, and authored a contribution to the Special Report titled “Mending Justice: Sentinel Event Reviews” published in September 2014, both by the US Department of Justice and the National Institute of Justice. A proud veteran himself, Sean has also been a featured speaker at the National Academy of Arbitrators and several CLE programs regarding the Rights of Military Employees.
 
Sean holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice Sciences from Illinois State University and his Juris Doctor degree from the Southern Illinois University School of Law, where Sean served as the Business Editor of the SIU Law Journal.
 
Early in his career Sean served as an elected Alderman and the Police Commissioner in Leland Grove, Illinois, for twelve years.

Memberships & Associations

  • Director and Chief Counsel for the Police Benevolent & Protective Association of Illinois (“PB&PA”) and the Police Benevolent Labor Committee (“PBLC”)
  • Cleveland and Baltimore City Police Departments' consent decree monitoring teams member
    21st Century Policing, LLC, Principal Consultant
  • National Association of Police Organizations (“NAPO”), Area Vice President
    Advisory Committee for the National Law Enforcement Officers' Rights Center in Washington, D.C. ,1996 - present
  • Member of the Executive Session on Policing and Public Safety at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University 2008 - 2014
  • Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Annual Illinois Public Sector Labor Relations Law Program, Advisory Committee member
  • Use of Force Advisory Committee
  • Police Pursuit Advisory Committee
  • Racial Profiling Advisory Committee
  • Task Force on Police Integrity for the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board
  • Illinois Commission on Police Professionalism, appointed by Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner
  • Police and public safety policy advisor to the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Teams
    Appointed by the President of the United States to the Task Force on 21st Century Policing

Recognition

  • Early in his career he served as an elected Alderman and the Police Commissioner in Leland Grove, Illinois, for twelve years.
  • Super Lawyers: Rising Stars 2008-2009
  • Top Employment & Labor Attorneys in Illinois” by the publishers of Chicago magazine.

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