Jamaal R. Buchanan

Jamaal R. Buchanan joined Corboy & Demetrio as an Associate Attorney in 2022 after prosecuting more than 100 bench trials and several jury trials as a Cook County prosecutor.

He also was personally selected to work as a Special Prosecutor within the Community Justice Center Division and assisted with Task Force cases within the Financial Crimes Unit.

Most recently, Mr. Buchanan worked as a Senior Attorney with Kopka Pinkus & Dolin, representing clients in general insurance defense, commercial litigation, transportation, and premise liability matters for household names such as FedEx and Mariano’s.  

Prior to that, he worked as a trial attorney at Mulherin Rehfeldt & Varchetto where he represented major insurance companies in personal injury and subrogation matters involving multiple defendants.

Mr. Buchanan has broad experience in other areas of the law, including working as an investigator for the State Bar of California’s Office of Chief Trial Counsel, reviewing and investigating ethics complaints filed against attorneys.

Also, from 2010 to 2020, Mr. Buchanan founded and ran Buchanan Management & Consulting, providing legal and business consulting services for entertainers and industry related companies and serving as Principal Manager of more than 25 actors.

While working in California, Mr. Buchanan worked as a Sr. Litigation Law Clerk at famed lawyer Johnnie Cochran’s law firm in Los Angeles from 2006-2009.

Mr. Buchanan received his J.D. from Vermont Law School in 2002 following a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice/African American Studies from Bradley University in 1999.

During his undergraduate education, Mr. Buchanan served as an intern at the City of Chicago Law Department, the Chicago Board of Elections, and the Public Defender Service in Washington D.C. 

Mr. Buchanan is very involved in the community, as a volunteer Co-Coach of the St. Ignatius College Preparatory Mock Trial Team in 2016-2017 & 2019-2020.

He’s served on the boards of Project Syncere, The Yellow Tractor Project, and the Erica Hubbard Foundation, and he currently serves on the board of  The Joel Hall Dancers & Center.

He has also served on the Board of Talent Managers Association, a trade association for talent managers.

In 2021, Mr. Buchanan was selected to The National Black Lawyer Top 100 – Illinois. He is the recipient – twice - of the Archbishop James P. Lyke African American Male Image Award, which he received as a student at St. Ignatius College Prep High School and again in 2015.

Mr. Buchanan is an avid Chicago sports fan who also enjoys traveling, exploring new restaurants, museum exhibits, and Chicago theatre. He is the father of four children, ages 21, 10, 6 and 2.

Honors

The National Black Lawyers Top 100 - Illinois

Archbishop James P. Lyke African American Male Image Award 

American Jurisprudence Award for Capital Punishment

Professional Affiliations

American Bar Association

Chicago Bar Association

Cook County Bar Association

Illinois State Bar Association

Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity

National Bar Association

Community Involvement

St. Ignatius College Prep Mock Trial Team, Assistant Coach

The Erica Hubbard Foundation, Board Member

Joel Hall Dancers & Center, Board Member

Project Syncere, Founding Board Member (Recording Secretary, 2015-2017)

Talent Managers Association (Recording Secretary, 2013-2014)

The Yellow Tractor Project, Board Member (Marketing Committee Chairman, 2015-2017)

Practice Areas

Clerkships

• Judicial Extern, Hon. W. Thomas Rosemond, Jr., Antitrust Division, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 2000
• Judicial Extern, Hon. Lee Preston, State of Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County, 2001

Education

Vermont Law School, J.D., 2002

Bradley University, B.A., 1999

Bar & Court Admissions

• State of Illinois, 2011
• U.S. District Court for Northern District of Illinois, 2011