as of 6/18/2026 9:04:25 AM

John Frederic Kuenstler

Barnes & Thornburg, LLP
1 N Wacker Dr Ste 4400
Chicago, Illinois 60606-2841

(312) 338-5924

Not available

Date Admitted

November 04, 1993

Illinois Registration Status

Active and authorized to practice law

Malpractice Insurance

In annual registration, the attorney reported that the attorney, or the attorney’s firm, maintains malpractice insurance.

Public Record of Discipline and Pending Proceedings
Case(s) below are identified by caption and Commission case number. If there is more than one case, the cases are listed from most recent to oldest. A case may have more than one disposition or more than one component to a disposition, in which case each disposition and component is also listed separately within that case record, again in an order from most recent to oldest.

Click on
Case Research
to access any documents regarding this lawyer that are in our database. Case Research contains most disciplinary opinions of the Supreme Court and most disciplinary orders and board reports issued since 1990. If Case Research does not contain the information you are seeking, please contact the Commission's Clerk's Office for assistance. Contact information for the Clerk's office is available under Clerk's Office Services.

In re Kuenstler, John Frederic, 04CH0014
Disposition Censure
Effective Date of Disposition 11/17/2004
End Date of Disposition Not Applicable. Censures and reprimands do not affect the authority of the lawyer to continue to practice law.
Definition of Disposition A censure reflects a determination that the lawyer has engaged in misconduct, but that the violation is not so serious to warrant a sanction that would affect the lawyer’s authority to continue to practice law. As a result, censure does not affect the authority of a lawyer to continue to practice law.
Case Summary Mr. Kuenstler, who was licensed in 1993, was censured. While representing a corporate client in an employment discrimination case, he directed an associate to notice a deposition of a witness, and when he later learned that the witness had filed his own discrimination case against the same corporation and was represented by an attorney in that case, he failed to notify the witness’ attorney of the scheduled deposition and took the deposition without the knowledge or consent of the witness’ attorney. Thereafter, in opposing a motion for sanctions based upon that conduct, he raised arguments unsupported by case law or other authority.
Check carefully to be sure that you have selected the correct lawyer. At times, lawyers have similar names. Disciplinary results displayed above, if any, include information relating to any and all public discipline, court-ordered disability inactive status, reinstatement and restoration dispositions, and pending public proceedings. Investigations are confidential and information relating to the existence or status of any investigation is not available. For additional information regarding data on this website, please contact ARDC at (312) 565-2600 or, from within Illinois, at (800) 826-8625.

ARDC makes every effort to maintain the currency and accuracy of Lawyer Search. If you find any typographical errors in the Lawyer Search information, please email registration@iardc.org. Attorneys may make changes to their contact information on the ARDC’s Online Registration page, or by completing and submitting the Change of Address form available on our Address Changes page. Name changes require the filing of a motion with the Supreme Court. Please consult our Name Change Requests page for details.