Civil Litigation
Contract and commercial disputes, from demand letter through trial, for individuals and small businesses asserting or defending claims where the other side has more resources.
Zielinski Law LLC
Attorney at Law · Carbondale, Illinois
Kevin M. Zielinski · Illinois ARDC No. 6354911
Carbondale, Illinois
Consultations by appointment
The Attorney
Kevin M. Zielinski is an Illinois attorney practicing in Carbondale, at the seat of Jackson County. The firm is deliberately small: every matter is handled by the attorney you hire, from first consultation through final judgment or mandate.
He learned the Jackson County courthouse from the inside. As a Rule 711 law intern with the Jackson County State’s Attorney’s Office, he participated in misdemeanor and felony proceedings, drafted charging documents and motions, and prepared evidence for hearings and trial.
His appellate and regulatory work rests on close, daily reading of courts and agencies. As Associate Counsel for Legal Reform and Oversight at the Institute for Reforming Government, he analyzes appellate decisions and administrative rules, and he has drafted amicus briefing in federal court. He also teaches business law at Southern Illinois University’s College of Business and Analytics.
Credentials
- Licensed in Illinois, ARDC No. 6354911
- J.D., Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School; CALI Award, Advanced Constitutional Law
- B.S., Molecular & Cellular Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Clinical Assistant Professor, SIU College of Business & Analytics
- Associate Counsel, Institute for Reforming Government
Practice Areas
Regulatory & Administrative Law
Agency proceedings, licensing, open-records matters, and regulatory counsel for clients dealing with state and local government, including rulemaking comment.
Appellate Practice
Briefing and argument in the Illinois Appellate Court and reviewing courts, including amicus work. Careful records, disciplined standards of review, and writing built for the panel that reads it.
Criminal Defense, Jackson County
Local defense representation in Jackson County courts, including misdemeanors and traffic matters, by counsel who has worked these cases from the prosecution’s side.
Selected Writing
- Brief for Center for American Rights as Amicus Curiae2025United States v. Dugan, No. 2:25-cr-89 (E.D. Wis.) · Drafter
- SCOWIS 2026 Term in Review2026IRG Court Watch · Co-author
- Behind the Bench: How Wisconsin’s Court of Appeals Judges Actually Decide2026IRG Court Watch · Co-author
- The Wisconsin Administrative Reform Toolbox2026Institute for Reforming Government · Co-author
- SCOTUS Clarifies Scope of RICO’s Civil Cause of Action2025The Federalist Society
Contact
Write or call with a brief description of your matter and any deadlines you are facing.
- kevin@zielinskilawllc.com
- Phone
- (815) 979-3623
- Office
- Carbondale, Illinois · by appointment