Judge’s Corner
Judge Robert Lopez Cepero

By Steven J. Rizzi

Judge Robert Lopez Cepero was inspired by several of his undergraduate professors at Harvard University to become an attorney. After becoming an attorney, he went into private practice. He has been on the bench for almost 12 years. But Judge Lopez Cepero told me that the best thing that has ever happened to him was meeting his wife, Elizabeth. She is an attorney and also has an L.LM degree in Health Law.

Judge Lopez Cepero has a wide variety of experience as a judge, including sitting in jury and non-jury courtrooms. He is currently assigned to Motion Calendar X in the Law Division.

After talking with Judge Lopez Cepero, it was clear to me that it is his goal to make the practice of law easier and more enjoyable for attorneys. He is aware that there is a difference between the way things are sometimes perceived and the reality of one’s intentions. For example, he implemented several procedures in the past in an effort to assist lawyers, and then later discontinued the procedures when it became apparent that the attorneys did not perceive them as being helpful. He is open-minded and welcomes feedback and suggestions from attorneys regarding procedures that may make life simpler. He is also flexible and believes that there is more than one way to get the job done.

As a Motion judge, his objective is to prevent attorneys from running out of time at the end of a case. He wants to make sure that the discovery is complete before a trial date is set. He has found that the easiest way to do this is to work backwards from the 213 (f)(3) stage. He believes that it is best to focus on completing one task at a time.

Judge Lopez Cepero has implemented a new system known as an Expedited Compliance Call, which is not mandatory and is only used if all parties agree. In order to take advantage of it, the attorneys must sign a certificate of compliance with the previous court order. Under this system the attorneys are able to strike a matter from the regular case management call, and instead enter a standardized agreed order without appearing before the Judge. There are two types of standardized orders, one setting a written discovery schedule and the other setting a deposition schedule with firm dates. A detailed description of the Expedited Compliance Call can be found in the Court Call section of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.

The purpose of the Expedited Compliance Call is to save lawyers time. Judge Lopez Cepero referred to it as a lawyer’s I-Pass when going through case management conferences. It is truly a great idea and perhaps it will be used in other courtrooms.>

Finally, it is worth noting that Judge Lopez Cepero has been active in the Chicago Bar Association. He has lectured and written articles on post-judgment issues. Several years ago he implemented a new CBA seminar entitled “The Art of Drafting Orders.” This was a two-day workshop focusing on drafting orders. Various Law and Chancery Judges participated in the seminar.