About Carol Coplan
Carol Coplan Babbitt trained in the Midwest and has spent more than three decades practicing law in Illinois. She completed a Bachelor of Arts at Indiana University–Bloomington in 1985 and earned her Juris Doctor from DePaul College of Law in 1988. Those formative years set the stage for a career that spans both state and federal courtrooms.
Her early work placed her in the thick of litigation in Cook County and beyond. By the late 1990s she had taken the step of establishing her own practice. In 1997 she became the owner of her firm and has overseen its operations since then. Management and representation have gone hand in hand; she has balanced client work with the responsibilities that come from running a small legal practice.
She is admitted to practice in Illinois and in several federal jurisdictions that serve the state. Those include the Northern, Central and Southern District Courts for Illinois, as well as the Seventh Circuit. She also holds membership in the Federal Trial Bar, a credential that signals sustained involvement in federal litigation. Her memberships in the Chicago Bar Association and the Chicago State Bar reflect a long-standing connection to the local legal community.
Babbitt has supplemented courtroom work with training in alternative dispute resolution. She completed a Mediation Intensive program at Northwestern School of Professional Studies. That training is part of how she approaches case handling today. It informs how she prepares for trials and how she engages opposing counsel and clients in settlement discussions.
Colleagues describe her practice as steady and procedural. She spends time preparing pleadings, arguing motions, and appearing in hearings. She also pursues mediated resolutions where appropriate. The combination of trial experience and mediation training shapes her approach to each matter. She tends to move cases through the system deliberately, attending to both strategic milestones and everyday deadlines.
Outside of court, her memberships keep her connected to developments in Illinois law and federal practice. She participates in bar activities and maintains professional ties across the region’s legal community. That network feeds back into her work, supplying referrals and practical insights she can draw on for clients.
As she continues her practice, she handles matters in Illinois state and federal courts and provides mediation services informed by formal training.
