About Jeff
Jeff Hughes began his academic path with a bachelor’s degree in history from Bob Jones University in 1994. He followed that with a law degree from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, earning his J.D. in 1997. The combination of a liberal arts background and legal training set the stage for a career that moves between courtrooms and boardrooms.
After law school he joined McLario, Helm, Bertling, & Spiegel, S.C. as a litigation lawyer in 1997. Early work there involved traditional civil litigation and courtroom practice. He spent those first years learning trial procedure, discovery strategy and client advocacy in contested matters. The experience anchored his approach to dispute resolution and to advising clients facing legal risk.
Hughes’s career took a turn toward business and technology in the mid-2000s. In 2004 he served as CEO of SterlingSatellite.com, a role that placed him in the operational side of an online enterprise. The next year he became president of BizLab, where he worked on business development and strategy. In 2008 he co-founded Rocket Clicks, moving further into digital marketing and entrepreneurship. Those positions gave him hands-on exposure to the legal and commercial challenges startups and small companies face.
In 2014 Hughes took on a formal leadership role in private practice as managing partner at Sterling Law Offices, S.C. The title reflected both management responsibilities and a continued practice in litigation and business law. He combines firm administration with client work, handling disputes and counseling businesses on transactional matters. Colleagues and clients have described him as practical and steady in managing complex files and firm operations.
Hughes is licensed to practice in both Wisconsin and Illinois. He holds memberships in the State Bar of Wisconsin, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the State Bar of Illinois. Those affiliations align with the geographic scope of his practice and the matters he handles for clients across state lines.
He now practices at Sterling Lawyers, LLC. His current work brings together his courtroom background and his private-sector experience, offering counsel on business litigation and on legal questions that arise from technology, online marketing and company operations.
