Justice Joy V. Cunningham and the Illinois Supreme Court have announced the appointment of Edward J. Underhill as an At-Large Cook County Circuit Judge.

Mr. Underhill was appointed to fill the At-Large vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Timothy P. Murphy effective December 5, 2022. The appointment is effective June 8, 2023, and will conclude December 2, 2024, following the November 2024 general election. 

“Edward Underhill is well-respected for his extensive practice experience in several areas of the law. He is known for being intelligent, of high integrity, excellent temperament, and exceptionally skilled at conflict resolution,” Justice Cunningham said. “These invaluable qualities will inure to the benefit of the litigants and lawyers who appear before him. He will be an excellent addition to our judiciary.” 

Mr. Underhill is a senior partner and chair of the Commercial Litigation Practice Group at Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell, Ltd., where he has worked for parts of five decades since 1984. In this role he represents clients in complex and basic commercial litigation, commercial transactions, and Article 9 ("UCC") disputes and serves as lead-counsel in federal and state courts proceedings, among other duties. He has also served in the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office. 

“I am humbled and excited to be appointed by the Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court and look forward to serving the residents of Cook County as one of their circuit court judges,” Mr. Underhill said.  

Mr. Underhill earned his Bachelor of Arts from Northern Illinois University and received his Juris Doctor from the Northern Illinois University College of Law. 

He has served as an investigatory and hearing officer for the Chicago Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Committee and the Alliance of Bar Associations (representing LAGBAC), as well as served as a court-appointed arbitrator for the Circuit Court of Cook County. Mr. Underhill has served on the Illinois State Treasurer's Advisory Council, representing the LGBTQ+ community, since 2018 and provides pro bono services to indigent members of the LGBTQ community in estate-planning area. He received the NIU College of Law Outstanding Service Award in 2016.