Board of Directors
Joe Monahan
National NASW Region IX Board Rep.
is co-founder of the law firm of Monahan and Cohen and adjunct professor of law at Loyola University Chicago. He also taught a class on psychiatry and law at Northwestern University for three years. Joe received his bachelor’s and master’s degree in social work from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his law degree from DePaul University.
Joe is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys, the National Association of Social Workers, and the National Association of Counsel for Children. He serves on the executive committee of the National Association of Social Workers’ National Board and is chair of its Personnel Committee.
Joe serves as counsel to the National Private Duty Association and is a member of the Harris Bank Advisory Committee for enCircle. He represents approximately forty-two hospitals in the metropolitan area and provides legal representation and advocacy to numerous outpatient mental health clinics and child welfare agencies in the state.
Joe has authored a portion of a chapter on mental health confidentiality in The Illinois Practice Series, The Law of Medical Practice in Illinois, Third Edition. He also co-authored an article on surrogate decision-making that was recently published in Loyola University Chicago’s Annals of Health Law Special Edition issue.
In addition to trial work, Joe is regularly hired by clients to address problems in the hospital or social service agency setting. Joe conducts audits for clients, identifies issues, and works with administration to solve the issues identified by revising or creating new policies and procedures.
Joe is a frequent lecturer at seminars, in-services, and professional continuing education trainings on topics concerning mental health, confidentiality of records, guardianship, elder abuse and neglect, juvenile issues, ethical issues for social workers, risk management, and other topics relevant to lawyers and social service providers. He has provided trainings and seminars for the Illinois State Bar Association, Chicago Bar Association, Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, National Association of Social Workers, Health Education Network, Lorman Education, and many other organizations.
