The Southern

HERRIN - Former Herrin resident Eugenia "Gena" Whitson-Owen, 39, a 13-year trial attorney for Smith Amundsen LLC in Chicago, has been selected as one of "Illinois 40 Under 40 Attorneys to Watch." The honor is presented annually by publications, The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and Chicago Lawyer.

Whitson-Owen is a 1988 graduate of Herrin High School, Eastern Illinois University and John Marshall Law School.

Her specialty is defense of construction, product liability and municipal litigation.

Karen A. Enright, a trial lawyer with Winters, Enright, Salzetta & O'Brien in Chicago, said, "As one of only a few women practicing construction defense litigation, Gena shines in

her field and has ob-tained phenomenal results."

Whitson-Owen is a member of the board of directors for the Women's Bar Association of Illinois. She is a former adjunct professor at John Marshall Law School.

In 2008, she received the Meritorious Service Award from the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel after completing a term on its board.

She also is a member of the Associations Judiciary Committee and its Diversity Task Force. Other professional memberships include the Alliance of the Associations for Judicial Screening, Litigation Counsel of America and the Defense Research Institute.

She is the daughter of Judy and Boyd Hampton of Energy and Earl and Nancy Whitson of Johnston City.