Robert A. Creamer retired in January 2006 as Vice President - Loss Prevention Counsel, of Attorneys’ Liability Assurance Society, Inc., a Risk Retention Group (“ALAS”), Chicago, Illinois, which he joined in January 1994.  From 1967 to 1993, he practiced with the law firm of Keck, Mahin & Cate in Chicago, concentrating in commercial litigation, arbitration, and appeals.  He is a member of The American Law Institute; the American Bar Association; the Chicago Bar Association; the Illinois State Bar Association; the Maritime Law Association of the United States; the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers; the Appellate Lawyers Association; the Lawyers Club of Chicago; and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. He is a graduate of Northwestern University (B.A., 1963) and Harvard Law School (LL.B., 1967).

       While in private practice, he served as an arbitrator in numerous matters for the American Arbitration Association, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, the National Futures Association, and the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Mandatory Arbitration Program.  During the last decade of his practice, he devoted a substantial part of his professional time to insurance coverage matters involving asbestos and environmental liability.    

       He is an adjunct professor of law, teaching legal ethics, at Northwestern University School of Law.  He has written numerous articles on ethics and professional responsibility.  Recent articles include: “Form Over Federalism: The Case for Consistency in State Ethics Rules Formats,” first published in 13 The Professional Lawyer 23 (Spring 2002) and republished on the American Bar Association Ethics 2000 Web page.  Other recent publications include: “Professionalism: The Next Level,” 79 Tulane Law Review 1539 (2005); “Criminal Law Concerns for Civil Lawyers,” 52 The Federal Lawyer 34 (May 2005); “Minimizing Lawyer Liability in Large Law Firm Real Estate Practice,” 21 The Practical Real Estate Lawyer 41 (January 2005); and “Proposed New Rules of Professional Conduct for Illinois Lawyers,” 92 Illinois Bar Journal 306 (June 2004).  He has been a longtime member of the Committee on Professional Conduct of the Illinois State Bar Association (Chair 1990-91 and 1997-98).  He serves as co-chair of the Illinois State Bar Association/Chicago Bar Association Joint Committee on Ethics 2000, a group that recently submitted recommendations to the Illinois Supreme Court for changes in the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct.