Shawn M. Collins

Shawn M. Collins

A deeply devoted family man and passionate seeker of justice for victims of environmental harm, Shawn Collins fearlessly chased his life passions alongside Meg, his wife and soulmate. Born on December 8, 1957, Shawn was the oldest son of Jack and Rosemarie Collins and grew up in Lisle with his six siblings. From a very young age, Shawn demonstrated an extraordinary work ethic and was a pioneering overachiever. By the time he had reached the fifth grade, Shawn had created and managed two businesses: a successful paper route with his older sister Mary and a neighborhood lawn mowing business he later passed on to his younger siblings.

Demonstrating a precocious independence, as an eighth grader, Shawn applied for and obtained an academic scholarship to high school at the prestigious St. Ignatius College Prep that required him to commute to Chicago each day for two years from his Lisle home. Dedicated to his youthful love of basketball, Shawn was a four-year starter in high school and worked tirelessly on his craft. Inspired by his family's love of Notre Dame, he gained admittance to—and paid his own way through—this distinguished university, where he graduated summa cum laude in 1980. After a short professional stint as a CPA, he was admitted to one of the nation's top law schools, the University of Chicago Law School, where he graduated in 1986.

Professionally, Shawn had the courage of his convictions and consistently bet on himself by taking principled risks. Initially, Shawn yearned to be a public servant. Inspired by the vision of the nobility of public service articulated by President John F. Kennedy, in 1986, as a 28-year-old law student, Shawn embarked on a quixotic run for the (former) Fourth Congressional District seat. After winning a contested primary with an underfunded but enthusiastic campaign—and then having to politely but firmly reject calls from party bosses to withdraw from the race in deference to a party leader who had opted not to run in the primary—Shawn ran a spirited general election campaign but narrowly lost. A second unsuccessful attempt for elected office, this time in a 1990 race for Illinois Comptroller, caused him to redirect his public service instincts to a legal career that served individual victims.

After beginning his legal career at Mayer Brown and Platt, Shawn founded The Collins Law Firm in Naperville. For over 32 years, Shawn led the firm by example with his indominable work ethic and keen legal judgment. The firm found its soul in the early 2000s when Shawn and his law partner Ed Manzke proudly led the legal fight on behalf of Lisle residents against the Lockformer Corporation site that contaminated the drinking water of local families. Shawn's successful leadership of that case and vindication of his clients' rights inspired a 20+ year commitment to represent individuals and families pursuing environmental justice. More recently, Shawn and his firm were leading trial team members of the 2022 verdict in the Sterigenics environmental litigation in which the largest single verdict in Illinois history was obtained, which was then followed by a record setting settlement for hundreds of families sickened by the contamination. Through all the cases, Shawn was driven by a fierce desire to represent average working people and a relentless desire to fight for environmental justice. And while he never practiced law for accolades, he received the 2023 Trial Lawyer Excellence Award from the Jury Verdict Reporter, was chosen as a national Environmental MVP in 2023 by Law 360, and had been selected as the 2025 president of the Environmental Trial Lawyers.

On the family front, in 1986, Shawn married the love of his life, Meg (nee Goerner), whom he worshipped and honored for 38 years of their loving and devoted marriage. While they were both Notre Dame graduates, Shawn first met Meg after graduation at a Chicago bar in which he approached Meg and told her that he just picked up the bar's ringing pay phone and that Meg's mother was on the line. While Meg certainly didn't fall for the cheesy line, she did become enamored with Shawn, his goofy sense of humor, his outsized personality, his love for family, and his desire to change the world for the better. Simply put, they were soulmates, and throughout their married life, they were partners in everything, looking to each other for counsel in matters big and small. Meg was the only individual, lawyer or otherwise, to whom Shawn consistently yielded.

A lover of Bruce Springsteen, good movies, Italian food, and simple evenings at home, Shawn lived for his family, wife Meg and daughters Cat, Cassidy, and Darcy. Together, Meg and Shawn built their family life around raising their three wonderful girls, each of whom inherited Shawn's independent gene. Ever doting and dedicated, Shawn reveled in the adventures of being a "girl dad" and lived his entire life to love, protect, and provide for his daughters. He was their biggest champion in all of their activities from sports to academics, was always eager to help them in ways big or small, and was enormously proud of each of their achievements as they began embarking on independent lives and careers. After the girls left the nest, after a day at the office, Shawn spent all his time with Meg, whom he called his best friend, doing simple things like going out to eat or binge-watching favorite television shows like the "West Wing". After all these years, they were still in love and inseparable, and Shawn's loss leaves a huge hole in his family's heart that will never be filled.

With his innate ability to quickly evaluate the relative merits of a legal or life issue, Shawn was a long-time mentor and trusted advisor to his siblings and extended family. As the first lawyer in the family, Shawn regularly and patiently dispensed pro bono legal services to his parents, siblings and in-laws on legal matters big, small and (often) frivolous.

On December 15, 2024, Shawn was called home after a valiant battle following a heart attack he suffered at home over the Thanksgiving holiday. Shawn is survived by his wife Meg, daughters Cat (Tom), Cassidy and Darcy, as well as his mother Rosemarie (Jack, deceased) and siblings Mary (Brian), Kathleen (John), Bridget (Hal), Monica (David, deceased), Patrick (Helena) and Thomas (Kelly). At Shawn's request, funeral services will be private, though he will be warmly celebrated by his heartbroken family in a manner that will do justice to his extraordinary life that ended all-too-soon. May he rest peacefully in a legacy of family love, the fearless pursuit of passions, and a professional commitment to meaningful causes.

In lieu of flowers, the family would ask that you consider a donation to Jameson Humane, a California rescue ranch founded by Monica, Shawn's sister, or Horizons For Youth, a scholarship and mentoring program for Chicago youth co-founded by Patrick, Shawn's brother.