Profile in Inclusion

Bill DeYoung, Michael Hall and Steve Wood

Leadership, Resilience, Fearlessness: Chuhak & Tecson’s veterans draw on their time serving their country to better serve clients

People often use martial terms when discussing and describing litigation and other adversarial aspects of the law – battles and fights, attack and defend, victory and defeat. But if you ask Chuhak & Tecson litigators Bill DeYoung and Steve Wood and litigation paralegal Michael Hall, all veterans, which words best reflect the impact that their time in the military has had on their current roles, you’ll hear more about character than you will about combat.

“In the military, you’re asked to do extremely difficult things and take on heavy life-and-death responsibilities at a very young age,” Navy veteran DeYoung says. “Knowing that others are counting on you and that you also count on those around you, instills a sense of ownership and resilience and an appreciation of collaboration and leadership. It gives you the confidence that you can handle whatever challenges are thrown at you.”

For former Marine aviator Wood, the eight years he spent in uniform were similarly defined by courage in the face of adversity and the lessons one takes from such formative experiences.

“When you’re thrown into unfamiliar, dangerous or daunting situations, you have no choice but to be resourceful and fearless,” Wood says. “You learn a lot about what you’re capable of, which is a lot more than you perhaps thought you were capable of before serving in the Corps.”

“Discipline,” “focus” and “determination” are the terms Army veteran Hall uses to describe the personal qualities he developed during his time in the service. But it’s the words he doesn’t use anymore that have fueled his personal and professional growth and the ever-upward trajectory of his career.

“You learn pretty quickly to eliminate the words ‘quit’ and ‘can’t’ from your vocabulary,” Hall says. “You draw on your own strength as well as the inspiration of the people around you to find a way to get the job done and you never stop trying to do that job better than you did before.”

All three veterans may have taken divergent paths and their own unique motivations to the military and ultimately to Chuhak & Tecson, but their stories of how their time in the service positively and profoundly influenced their characters and careers are uniformly inspiring to everybody at the firm.

A career in aviation law launched from the deck of an aircraft carrier

When Bill DeYoung enlisted in the Navy in 1970 after graduating from high school, he wasn’t entirely sure which direction he wanted to take with his academic pursuits. However, the son of a pilot knew that he loved aviation and that the Navy could guarantee that he would learn to be a jet mechanic, while also providing him with GI Bill-funded tuition for college after his discharge.

DeYoung quickly demonstrated his aptitude in the mechanics of complex fighter jets, both in training and while serving on a base in Florida and was entrusted with increasing responsibility for keeping planes flying and their pilots safe. In 1972, he reported to the aircraft carrier USS America, which was set to sail to the Mediterranean Sea. The night before the ship was supposed to leave Norfolk, VA, he found out that they were instead heading to Vietnam, where the war was still raging.

The year-long deployment supporting combat missions during wartime left its mark on DeYoung, teaching him the importance of leadership and steeling him against both the stress of non-stop work and the relentlessness of boredom and isolation.

“On an aircraft carrier, work is all there is, especially back then. No email, no FaceTime, no way to connect with your family other than maybe a letter or two every six months,” he recalls. “You have to dig deep to keep your focus and your spirits up, remembering how critical your work is and how much others count on you. But it also requires leadership. If you are asking people to give their all, work late and put aside everything else, whether on a ship or on a case, you need the kind that inspires and motivates, not the kind that is just about barking orders. As I became more of a leader, in the service and then in my legal career, that is what I always aspired to.”

After his discharge, DeYoung went to Northwestern University before pursuing his law degree. In terms of difficulty, both of those endeavors paled in comparison to his time in the Navy and he found that he was well-suited to both academics and the distinguished career in aviation law and litigation that followed.

“I knew the nuts and bolts of aviation and had the hard skills to be a good litigator, but the Navy gave me the fearlessness to do the hard stuff, to never shy away from a challenge,” he says. “When I’m preparing for or trying a complex, high-stakes case or am involved in intense negotiations, I draw on that self-confidence and resolve and have yet to find myself intimidated, overwhelmed or hesitant no matter the headwinds. Those are the qualities that I think most veterans bring to the table, no matter what field they’re in.”

Jets to juries

With a Navy fighter pilot older brother and a lawyer father, Steve Wood’s journey from decorated Marine aviator to co-leader of Chuhak & Tecson’s litigation practice may seem unsurprising or preordained, but neither of those achievements comes simply from family ties – they come from within.

“I had a deep desire to do something meaningful, to serve my country and a cause bigger than myself,” Wood remembers. “I also wanted to challenge myself and really test my limits. That is why I chose to join the Marine Corps.”

And test him the Marines did. From basic training through 18 months of training and flight school throughout his years flying Harrier jump jets and serving as a flight instructor, Wood found himself constantly pushing himself and relying on his inner strength to achieve every objective he was entrusted with.

“I learned a lot about myself and my ability to deal with adversity,” he says. “That has given me immense inner confidence, and being able to draw from that well in my practice adds a fearlessness to my advocacy and a determination to accomplish my mission however my client defines it.”

Wood says that serving in the Marines also exposed him to people he perhaps would not have met, worked with, or befriended otherwise. That aspect of his military experience was profoundly meaningful to him.

“Serving closely, often under demanding circumstances, with people from so many different backgrounds and life experiences gives you a broader, more well-rounded and open-minded worldview that serves you well in your future professional relationships and dealings. It makes you more interesting and it makes you more interested in learning from the perspectives of others. I think that helps me when I am trying to connect with judges or juries and understand where other parties are coming from in a way that can facilitate positive outcomes.” 

Lifting up himself and inspiring others

“I probably got more kids to enter the service than anyone,” Army veteran Michael Hall says with a laugh. As a recruiter in lower-income neighborhoods in New Orleans, Hall forged deep connections with the youths he met, who saw a kindred and inspiring spirit in the soldier who grew up in similar surroundings on the South Side of Chicago.

“I think they saw themselves in me, or at least what their future selves could be, because I was just like a lot of them in high school – a good kid who maybe started hanging out with the wrong crowd or making boneheaded decisions like kids do.”

Hall’s mother, an Air Force chaplain, saw the same thing in his senior year and when he came home one day shortly before graduation, an Army recruiter was waiting for him on the couch.

“My mom just said, ‘You’re going into the military. That’s that,” he recalls. “I will always be grateful for that ‘suggestion.’ It changed the course of my life.”

Hall served in the Army for three years, both in the United States and in Europe, working in a service battery that supported other units and eventually as a recruiter before heading back to Chicago, where he found a job in the mailroom of a law firm. His time in the service provided him with the drive, discipline and determination to continue challenging himself and he soon moved from the mailroom to docket clerk to earning his paralegal certificate from Roosevelt University and becoming an indispensable asset for Chuhak & Tecson’s litigators.

“As a paralegal, you know that your attorneys are counting on you to have their back, to take the initiative and figure out how to solve problems and get things done without needing someone to hold your hand,” he says. “In the Army, you have to trust the people you serve with and they have to trust you to do your job. The determination to find a way no matter what, to never quit and to always strive to do the best possible work is how you earn that trust and I think that has been the foundation of my paralegal career.”

Respect and appreciation for service

All three veterans say that they feel the people at Chuhak & Tecson truly admire and appreciate their service to the country and understand the value that their experiences and perspectives bring to the firm and its clients. Wood says that attitudes about the value and honor of serving are not  universally held.

“Sadly, I have encountered others, in and out of the legal profession, who view military service dismissively, as an anomaly or an oddity,” he notes. “That is far from the case here. People get it and know that service is an asset and something to be proud of. The veterans at this firm  feel appreciated and celebrated for our time in uniform.”

DeYoung agrees. “The recognition that thoughtful, inspiring leadership is irreplaceable for a firm and that many of the qualities that make for a successful attorney are those that are instilled in the military are two of the many reasons I have loved making this firm my professional home.”

Indeed, on Veteran’s Day 2025 and every day, Chuhak & Tecson is grateful for all veterans’ service to our country and is proud that our ranks include these three exemplars of that service.