About Brad
Brad was born in 1976 in the Chicagoland area and from an early age, he embraced life and having fun. He loved to be outside, play with his friends, and particularly enjoyed all sports. In high school, Brad was a varsity football player and basketball player and was an all-star on the court, in the field, and in the classroom. Brad was one of few people in the world who embraced not one, but two nicknames in high school that stuck with him most of his life. Brad was affectionately known to most as either “the Moose” or “Yard”. Brad had too many friends to count as he was kind, gentle, and always fun to be around. While LeBron took his talents to South Beach, Brad decided to take his to Austin and went to the University of Texas. Brad became an avid Longhorns fan, received his BS in Electric Engineering, and fostered lifelong relationships while at the university. Upon graduating, Brad moved to the center of the universe, Champaign-Urbana, where he attended the University of Illinois College of Law. Brad excelled in law school and graduated cum laude and moved back to Chicago and began his legal career at the prestigious law firm, Jenner and Block.
Brad found his calling in the practice of law and was an all-star. As the managing partner of Jenner and Block said “Brad handled a variety of matters, from complex commercial disputes to difficult pro bono criminal cases. He excelled at everything. As both an associate and later as a partner, Brad worked hard, had the ability to win the confidence of our clients, and very importantly, was a tremendously good lawyer.” While Brad loved defending his corporate clients, he found a personal calling in pro bono work and helping those that were under - represented and aggrieved by the justice system. His pro bono clients were mostly minorities, many of whom had been wrongly accused and denied proper treatment under our justice system. Brad was passionate about his work and believed everyone deserved a fair trial and proper representation. One of Brad’s corporate CEO clients summed him up best when she said “Brad was an outstanding soul with a wonderful heart.”
On a personal level, Brad was quite simply the best son, uncle, nephew, cousin, brother and friend. He loved life, was an avid traveler and love to experience the outdoors. Among some of his favorite places to visit were Jackson Hole, Cabo San Lucas, Austin and Laguna Beach. He played basketball, tennis and golf and enjoyed going to sporting events, a great hike, his peloton bike, good restaurants and music. He was a huge sports fan, especially of the White Sox, Bulls, Bears and his beloved Horns. He had a wittiness and charm about him that was contagious. Brad could make anyone laugh, could quote every line from Larry David, Seinfeld and the Big Lebowski on command. He cared about his family, friends and colleagues and if you needed a friend for advice or someone to make you feel better, Brad was always there. He received an outpouring of love and support for the 2 years that he battled brain cancer. Brad never complained or said “why me”, but he just got on with each day and tried to live and make the most of his life. We hope this foundation will honor Brad’s memory and support organizations that embody Brad’s life and his commitment to others.
PRO BONO WORK
Jenner & Block attorney who enjoyed pro bono dies at 43
By John McNally
Posted December 30, 2019 10:43 AM
As an associate at Jenner & Block in the early 2010s Yusim, along with now-former firm partner Jeffrey A. Koppy, took on Texas death-row inmate Jimmie Urbano Lucero’s case pro bono.
“We spent a lot of time together working on that case,” Koppy recalled. “We’re down in the heart of Texas, not a very sympathetic place to be defending a murderer on death row.”
In the beginning, Lucero did not trust the attorneys. But Yusim persisted.
“Brad was really skilled with the charisma that he had. He got Jimmie to open up and trust us a little bit more,” Koppy said.
Then Yusim and Koppy got to work interviewing people involved in Lucero’s case and found that during the penalty phase of his trial in Texas, important evidence such as the client’s cognitive function and the lack of hours worked on the case by Lucero’s defense attorney — less than 40 hours over several years, according to Koppy — required a habeas corpus petition.
“Brad put that together and laid out the evidence,” Koppy said. “Brad took the lead. In the end, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, with the consent of the prosecutors, agreed to take him off of death row. They granted the petition of habeas corpus and Jimmie agreed to it.
“Brad literally saved his life,” Koppy said. “Jimmie didn’t trust us and didn’t talk to us until Brad started talking to him. Brad went down there and spent a lot of his time with him. It took away from opportunities Brad had to work on other cases with paying clients. But, it’s because he believed in this guy getting a fair shake that he was able to communicate for him and present the evidence in a persuasive, compelling way that it literally ended up saving (Lucero’s) life.”
Yusim, 43, died Dec. 11 from glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain
cancer.
Yusim graduated from the University of Texas with an electrical engineering degree and earned his J.D. from University of Illinois College of Law in 2002.
Yusim joined Jenner & Block as an associate in 2002 and became a partner in 2010. He focused his career on complex civil litigation with cases that ranged from business fraud, tortious interference with business expectancy, partnership and contract disputes, patent infringement and trade secret cases as well as Fifth Amendment regulatory takings.
Jason Rosenberg, the managing director with the diversified investment management platform firm of Sterling Partners, met Yusim when they were 6 years old and he saw first-hand how much practicing law meant to his life-long friend.
“He was more like a brother to me than a friend,” Rosenberg said. “He loved advocating for his clients. He specifically relished his pro bono work where he got to help disadvantaged folks and those aggrieved by the system. He was so passionate about that and he chose Jenner & Block because they encourage pro bono work.”
Jenner & Block partner David Bradford worked with Yusim on four cases that went to trial — among dozens of other cases that didn’t go to trial — and believes he was one of the best legal brief writers at the firm.
“He was on a terrific trajectory, he just kept getting better every year,” Bradford said. “He was a great lawyer. He always focused on the critical issues and had great judgment about picking out what was important to the case.
“When Brad wrote briefs somehow the first two paragraphs would win the argument right there,” he said. “You would read those first couple of paragraphs and you’d say ‘I get it.’ He wrote clearly and thoughtfully.”
Bradford noted that there was an “outpouring” of support and emotion from numerous clients they’d helped together.
“He was just terrific in a courtroom,” he said. “He was able to get people to acknowledge things that they might not want to acknowledge because of his examination skills and the straight-forward way he approached things.”
Koppy, now legal counsel for General Motors, remembers a true friend and colleague that went the extra mile for all his clients.
“Brad was more patient. He just had a way of connecting with people. He was able to connect with Jimmie Lucero,” Koppy said. “He just had a charisma about himself professionally and outside of work where people were drawn to him, felt comfortable and trusted him.