Tim Epstein, chair of Duggan Bertsch's Litigation and Sports Law groups, was recently quoted in a March 27, 2012 Chicago Daily Law Bulletin article titled “Lawyers Consider Criminalizing On-Field Battery.” The article discusses the recent movement to allow prosecutors to file criminal charges against athletes who intentionally attempt to hurt other players during competition.

In the article, Tim emphasizes that current legislation already allows prosecutors to file battery charges when the misconduct happens on the field. "There's nothing currently preventing prosecutors from going after these things," Epstein said. "Why have a special statute just for sports? There's already a framework to be able to make that case."

Tim also questions the likelihood of successfully prosecuting an athlete in a criminal case when obtaining a favorable decision as a plaintiff in a civil case is already difficult task. "If we don't have civil cases able to succeed on the merits, how are we going to have criminal cases able to succeed on the merits?"