Overview
Brett M. Henne began his career in 1989 with the Grayslake Fire Protection District, advancing to the position of Fire Marshal, Certified Fire Investigator through the International Association of Arson Investigators, and as a licensed paramedic. From there, he served as an Assistant State’s Attorney for the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office.
- Fire Administration and the Law, College of Lake County, Lake County, Illinois, Adjunct Instructor, 2001-present
- Teen Court Judge, Lake County, Illinois, 2009-present
- American Bar Association
- Products Liability Committee, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, Vice-Chair, 2024-2025
- Lake County Bar Association
- Illinois Bar Association
- Wisconsin Bar Association
- Illinois Fire Chiefs Association
- International Association of Arson Investigators
- Illinois Chapter
- Wisconsin Chapter
- Defense Research Institute
- Society of Trial Lawyers
- “The Process of a Product Liability Lawsuit,” Product Safety & Stewardship Conference and Product Liability Seminar, hosted by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), April 2025
- “Updates on NFPA 921 & 1033 – Legal Standards in Fire Investigations,” 4th Annual Fire Investigators Conference, March 2025
- “Product Liability: The Life of a Potential Fire Claim,” Association of Equipment Manufacturers, Cincinnati, Ohio, April 2023
- “Why Can’t I Testify,” IAAI Indiana Chapter, Indianapolis, Indiana, August 2018
- “Expert Foundation – Arson,” Lake County Bar Association, Lake County Illinois, May 2018
- “Why Can’t I Testify,” IAAI Ohio Chapter, Ohio’s Division of State Fire Marshal, Reynoldsburg, Ohio, March 2018
- “Fire Investigation in Today’s Environment,” Will, Cook, Grundy County Fire Investigation Task Force, Tinley Park, Illinois, March 2017
- “Fire Investigation from a Legal Perspective,” Illinois Fire Service Institute, May 2016
- “Fire Investigation in Today’s Environment,” IAAI Illinois Chapter, Rockford, Illinois, October 2015
- “The Independent Private Investigation and Complex Litigation,” Fire Investigators Strike Force, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, May 2015
- “Arson for Prosecutors,” National Advocacy Center for the National District Attorneys Association, Columbia, South Carolina, October 2010
