Since joining the firm in 1970, Francis J. (Jerry) Jahn has been responsible for building and expanding the business practice of Meyer Capel. He served as President of the firm from January 1999 until December 2010.
Jerry is a member of the Illinois State and Champaign County Bar Associations. He served on CCBA's board of governors from 1979 to 1980. Through the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education, he has participated in educational programs in the areas of litigation, business, estate planning and taxes.
In 1986, Jerry was appointed by the Illinois Secretary of State to the Corporate Acts Advisory Committee and served on that committee through 2003. Since 2010, Jerry has consistently been recognized by Leading Lawyers Magazine as being among the Top 10 Downstate Illinois Business Lawyers and among the Top 10 Downstate Illinois Real Estate Lawyers.
Education
A 1967 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, Jerry was winner of the Frederick M. Green Moot Court Competition and the Horner Cup and Waterman Prize for Excellence in Moot Court Competition as a law student. He was also recipient of the Harno Scholarship.
Community and Civic Engagement
Jerry has served two terms on the board of directors of the Champaign Country Club and is a past president of the Tolono, Illinois, Lions Club, the Bottenfield School PTA, and the Champaign-Urbana Youth Hockey Association. For six years, he was a Little League baseball coach. He is a member of the Champaign Rotary Club.
An active member of Faith United Methodist Church in Champaign, Jerry is past president of its Men's Club and has served multiple terms as chairman of the Staff-Parish Relations Committee, as chairman of the Building Committee and as chairman of the Board of Trustees.
Personal Interests
He and his late wife, Helen, a former legal secretary, are the parents of two children, Michael and Amy, and the grandparents of two grandchildren, Stephen and Marybeth Dyson. He enjoys snow skiing and golf, and is a former tennis, baseball, softball, and basketball player.
