George P. McAndrews, the son of a chiropractor whose 55-year career as a trial attorney included serving as lead counsel for the successful chiropractic plaintiffs in the landmark 14-year antitrust case Wilk, et al., v AMA, et al., passed away April 7, 2023, at the age of 87.
Born July 29, 1935, George McAndrews grew up in Clinton, Iowa, and then attended the University of Notre Dame, graduating with a mechanical engineering degree; and subsequently Notre Dame Law School, during which time he served as both editor of the Notre Dame Law Review and chair of the National Council of Law Review Editors.
McAndrews' storied professional legacy, primarily as a patent trial attorney, included numerous victories in high-profile lawsuits. He co-founded McAndrews, Held and Malloy, treating the Chicago, Ill., firm and its employees as his second family for 35 years. In addition to the Wilk case, McAndrews also defended chiropractors / chiropractic on several other occcasions during his career, including ACA, et al. vs. Trigon Healthcare, et al., and Chinnici vs. Central DuPage Hospital Assn.
He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Kathy; five children; 21 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Said Louis Sportelli, DC, a chiropractic icon in his own right:
"In his own view, the crowning achievements of George's lifetime did not occur in a classroom or a sports arena [McAndrews was a high-school basketball and track star). Instead, George was most proud of the family he and Kathy raised and spent so much quality time with over the course of their nearly six-decade marriage. Their legacy as a couple is the love George and Kathy's children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren have for one another.”
"Even as George battled cancer and Alzheimer's disease in his final year and a half, he made a profound and lasting impression on those around him, befriending and bringing smiles to the faces of his fellow residents, the caregivers, and the staff of his memory care facility. George never forgot where he came from … or where he hoped to end up. Rest in peace, Papa George.”
The Jerome F. McAndrews Memorial Research Fund, created by the NCMIC Research Foundation, has been renamed the George P. and Jerome F. McAndrews Memorial Research Fund. It now honors the McAndrews brothers (the latter of whom was a chiropractor, like his father) for their "lifetime support of the scientific and practical advancement of the chiropractic profession." Awards are given annually.
Donations in George McAndrews' name can be made to the NCMIC Foundation, Catholic Charitie, the National Alliance on Mental Health or the National Right to Life Committee.
Editor's Note: For background on the historic Wilk vs. AMA litigation, why it was necessary, and George McAndrews' critical role, read "Dedicated to Defending Chiropractic" here.
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