Principal of this 6 attorney law firm that concentrates its practice in all aspects of Civil Trial Practice and Appeals in all State and Federal Courts in the Northeastern Illinois geographical area with a focus on catastrophic bodily injury and death claims concentrating in the representation of clients in their nursing home neglect, motor vehicle negligence and premises liability claims. The firm also represents clients in their Workers Compensation Act claims and their commercial and residential real estate transactions and associated litigation.

Areas of Practice

Nursing Home Neglect
Nursing Home Abuse
Trucking and Transportation Injuries
Premises Liability Injuries
Workers Compensation
Transactions

Litigation Percentage

95% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Bar Admissions

Illinois, 1982
U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois, 1985
U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit, 1984
Florida, 2021

Education

Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago, Illinois
J.D. - 1982
University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois
B.S. Fin., Bachelor of Science in Finance - 1979
Honors: High Honors

Published Works

Statute of Limitations on Injured Minors' Medical Expense Claims, the Solution, 28 Illinois State Bar Association Tort Trends 3, July, 1992
Written Exculpatory Clauses as a Defense to Tort Claims: A Survey of Illinois Case Law and Pointers to the Practitioner, 28 Illinois State Bar Association Tort Trends 4, March, 1993
Legal Malpractice Issues Facing the Tort Law Practitioner, 29 Illinois State Bar Association Tort Trends 4, April, 1994
House Bill 20 Turns the Petrillo Doctrine Upside Down, 30 Illinois State Bar Association Tort Trends 8, June, 1995
30 ISBA Tort Trends 8, June, 1995
Section 143a of the Insurance Code: A proposed Amendment, 32 ISBA Tort Trends 1, August, 1996
Changes on the Horizon for Trial Lawyers, The Seventh Circuit's Jury Trial Project 42 ISBA Tort Trends No. 3, September, 2006

Representative Cases

Wilson v. Teloptic Cable Construction Co., 314 Ill.App.3d 107, 731 N.E.2d 899, 247 Ill.Dec. 126 (1st Dist., 5th Div.) (2000)
Walters v. Walters, 238 Ill.App.3d 1086, 178 Ill.Dec. 176, 605 N.E.2d 432 (2d Dist.) (1992)
Illinois Founders Insurance Company v. Guidish, 248 Ill. App.3d 116, 187 Ill. Dec. 845, 618 N.E.2d 436 (1st Dist., 4th Div.) (1993)
Argued the appeal of Szymakowski v. Szymakowski, 185 Ill. App. 3d 746, 134 Ill. Dec. 193, 542 N.E. 2d 372 (1st Dist., 4th Div.) (1989)

Classes/Seminars

Co-Chair of the 2013 ISBA Civil Practice & Procedure Section Council's Allerton House Conference at Starved Rock State Lodge. (April 11-13, 2013) The topic was Adaptations of New Technologies to Civil Case Processes.
Speaker at the April 15, 2011 Seminar Don't Lien on Me: A Comprehensive Overview of Liens speaking on Successfully resolving Medicare Liens against Tort claims
Speaker at the November 5, 2010 Seminar Trial Practice from Voir-Dire Through Post Trial sponsored by the Illinois State Bar Association lecturing on Closing Arguments
Speaker at the November 13, 2009 Seminar Insurance Law Update sponsored by the Illinois State Bar Association lecturing on Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Insurance Claims
Speaker at the June 23, 2007 Seminar Uninsured/Underinsured: The Necessary Basics? sponsored by the Illinois State Bar Association lecturing on Uninsured Motorist Claims
Speaker at the May 10, 2004 Seminar The Anatomy of an Automobile Case? sponsored by the Illinois State Bar Association lecturing on issues involving the Bankruptcy of a Party, The Death of a Party and Non-English Speaking Parties
Co-coordinator of the June 20, 2003 Seminar Potpourri of Civil Practice, Tort and Insurance Law Seminar sponsored by the ISBA Civil Practice and Procedure, Tort and Insurance Law Section Councils
Speaker at the April 5, 2001 Insurance Coverage: An Update Seminar lecturing on The Emerging Tort of Bad Faith
Speaker at the May 18, 2000 Seminar An Update for Tort and Insurance Litigators lecturing on Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Arbitrations
Speaker at the June 20, 1997 Tort Law Update Seminar at the ISBA Annual Meeting lecturing on Recent cases involving Legal Malpractice
Speaker at the November 30, 1995 ISBA Professional Liability Litigation Seminar
Speaker at the December 8, 1994 ISBA Third Party Practice Seminar
Speaker at the April 30, 1993 ISBA Recreational Law Update Seminar
Guest panelist on the ISBA Cable Television Program that dealt with the topic area of automobile accident claims. This was filmed on August 21, 1997.
Speaker at the May 3, 2019 Â Illinois State Bar Association Allerton House Conference. The topic was Discovery of Social Media Evidence: Do we need a uniform rule? If so what should its parameters be?

Honors and Awards

AV Peer Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
Selected by peers as a Super Lawyer (2009-present)
AVVO Rated 10 out of 10 since 2012
Selected to The American Society of Legal Advocates
Elite American Lawyers
Professional Associations and Memberships
Illinois State Bar Association Board of Governors, 2012-2013; 2014-2017; and 2019-present.
Illinois State Bar Association Assembly, 2010 - 2014
Illinois State Bar Association Civil Practice & Procedure Section Council, Member, June 2007-2013, , 2017 to present; Chair 2011-2012; Board of Governors Liaison 2016-2017
Illinois State Bar Association Insurance Law Section Council, Member, June 1995-June 2004; Chair, 2002-2003
Illinois State Bar Association Tort Law Section Council, Member, 1989-2015, 2018; Co-editor of Tort Trends, the publication of the Tort Law, June 1999-June 2003; Board of Governors Liaison June 2015 to 2017 and 2019 to present
Illinois State Bar Association Elder Law Section Council-Board of Governors Liaison, June 2015 to 2017
Illinois State Bar Association Standing Committee on Professional Conduct-Board of Governors Liaison, June 2014 to 2017 and 2019-present
Illinois State Bar Association Standing Committee on Military Affairs-Board of Governors Liaison, June 2014 to June 2015
Illinois State Bar Association Intellectual Property Section Council-Board of Governors Liaison, June 2014 -June 2015
Illinois State Bar Association's Standing Committee on Judicial Evaluations, Member, 1998-2000
Illinois Bar Foundation Board of Directors, 2014 - Present
Illinois Bar Foundation, Treasurer, 2017 - Present
Illinois Bar Foundation , Co-chair of the 2015 GALA Fundraiser
Illinois Bar Foundation, Platinum Fellow
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
American Bar Association
American Bar Foundation, Lifetime Fellow
American Association For Justice
The National Trial Lawyers
Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum
The Decalogue Society of Lawyers
Chicago Bar Association Civil Practice Committee, Member, 1992-1999; Chairperson of Division IV and Division I, 1997-1998; Chairperson, 1995-1996
Chicago Bar Association Civil Practice Committee, Member, 1993-1999
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, 2018
U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, 2019
Elected Member of the National Board of Directors of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Foundation, 2019-present.