Rapoport Weisberg Sims, P.C.
20 N. Clark St.
35th Floor Chicago, IL 60602
(312) 327-9880 www.rapoportlaw.com
Matthew Sims is a shareholder with the firm and a trial lawyer who represents victims and their families in catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases. He has litigated cases in jurisdictions across the country and has tried cases to verdict in several states. He regularly handles high-profile and complex cases, including traumatic brain injury cases, explosions, commercial trucking accidents, defective product cases, construction injuries, medical malpractice, and commercial aviation crashes.
He is currently involved in numerous high profile disasters, including Husky Refinery Explosion, where he is the Court-appointed Lead Counsel for all Plaintiffs, the Boeing 737 Max 8 litigation arising out of the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, where he serves on the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee, the 2019 Ketchikan Alaska Midair Collision, and the 2020 Soldotna Alaska Midair Collision. Recently, he served as co-lead counsel in the crash of US Airways Flight 1702. He is a published author and presenter on aviation crash litigation and also serves on the Executive Committee for the American Association of Justice's Aviation Section. He has been recognized in National Aviation Trial Lawyers "Top 10". Matthew is also one of only a handful of lawyers in the State of Illinois who is Board Certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA).
Due to his experience in representing his clients, Matthew has been selected as an Illinois Super Lawyer Rising Star every year for eight years straight, from 2014 to 2021, a distinction limited to only the top 2.5% of lawyers under the age of 40 in the State of Illinois. He has also been recognized by Best Lawyers in America "Ones to Watch." He has also been repeatedly selected by the National Trial Lawyers as a "Top 40 Under 40" attorney practicing in the field of plaintiff's personal injury, in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.
In addition to representing the injured and their families in the trial court, Matthew has experience with appellate matters in the Illinois Appellate Court, the Illinois Supreme Court, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of the United States.
Matthew originally hails from the western suburbs of Chicago where he grew up and attended high school. He received his bachelor's degree from Purdue University, earning a Certificate of Superior Achievement from the Department of History, before returning to Chicago to attend law school.
Matthew graduated from The John Marshall Law School with his Juris Doctorate, as well as a Certificate in Trial Advocacy, which was awarded to less than 3% of graduating students. At The John Marshall Law School, he won the school-wide Dean Herzog Moot Court Competition. In addition to winning the overall competition which included oral arguments, his legal brief was also recognized as the best written brief of the competition. Supplementing his formal education during law school with practical experience, he clerked for the Cook County Public Defender's Office, as well as the Presiding Judge of the Fifth District of Cook County.
Areas Of Practice
Aviation Accidents
Product Liability
Trucking Accidents
Construction Injuries
Medical Malpractice
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Bar Admissions
Illinois
S. District Court Northern District of Illinois
S. District Court Northern District of Indiana
S. District Court Northern District of Illinois Trial Bar
S. District Court Western District of Wisconsin
S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit
Supreme Court of the United States of America
Court Admissions
U.S. District Court Western District of Texas
U.S. District Court of Alaska
Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Circuit Court of Brown County, Wisconsin
Circuit Court of Dane County, Wisconsin
Fairfax County Circuit Court, Virginia
Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland
Lake County Superior Court, Indiana
Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County, Ohio
Maryland Court of Special Appeals
Education
The John Marshall Law School, Chicago, Illinois
J.D. - 2009
Honors: Certificate in Trial Advocacy
Honors: First Place - Dean Herzog Moot Court Competition
Honors: Best Brief - Dean Herzog Moot Court Competition
Honors: Second Place – American Association of Justice Trial Advocacy Competition
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome – A Truly Life Changing Injury, Legal Examiner 2020
Cockpit Voice Recorder Audio Evidence is Centrally Important in Civil Litigation and Discoverable under 49 U.S.C. § 1154: The Flight 1702 Example, Issues in Aviation Law and Policy, Spring 2019
International Air Accidents Require the Application of Special Laws Governed by the Montreal Convention, Legal Examiner 2019
Cockpit Video Recorders Still Rare, But Highly Useful In Aviation Crash Investigations, Legal Examiner 2018
Put the Phone Down! Distracted Driving Deaths on the Rise in Illinois, Legal Examiner, 2016
Federal Lawsuit Shows Preventable Cases of Lead Poisoning are Still Occurring on the Jobsite, Legal Examiner, 2016
Important Ride-Sharing Questions Come to Surface in Light of $28.5 Million Settlement by Uber After Lawsuit Alleges Background Checks Were Skipped, Legal Examiner, 2016
Appellate Court Relies on Subcontract to Save General Contractor from Construction Negligence Claim, Cassiday Schade Blog; 2014
Post-Ramirez: A Close Focus on the Current State of the 55-Series Illinois Pattern Instructions, IDC Quarterly; 2014
Danger: Res Judicata Ahead - Why Construction Contractors Need to Take a 'Use it or Lose it' Approach to Express Indemnification, and Other Cautionary Tales Arising from Camper v. Burnside Construction, IDC Quarterly; 2014
Illinois Appellate Court Broadens Scope of Anti-Indemnity Act to Protect Illinois Contractors, Cassiday Schade Blog; 2013
Honors and Awards
Illinois Super Lawyer - Rising Star, 2014
Illinois Super Lawyer - Rising Star, 2015
Illinois Super Lawyer - Rising Star, 2016
Illinois Super Lawyer - Rising Star, 2017
Illinois Super Lawyer - Rising Star, 2018
Illinois Super Lawyer - Rising Star, 2019
Illinois Super Lawyer - Rising Star, 2020
Illinois Super Lawyer - Rising Star, 2021
Best Lawyers in America – Ones to Watch, 2020
National Trial Lawyers – Top 40 Under 40, 2017
National Trial Lawyers – Top 40 Under 40, 2018
National Trial Lawyers – Top 40 Under 40, 2019
National Trial Lawyers – Top 40 Under 40, 2020
National Trial Lawyers – Top 40 Under 40, 2021
National Aviation Trial Lawyers – Top 10, 2020
National Aviation Trial Lawyers – Top 10, 2021
Professional Associations and Memberships
Illinois Trial Lawyer Association
American Association for Justice
American Association for Justice – Aviation Section
American Association for Justice – Aviation Section – Executive Committee
American Association for Justice – Admiralty Section
American Bar Association
Chicago Bar Association
Chicago Bar Association – Aviation Section
Illinois State Bar Association
North American Brain Injury Society
National Board of Trial Advocacy – Board Certified in Civil Law