Matthew Sims
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
Bar Admissions
Court Admissions
Education
Published Works
Honors and Awards
Professional Associations and Memberships
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
- Honors: Quarterfinalist – Buffalo Niagara Mock Trial Competition
- Honors: Trial Advocacy at The Honorable Society of the King's Inn - Dublin, Ireland
- Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
- B.A. - 2006
- Honors: Certificate of Superior Achievement
Published Works
- Toxic Cabin Air- New Information Reveals the Potentially Neurotoxic Effects of Contaminated Airplane Cabin Air, Legal Examiner 2021
- Alaska Midair Collision Latest Air Tragedy Involving Tourists, Legal Examiner 2020
- 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
- Retaining Control: Recent 2014 Interpretations of Restatement Section 414, 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