My diverse practice is national in scope covering commercial, construction, products, transportation, and professional litigation in state and federal courts. In the medical liability field I have represented dentists, physicians, nurses and hospitals in the areas of general dentistry, orthodontics, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and neonatology, neurology, orthopedics, family practice, hematology, psychiatry, internal medicine, podiatry, anesthesia, neurosurgery, cardiology, cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, gastroenterology, general surgery, oncology, anesthesia, emergency and trauma medicine and urology.

Products cases have involved many varieties of medical devices, drugs, saws, extruders, presses, splitters, rubber processing equipment, drills, metals, hand tools, power tools, home appliances, foods and food processing equipment, buses, trucks, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles and carts, seatbelts, child restraints, hair care products, lifts, cranes, electrical switchgear, power lines, roofs and decking, swimming pools, recreational equipment, boating equipment, road grinders, conveyors, waste disposal equipment, heavy machinery, escalators and elevators and LP gas containers.

In 2007, the Litigation Counsel of America (LCA), an elite organization comprising less than one-half of one percent of American attorneys, inducted me as a Charter Fellow in its honorary society. By invitation only, membership in LCA is highly selective, its leadership citing “superior ethical reputation” as critical to consideration for membership. LCA also identifies “effectiveness and accomplishment in litigation, both at the trial and appellate levels,” as equally important criteria for induction.

I am a Fellow of the American Academy of Trial Counsel (AATC) which is a lawyer honorary society comprised of experienced and effective litigators throughout the United States, and represents less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers. Fellowship in the Academy is limited and by invitation only. Academy Fellows are deemed to be among the best trial lawyers in the American bar, who have exhibited accomplishment in litigation and trial work, and have superior ethical reputations. The composition of the Academy is aggressively diverse, with recognition of excellence in litigation across all segments of the bar. In addition, the Academy is dedicated to promoting superior advocacy, professionalism and ethical standards among its Fellows and Members.

"AV" (highest) rating by the Martindale-Hubbell peer-review rating system.

Listed as a "Top Lawyer" by the Leading Lawyers Network in Products Liability and Professional Malpractice, 2005 – 2008

Selected by Law & Politics and Chicago Magazine (Illinois Super Lawyers) as a 2006-2010 Illinois Super Lawyer in Defense Litigation.

Admitted:

Illinois, 1985

Indiana, 1996

U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois, 1986

U.S. District Court Eastern District of Wisconsin, 1986

U.S. District Court Western District of Wisconsin, 1991

U.S. District Court Northern District of Indiana, 1996

U.S. District Court Southern District of Indiana, 1996

U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois, Trial Bar

U.S. District Court Southern District of Illinois

United States Supreme Court

Education:

Indiana University at Bloomington School of Law,
Bloomington, IN, 1985, J.D.
Honors: Cum Laude
Honors: Member, National Moot Court Team

Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana, 1982
A.B., Bachelor of Arts
Honors: Cum Laude
Major: History

Papers and Published Works:

STAMP Guarantees - Do They Really Guarantee Anything: An Argument for Enforcement Provisions, November 2001. - Click to read »

Addressing the Emergent Reinsurance Claims Challenge: Proactive Loss Exposure Analysis and Response, with James Horstman, September 2001. - Click to read »

From Explosion to Verdict: Controlling Damages in Propane Explosions and Severe Burn Injury Cases, with Stephen Heil, September 2001.

Contractors Beware! Revised OSHA Rules Offer No Safety for Defendants, with Stephen Heil, August 2001. - Click to read »

Reviewing the Game Films: Mistakes to Avoid in the Preparation of the Damages Case from Claim Inception to Closing Argument, Co-authored with Lori E. Iwan. Defense Research Institute, Slam Dunk Defensive Skills to Minimize Damages from Claims through Appeal, Las Vegas, Nevada, 2001. - Click to read »

Expect the Expected: Managing the Jury's Expectations in Product Liability Cases, Co-authored with Lori E. Iwan, For The Defense, April 2001. - Click to read »

COURTROOM 2000 - Mastering the Medium of the Millennium, For The Defense, Defense Research Institute, April, 2000. - Click to read »

The Sins of the Fathers: Offensive Collateral Estoppel Revisited (Co-Author), For The Defense, Defense Research Institute, October, 1999.

Staffing under PPS: Practical Legal Considerations, Interviewee, Postacute Payment Report, Vol. 3, No. 5, May, 1999.

Another Settlement Caution:Stickler v. Am. Augers, Inc. - Click to read »

Real Estate Agents & Brokers Liability in Illinois - Click to read »

Representative Cases:

Lembcke v. Guyan

Custer v. Sullivan

Hallowell v. Thilenius

Quinonez v. Barajas

Rangel v. Brookhaven

Chapa v. Adams

Vesa v. Grimaldi

Goff v. Coach Travel

Stallings v. Black & Decker

Timmerman v. Golden Eagle Ferry

Orthopedic Bone Screw Litigation

Classes/Seminars Taught:

Panelist, Masters Forum Mock Trial, International Association of Defense Counsel Annual Meeting, July 3-8, 2004, The Homestead, West Virginia

Panelist/speaker at Trucking Industry Defense Association’s inaugural seminar on Defending Cases in Bad Venues (Judicial and Jury Hell Holes), Houston, Texas, January 2004.

International Association of Defense Counsel, Trial Academy Faculty, 2003.

COURTROOM 2001 - Courtroom Technology for the 21st Century, Defense Research Institute, 2000 Products Liability Meeting, Las Vegas, NV, January, 2000.

COURTROOM 2000 - Mastering the Medium of the Millennium, Defense Research Institute, Mid-Year Meeting, Chicago, IL, September, 1999.

Real Estate Broker's Liability in Illinois, Willis Corroon Claims Seminar, Nashville, TN.

Insurance Coverage Issues in Broker's Liability Cases, Willis Corroon Claims Seminar, Nashville, TN.

Defending Commercial Bus Overturn Accidents, Lancer Insurance Claims, Cleveland, OH, 1998.

Defending First Party Fraud and Arson Claims, Allstate Insurance Company, Special Claims Unit Seminar, Indianapolis, IN, 1997.

Affiliations:

Indiana Society of Chicago

American Trucking Associations “ATA”

American Academy of Trial Counsel “AATC”

Transportation Lawyers Association "TLA"

Litigation Counsel of America "LCA"

National Association for General Contractors & Home Builders, Inc.

International Association of Defense Counsel "IADC"

Illinois State Bar Association

Indiana State Bar Association

Defense Research Institute "DRI"

Chicago Bar Association

Trucking Industry Defense Association "TIDA"

Leading Lawyer Network

Born:

March 23, 1960, Owensboro, Kentucky, United States of America

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