Cicero Lawyers

James (Jay) Mitchell joined Lee Sheikh & Haan as an associate in 2022. He has represented clients in a variety of intellectual property matters, including claims of patent infringement, trademark and trade dress infringement, false advertising, unfair competition, breach of contract, and other related equitable and tort claims. Previously, Jay had worked as an associate at a litigation firm where he was involved in all aspects of civil litigation, including taking fact and expert witness depositions, successfully arguing dispositive motions, and preparing and taking cases to trial with positive jury verdict outcomes as lead trial counsel. Jay received his Juris Doctor...

Athena Farmakis was born and raised in the Chicagoland area, graduated with a B.A. from Northwestern University, and received her law degree from DePaul University College of law. With over 25 years of litigation experience, Athena has tried 67 jury trials and hundreds of bench trials in complex and media-sensitive cases. Athena currently practices in all areas of personal injury including motor vehicle accidents, premises liability, product liability, construction accidents, animal attacks, negligent security, wrongful death, nursing home abuse and medical malpractice.

As a former prosecutor, Athena dedicated much of her legal career to serving the public for over 20 years...

Clarissa Rietveld was born in Iowa and raised in Rushville, Indiana. She received her Associate’s Degree in Nursing in 2009 and worked as a registered nurse in operating rooms across the Midwest and on the East Coast. While working as a nurse, Ms. Rietveld had a patient whose medical history documented that he did not have regular access to food and was starving. Ms. Rietveld spent the afternoon working with hospital social services to arrange for her patient to gain access to regular meals and was shocked to learn that he didn’t qualify for any of the available programs. She...

Paul Ciesielski is dedicated to providing assistance to those that find themselves in need of help navigating the complicated area of personal injury law. Not everyone knows what to do following a Chicago car accident, truck crash, health care error, or other incident. Paul walks clients through the legal process step-by-step.

Paul received his B.S. from Indiana University. He earned his J.D. from the John Marshall Law School, where he gained valuable knowledge, as well as relevant experience outside of the classroom. While in school, he volunteered at JMLS Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic. The veterans he helped...

Attorney Faraj is experienced in criminal defense, military law, personal injury, and business litigation. He is recognized nationally as a trial attorney, who has represented clients before state, military and federal courts. Mr. Faraj first began defending Armed Forces members in the United States Marine Corps. Since then he has began a private practice that focuses on defending service-members as a civilian attorney. If you need assistance with a legal matter, Attorney Faraj is diligent, decorated, and devoted to his clients.

Kathleen C. Chavez, founding partner of Foote, Mielke, Chavez & O’Neil, LLC, earned her Juris Doctor degree in 1998 from Northwestern University School of Law. Chavez is a nationally recognized civil litigator with a reputation for obtaining exceptional results in challenging cases. She is a results-driven, highly focused “problem-solver” with an unmatched ability to strategically frame critical issues, develop innovative solutions and negotiate outstanding results for her clients. She is admitted to practice law in California, Illinois and Washington D.C., as well as various federal courts, the Federal Trial Bar and the United States Federal Court of Claims.

Patrick A. Salvi II joined Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. in 2007. He concentrates his legal practice on cases concerning personal injury, medical malpractice and product liability. During his first trial as lead attorney, Mr. Salvi secured a $1.28 million verdict on behalf of a teen who had her leg and knee cap broken in an accident. Mr. Salvi also achieved a record breaking jury verdict on behalf of one of his clients in excess of $33 million. The case involved a teenager who was paralyzed in a motor vehicle collision. Additionally, he has secured a $29.1 million medical malpractice...

Dragan is an Illinois-licensed attorney with international reach and experience. Driven to study law to help people, Dragan is licensed to practice in the state court of Illinois, as well as the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. For his trademark clients, Dragan is authorized to represent them before the USPTO Trademark Office as well as the TTAB. He also is authorized to practice before the International Criminal Court, the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, and the State Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina. He has been authorized to appear pro hac vice...

Joseph D. Parente is a Chicago personal injury attorney with extensive litigation experience. He has represented injured persons in the Chicago area for many years, including injured members of the Cook County Forest Preserve, the Fraternal Order of the Police, Electrician’s Union, Carpenter’s Union, Plumber’s Union, and Pipefitter’s Union.

Personal injury attorney Joseph Parente earned his law degree from Loyola University School of Law in Chicago, Illinois. Attorney Parente was awarded his Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from the Loyola University in Chicago.

He has represented injured persons in the Chicago area for many years, including injured members of the...

Gregg focuses his practice in the areas of probate administration and litigation, estate planning, elder law, and real estate. In addition, Gregg is a guardian ad litem appointed by the Circuit Court of Cook County, not only in the probate area, but other divisions including domestic relations division and law division.

Gregg is an active member of the legal community, where he is serving or has served in several leadership roles within the Illinois Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association. Gregg is a past Chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Probate Practice Committee, where he served two years as Chair....

Attorney David Bryant is a partner of the firm and has been named as a rising star in the areas of Employee Benefits and ERISA by Super Lawyers magazine. He is also proud to have been recognized by his peers with the coveted AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated SM by Martindale-Hubbell.

Stacy founded Bardo Law, P.C. in 2015 to provide effective, zealous legal representation to consumers, while maintaining empathy and compassion for her clients. Prior to Bardo Law, P.C.’s inception, Stacy was an attorney at the Consumer Advocacy Center, P.C., where she exclusively practiced consumer law. Stacy has been principally involved in more than 275 cases for the victims of harassing debt collection practices, consumer fraud, bait and switch advertising, predatory lending, automobile financing and odometer fraud, wrongful repossessions, unfair mortgage foreclosures, incorrect credit reporting, and violations of the federal Truth in Lending, Telephone Consumer Protection, Fair Debt Collection...

Attorney Melvin L. Sims III is a Commercial and Residential Landlord-Tenant & Real Estate Attorney, a Realtor and a Title Agent with 18 years of experience in the practice of law. Mr. Sims' Landlord-Tenant practice focuses on defending and prosecuting Commercial and Residential Landlord-Tenant actions, including Evictions, Lease Terminations, Lease Arbitrage, as well as pre-litigation Commercial and Residential Lease Dispute Resolution throughout Northern Illinois. Attorney Sims' General Real Estate Practice includes representing both Sellers and Buyers in Commercial and Residential Conveyances through Closing, with an emphasis on Multi-Family assets of 10 units or more. Attorney Sims also provides Title...

Brian LaCien, a founding partner at Smith LaCien LLP with Todd A. Smith, leads a Chicago-based personal injury law firm dedicated to serving clients throughout the metropolitan area. Brian specializes in cases involving aviation negligence, class actions and mass torts, medical malpractice, wrongful death, premises and product liability, professional negligence, and trucking litigation. With over 25 years of experience, Brian has a proven track record of resolving complex injury cases through both negotiation and litigation, working tirelessly to secure fair compensation for Illinois residents impacted by catastrophic injuries due to negligence. His commitment to exceptional representation and aggressive advocacy consistently yields...

Attorney Shekar Jayaraman, Esq., LL.M has a multi-faceted background of both public and private sector experience. He is passionate, zealous, and detail oriented.

Notably, Attorney Jayaraman was a Judicial Clerk for a United States Magistrate, with a heavy focus on violent crimes. He earned an LL.M. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in Business and Corporate Governance, and has served under the Ohio Secretary of State as a Regional Liaison, handling Business Services and Elections.

While in law school, Attorney Jayaraman was selected as an Extern for a United States Magistrate for the summer after his first year, and...

Since launching his law practice in 2000, Toby P. Mulholland has been a dedicated advocate for clients suffering serious injuries. He has extensive experience handling a wide range of personal injury cases, including motor vehicle accidents, wrongful death claims, construction accidents, premises liability, dog bite cases, and catastrophic injury litigation. Toby’s distinguished career is marked by his skill in litigation, participating in numerous trials, mediations, arbitrations, and depositions. His innovative approaches to depositions have consistently resulted in successful outcomes for even the most complex cases. Clients appreciate his ability to navigate high-stakes situations with a creative, results-oriented approach.

I am a founding member of Flachsbart & Greenspoon, LLC. A registered patent attorney, I concentrate my practice in the litigation and trial of patent cases involving computer and electronic technologies. My cases have involved computer, computer network and electronic technologies of the highest complexity, but also simple mechanical devices. I have successfully argued numerous cases before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, including IMS Technology, Inc. v. Haas Automation, Inc., 206 F.3d 1422, 1430 (Fed. Cir. 2000), HyperPhrase Technologies LLC v. Google, Inc. (Case No. 2007-1125), and 1st Technology v. Rational Enterprises (Case No. 2008-1132). I served in...

Mr. Thacker is an attorney at the law offices of GWC Injury Lawyers LLC. With more than 30 years of experience and a proven track record of success, Stephen is a valued asset to our law firm. If you require comprehensive legal counsel in Illinois, contact Mr. Thacker today at (312) 464-1234 or toll free at (800) 464-4772.

Christina develops and executes immigration strategies for a wide range of corporate clients in a variety of industries, including U.S. companies seeking to hire foreign workers and multinational companies transferring foreign employees and executives to the U.S. She also represents foreign investors, and serves as immigration counsel to a corporate services law firm with particular emphasis in assisting European interests in the United States. In addition, Christina helps individuals achieve their immigration goals including obtaining work visas, family-based visas, and citizenship. Previously, she practiced as a litigator at Sidley Austin, where she defended companies in complex federal and state litigation,...

I believe that every home should be titled in the name of a revocable living trust. Probate is nothing more than a way for lawyers to make money. If someone tells you that all you need is a will, they are wrong. A revocable living trust is the best way to avoid probate and plan for periods of incapitation. Creating a trust is not hard and it is not only for the rich. Therefore I have dedicated my career to making the estate planning process as easy and affordable as possible. It starts with using...

Ryan Platt leads the firm’s Workers’ Compensation practice while also maintaining an active caseload of consumer and personal injury cases. Ryan is experienced at all aspects of Workers’ Compensation cases. A seasoned litigator, Ryan has practiced law for over seven years and tried over a dozen Workers’ Compensation cases before Commission arbitrators and successfully prosecuted multiple Commission appeals with favorable outcomes for his clients. He does not shy away from taking a case to court if a fair settlement can’t be reached. Prior to joining the firm, Ryan worked at a major Illinois Workers’ Compensation firm and served as a...

Adam Marquardt is an attorney representing investors in securities litigation claims against financial professionals including brokers, investment advisors, and their firms. Unsuitable investments, negligence, and fraud are just a few of the possible claims. Adam has a history of protecting investors and individuals. Adam spent time as a regulator at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA), the primary securities regulator of broker-dealers and over 630,000 brokers. At FINRA, Adam helped protect investors by ensuring broker-dealers and their registered representatives complied with federal securities laws and stock exchange and FINRA rules. Before regulating brokers, Adam represented individuals in civil...

Unlike most other attorneys, as a former immigrant student of law, I have keen understanding about common needs of people of immigrant communities. I specialize in family/employment immigration, deportation defenses, all issues regarding visas, and asylum. You can have an assurance that I will resolve your immigration problem in timely, efficient, and more importantly, creative manner.

Licensed attorney in Illinois since 1984 with an active civil litigation practice relating to complex injuries, premises liability, insurance coverage, construction claims, scaffold, crane and work platform matters, commercial litigation, intellectual property and other legal concerns. Past Chair of the Illinois State Bar Association's Civil Practice and Procedure Section Council. Past Chair of the Illinois State Bar Association's Standing Committee on Professional Conduct. Recipient of Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation's Distinguished Service Award. Frequent lecturer and author.

As a native of Chicago, Mr. Nawrocki was distinguished as the top U.S Navy criminal defense counsel from 1989 to 1990. He joined the law offices of GWC Injury Lawyers LLC in 1995 and regularly represents injury victims and their families throughout Illinois. Attention to detail and persistence are hallmarks of Jim's character, which has resulted in numerous successes in the courtroom. If you or a loved one has been injured at work and requires the assistance of a highly skilled lawyer, contact Mr. Nawrocki today at (312) 464-1234.

I've been a trial lawyer for over 30 years. I graduated from Yale and NYU Law School, and my legal career began as a criminal prosecutor in New York City. Then I moved to Chicago and became a partner with a mid-sized litigation firm for 10 years, receiving litigation training from some of the best trial lawyers in the city. I opened my current law office in Chicago in 1998. In addition to practicing law full time, I've also been teaching trial skills to practicing lawyers every year since 1994 as a faculty member with The National Institute for Trial...

Ryan Stephan is a founding partner of Stephan Zouras, LLP. Ryan represents people from all walks of life in class and individual civil litigation. Specifically, Ryan has helped thousands of clients recover damages in cases involving unpaid overtime, employment disputes, business litigation, products liability and personal injury. Ryan has successfully tried cases to verdict including obtaining a $9,000,000 verdict on behalf of 200 employees who were misclassified and denied overtime pay. Ryan has also served as lead or co-lead counsel on numerous complex class and collective action cases involving wage and hour matters and has helped...

Concentrates solely in Family Court Mediation. He is on the “List of Certified Mediators” with the Domestic Relations Division, Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois

The Hon. Edmund Ponce de Leon (Ret.) gained a reputation as an eminently qualified and even-handed jurist, who was highly efffective with helping litigants resolve cases through the pre-trial mediation process. While on the bench, Judge Ponce de Leon helped facilitate hundreds of settlements.

He has an extensive 19+ years' experience presiding over a wide array of civil disputes, including divorce cases. He has a combined 33+ years' experience as...

Real Estate Closing Attorney: For as little as $295 for Sellers and $450 for Buyers, Attorney Brian Lohse will represent and advocate for you from day 1 until the property closes and the keys are handed over.

Attorney Lohse prides himself on offering personal and friendly service. He will ensure that you stay informed and up-to-date by returning phone calls and emails often within hours.

I understand that many people shop for homes on the weekend. Generally, I can provide assistance on the weekends if you need help. If you have a question or would like to forward a contract...

Laureen Anderson-Stepanek has concentrated her practice in complex immigration matters since 2002. A graduate of Illinois State University with a degree in History and Political Science, Ms. Anderson-Stepanek did post graduate work in International Relations at the University of Wisconsin, Parkside and eventually obtained her Juris Doctorate from the University Of Iowa College Of Law. Ms. Anderson-Stepanek practices all areas of immigration law; she started her career on the corporate side where she advised internal and external clients on matters related to non-immigrant employment based visas, PERM, international relocation as well as general employment matters related to foreign...