Claire M. LaFont

Robert A. Clifford is the founder and senior partner of Clifford Law Offices, a nationally recognized Chicago-based personal injury and medical malpractice firm known for its depth of talent, extensive resources, and unrelenting determination in handling complex personal injury and wrongful death litigation. Founded in 1984, the firm is ranked nationally and locally by Best Law Firms® in several practice areas, including aviation. Under Clifford’s leadership, the firm has recovered ...

James H. Whalen is the co-managing partner of Lipe Lyons Murphy Nahrstadt & Pontikis LTD, a Chicago, Illinois law firm. He practices in the areas of Litigation – Insurance, tort defense, commercial litigation, and product liability. Mr. Whalen represents clients in state and federal courts, as well as before state administrative bodies. His practice includes construction, business, commercial, product liability, employment discrimination, and premises liability litigation. Mr. Whale...

Mark E. Schmidtke represents clients in ERISA and Non-ERISA employee benefits matters in state and federal courts throughout the United States for nearly 30 years. He has been lead or co-lead counsel in ERISA litigation matters pending in the courts of 49 states. He has argued appeals in the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits, as well as the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the Minnesota Suprem...

Chad Vance is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Insurance and Reinsurance Law. Chad, who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Chad is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

John Hartmann is a partner in Kirkland & Ellis LLP’s litigation practice group, where he focuses on shareholder, professional liability and business litigation matters, as well as regulatory enforcement proceedings and corporate internal investigations. John has represented leading corporations, professional services firms, private investment firms, as well as their directors, officers and partners, in numerous securities class actions, shareholder derivative suits, disputes over co...

Sorinel Cimpoes is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Patent Law. Sorinel, who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Sorinel is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

ATTORNEY FOR PRODUCT LIABILITY AND AVIATION LAW Richard Burke is a partner at Clifford Law Offices. He is an outstanding product liability attorney and one of the most respected aviation liability attorneys in Chicago. Mr. Burke is experienced in many complex practice areas including medical malpractice, nursing home negligence, heavy truck litigation, product liability, aviation liability, aviation litigation, airline liability, and other forms of transportation liability. Over his decades o...

Jacqueline M. Vidmar has more than thirty five years of environmental law experience, brings wealth of knowledge to transactional and regulatory matters and disputes. She represents companies in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, public utilities, health care and pharmaceuticals, transportation (rail and pipeline), and real estate. Ms. Vidmar excels in real estate portfolio management, M&A due diligence, contaminated property disputes, remediation and development, defense o...

Julie Sirlin Pleshivoy advises high‑net‑worth families, family offices, and entrepreneurs on the full spectrum of wealth transfer and tax planning. Combining sophisticated tax knowledge with a background in investment management, she develops estate plans that safeguard family assets and support smooth transitions across generations. Leveraging her experience and an LL.M. in Federal Income Taxation, Julie brings a distinctive financial perspective to structuring business ventures, succession ...

Brian Richards is Chair of the Firm’s Global Private Equity Practice and is a partner in the Private Equity and M&A practices at Paul Hastings. Brian has 30 years of experience leading complex domestic and international transactions, including leveraged buyouts, mergers and acquisitions, and growth equity investments in a wide variety of industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, technology, distribution, and services. The volume and breadth of Brian’s experience is rela...