Michelle Jacobson

Attorney, Financial Specialist for Collaborative Divorce, and Mediator From a very young age I always played the role of mediator in my family and with my friends. That is because I have always been able to understand the experiences of both sides and I have always been able to determine what is important to people in order to resolve issues peacefully. Today I use those skills as a financial specialist for collaborative divorce, as a mediator, and as an attorney. With my financial background...

Gary Gassman focuses his practice in the areas of insurance coverage counseling and litigation and is co-chair of the firm’s Professional Liability Practice Group. For more than 20 years, his practice has been concentrated on management liability including directors and officers and entity liability, employment practices liability, fiduciary liability, and various types of professional liability and commercial general liability coverage. He also has significant reinsurance experience. G...

Laurence R. Bronska focuses his practice on representing funded and unfunded private equity groups, management teams and individual investors. He advises clients on the legal aspects of complex business transactions across diverse industries and market segments, including leveraged buyouts, non-control and growth equity investments, divestitures and acquisitions. Please view more on Laurence's biography here: https://www.mwe.com/en/team/b/bronska-laurence-r

Raymond Lyons is a partner with Lipe Lyons Murphy Nahrstadt & Pontikis Ltd. in Chicago, Illinois. He is a member of the firm’s product liability, construction, transportation, and tort defense practice groups. His practice focuses on the defense of product liability, construction, transportation, catastrophic injury, wrongful death, and insurance-related litigation in state and federal courts nationwide. His recognized practice areas include Litigation – Insurance. Mr. Lyons s...

Timothy S. Schafer is the founding partner of Schafer & Schafer and a seasoned trial lawyer with more than four decades of experience fighting for the injured. Over the course of his career, he’s recovered more than $500 million in verdicts and settlements, including over 100 individual cases where he secured $1 million or more. Timothy has been consistently recognized as one of the top trial lawyers in Indiana and the country, earning honors like Best Lawyer of the Year by U.S. New...

Phillip W. Nelson is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law. Phillip W., 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 Phillip W. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Walt Holzer focuses on complex business transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, buyouts, recapitalizations, divestitures, venture capital and growth equity investing, and executive compensation. He has handled numerous transactions in a wide variety of industries for private equity, family office and strategic clients. Praised by clients for his "pragmatic approach, business acumen and sector knowledge" and his "expertise…and commerciality" and "valuable understanding of the mos...

Matthew J. Cannon is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Criminal Defense: White-Collar and Qui Tam Law. Matthew J., who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2015. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Matthew J. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Marc S. Silver is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Insurance Law. Marc S., who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Marc S. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Robert Unikel is a partner in the Chicago office of Paul Hastings and is head of the Chicago and Midwest Intellectual Property practice. Mr. Unikel has a diverse practice that includes litigating patent, trade secret, and trademark cases in a variety of industries, including digital media distribution, consumer products and brands, financial products and services, auto parts, and medical devices. Mr. Unikel's extensive experience includes trying patent and trade secret cases involving varied ...