Wood River Arbitration & Mediation Lawyers

Practice concentrated in the defense of tort claims, the prosecution and defense of commercial disputes, the prosecution and defense of claims in the environmental field, the prosecution and defense of eminent domain actions, and in the preparation and presentation of materials and seminars providing legal education and training for business and claims professionals. Matters defended and prosecuted include asbestos, negligence, nuisance, trespass, warranty, contract, chancery (including claims seeking temporary, preliminary and/or permanent injunctive relief), breach of fiduciary duty, food poisoning and adulterated products, product liability, consumer fraud, premises liability, trucking, insurance coverage, corporate dissolution, condemnation, civil rights and employment...

James V. DiTommaso is an attorney at DiTommaso Law LLC where he has experience with consumer fraud, class-action, and complex business litigation in both federal and state courts including the trial court and appellate court. Also, his practice includes business transactional matters, family law, defamation, copyright, non-competition, and trade secret litigation. He received a JD, from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2017 and a BFA, from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2011. While at Chicago-Kent, he was on the Dean’s List, he was a member of the Executive Board for the Chicago-Kent Justinian Society of Lawyers, and he received...

Julia A. Pucci, managing partner with Pucci Pirtle, focuses her practice in the areas of divorce and custody litigation. Ms. Pucci attended Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois where she received a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, in Sociology and Political Science. Ms. Pucci subsequently earned her Juris Doctor from St. Louis University School of Law in St. Louis, Missouri. During her law school career, Julia taught legal research and writing as a teaching assistant and was also active in the mediation clinic where she obtained her mediation certification. As a certified mediator, she mediated court-ordered child custody matters and...

Admitted to practice law in 1982, Maureen Sullivan Taylor graduated with a J.D. from Northern Illinois University Law School. In addition to interning at the United States' Attorneys' Office, Maureen was awarded the American Jurisprudence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Matrimonial Law and also served on the Law Review. Founder of the firm, Maureen is a trained and experienced mediator, and is both a Fellow of the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois and a member of the International Association of Collaborative Professionals. Maureen is admitted to the United States Supreme Court and the Northern District of Illinois Federal Court and...

Christopher L. Lufrano is the managing attorney and principal of Lufrano Law, LLC and has extensive experience in matters involving securities investment disputes, regulatory defense, real estate law and business services. Mr. Lufrano is licensed to practice law in Illinois and New York, and often travels throughout the country to represent aggrieved investors in FINRA securities arbitrations where permitted under state law. Mr. Lufrano is a graduate of Boston University, where he majored in Business Management. Following college, Mr. Lufrano was employed by Morgan Stanley where he worked as...

David Porter, Esq. is an experienced, dedicated, and effective advocate for Chicago’s workforce.

Mr. Porter received his B.A. degree from the University of Michigan in 1982 and earned his Juris Doctor degree from Hofstra University in New York in 1985.

After law school Mr. Porter practiced law in New York for 10 years. Then he and his family moved to Illinois (to be closer to their family members), where he has been in private practice since 1995 (all at his current location).

For the last 30 years Mr. Porter has devoted himself to the practice of employment law primarily on behalf of employees....

G. Edward Murphy is the Managing Partner of Murphy & Dunn, P.C. and has been one of the best divorce, custody and family law attorneys and lawyers in Peoria, Bloomington and Central Illinois for the past 36 years. He knows how to litigate your case when necessary, negotiate favorably if possible, and win your case for you and your children in court. He is a skilled trial attorney, but also a capable mediator and problem solver. He has been lead counsel running Murphy & Dunn, P.C. for the past 35 years since he was 26 years old and has been winning...

Practice concentrated in the defense of tort, civil rights, and commercial claims, and in the prosecution and handling of appellate matters. Matters handled include negligence, municipal liability, Structural Work Act, premises liability, Civil Rights Act, Human Rights Act, product liability, Dram Shop Act, aviation, breach of contract, employment matters, gas explosion, patent infringement, and warehouseman's liability actions. Participated in all aspects of pretrial work, discovery, and trial preparation. Handled cases in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and other federal courts throughout the country; in the Circuit Courts of Cook, DeKalb, DuPage,...

Attorney Peter Sullivan is a quiet fighter. He grew up on some pretty mean streets but, since being accepted into private high school in Jersey City, he has had a passion for intellectual pursuits, including languages, arts, world history and the law. He joined the business of the law as a proofreader for some of the best antitrust lawyers in America. Based on his insatiable engagement with content, he graduated to paralegal (without the need for paralegal training) and wound up managing their antitrust litigation office. Needing to be convinced that lawyers can actually do good, before attending law school...

Ms. Cornelison is a certified mediator; collaborative and cooperative divorce lawyer; and divorce trial lawyer with over 13 years of courtroom experience.

Liz has presented seminars to divorce recovery groups, counselors, lawyers, hospitals, doctors, and insurance companies and was an instructor for several years for a personal injury trial practice course presented by the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel and classes for medical practitioners to area hospitals and staff regarding how to respond to legal inquiries and how to avoid malpractice. She has also presented seminars for the Illinois State Bar Association including a recent basic family law seminar.

Liz tried several cases to juries including a case that was decisiv with respect to the use accident reconstruction experts, evidence of...

Neda Nozari is an attorney and mediator with her office based in Evanston, Illinois. Neda’s experience includes but is not limited to the practice areas of business, employment, real estate, fair housing and education. She has experience mediating a vast range of legal, personal and organizational issues. She is a highly skilled negotiator and a trained and proficient facilitator of communication.

She graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelors degree in Political Science and later from The John Marshall Law School with a Juris Doctorate. Her greatest skill is being able to understand the needs and interests of parties and to...

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...

Elizabeth practiced civil and criminal litigation in the State of Illinois. She currently works for Lexis Nexis as a Practice Area Consultant in their Legal & Professional Division. Elizabeth earned her Bachelor's Degree with a double major in Spanish Language and English Literature, and her Master's degree from Cornell University's Africana Studies and Research Center. While in law school, Elizabeth was elected to serve as president of the Justinian Society of Lawyers. Upon graduation, she received Chicago-Kent's prestigious Bar and Gavel Award. She was heavily involved in the nationally-recognized Trial Team, the Public Interest Resource Center, and the Women in...

J. Richard Kulerski is a partner in the Oak Brook (and downtown Chicago) divorce law firm of Kulerski and Cornelison. Richard has over four decades of trial experience in the divorce courts of Cook and DuPage counties, IL. and is a Harvard trained mediator and settlement negotiator. Richard and his partner, Kari Cornelison, are staunch advocates of the settlement approach to divorce and both are active in divorce mediation, collaborative divorce law and in the rapidly growing cooperative divorce movement.

Alex Kosyla has lived in Chicago his entire life and looks forward to serving future generations of Chicagoans. Alex is a graduate of The John Marshall Law School, Carthage College, and Von Steuben Metropolitan High School. Alex has demonstrated his commitment to serving his clients while working for the John Marshall Fair Housing Legal Clinic, and has maintained that attitude in his own practice. Alex believes that his clients are more than just a commodity and will do whatever it takes to treat his client as if they were his own family. Alex has gained significant experience and is sincerely...

Lance R. Minor is a lawyer with over twenty years of experience representing clients in both personal and business matters in the federal and state courts located in the Chicago area. Mr. Minor's practice primarily consists of sophisticated civil lawsuits involving both personal and business matters. He has trial, appeal, and arbitration experience in state and federal courts. Mr. Minor was named to Illinois SuperLawyers for 2012.

Kane County lawyer, Susan D. Shivers, has been practicing law for over 27 years. Susan received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University (with a double major in Psychology and English) and her Law degree, with Honors, from The John Marshall Law School. Susan is licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois and before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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...

Ted Donner (Attorney) started his legal studies at Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1987 after a ten-year stint as the box office manager of The Second City in Chicago. His professional experience since then includes work as a law clerk for Corboy & Demetrio, P.C., a summer internship at Welsh & Katz, Ltd., and work as an associate with Rock, Fusco, Reynolds & Garvey, Ltd. Before opening Donner & Company Law Offices LLC, he was an Associate and then Of Counsel to the litigation practice group at Altheimer & Gray, where his practice was concentrated in insurance...

I provide advice and counsel to professionals and businesses in a wide variety of industries. I realize that solutions to many problems require the involvement of others who provide counsel to my clients, and as a result, I often works alongside a client’s accountant, financial consultant, or other professional.

I am an active litigator, and also on employment issues, insurance coverage disputes and business law, including contractual disputes and construction issues. I have many years of experience in analyzing and evaluating contractual, statutory and regulatory rights and obligations in matters that affect most small to mid-size business. ...

Do you want a patent that just hangs on the wall or stands up in court ? We are trial attorneys that write patents to stand up in court.

Mr. Sheldon conducts a national practice focused primarily on environmental law and related dispute resolution. He has over 50 years of experience and is a member of the bar in both Florida and Illinois. He has been voted a Leading Lawyer in his field of concentration, and also a "Super Lawyer". He has represented clients in a range of environmental subject matter areas, including air, water, hazardous waste, and other environmental laws. He is experienced in litigation, appeals, facility siting, solar power plant siting, land development and use, federally funded projects, corporate and commercial transactions, emergency response, real...

D. Daxton White is an AV rated attorney by Martindale Hubbell, the attorney rating service, indicating the highest rating for legal ability and ethics. He is a member of the Florida and Illinois Bar Associations, as well as the Indian River County Bar Association. He is also a member of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA), an association of securities attorneys who dedicate their practices to the representation of investors defrauded by their financial professional or brokerage firm. Mr. White has also served on the PIABA Legislative Committee which attempts to advance the cause of investors through the use...

Mr. Gaffney began his legal career in the prestigious field of clerking for a Federal judge. He went on as an Assistant State’s Attorney to prosecute complex narcotic and gang cases.
Afterwards, he went into private practice in Harvard, Illinois where he serves his clients in the areas of State and Federal criminal defense, school law, second amendment issues, and general litigation.

Mr. Gaffney is especially proud of his record in the areas of expungement, clemency, pardons and sealed records. Utilizing these legal avenues, he has helped countless clients move forward with their lives.

A 1990 graduate of The John Marshall Law School, I practiced law privately before leaving to teach Criminal Justice and Paralegal courses at Illinois Central College in Peoria, Illinois. Since 1996 I have been retained primarily working for Municipalities as a Hearing Officer. I continue to fill this role in various communities, hearing cases related to building code ordinances, vehicle use and a wide range of municipal tickets written by the police department. In addition, I have many years experience consulting municipal government drafting, facilitating and implementing various ordinances. In addition to this work, I have been...

David T. Arena joined Di Monte & Lizak in 1996. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in political science from Loyola University of Chicago in 1993, where he was a member of the Phi Sigma Alpha National Honor Society and recipient of the Presidential Scholarship. David received his law degree from Cleveland Marshall College of Law with honors in 1996. In 1995, David took first place in the Cleveland Marshall College of Law Moot Court Competition, where he received the Dean’s Moot Court Award for Outstanding Advocate and the Hugo Black Award for Outstanding Oralist. David participated in the 1995 ABA...

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.