Jonathan focuses his practice on workers’ compensation, employers’ liability and employment law, construction and toxic tort litigation. He also handles general commercial and business litigation matters, and provides training for managerial staff on handling post-accident investigations.
Jonathan has extensive experience before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, Circuit Courts in Illinois and the Illinois Appellate Court and has served as an expert witness on Illinois workers’ compensation law. He is a frequent lecturer for carriers and third-party administrators as well as self-insured employers on topics concerning Illinois workers’ compensation.
Jonathan has presented Loyola University Chicago School of Law where he instructed students in Trial Practice as part of the law program.
Practices
Representative Matters
- Marcos Mireles v. Mike Balter Mallets LLC, 16 I.W.C.C. 0433
- Michael Murphy v. US Foodservice, 07 IIC 1548
- Michael Murphy v. US Foodservice, 07 IIC 1551
- Cianci v. Safeco Insurance Company, 356 Ill. App. 3d 767, 826 N.E.2d 548 (2005)
- Jose Garcia v. Four Seasons Hotel, 97 IIC 1046
Representative Experience
- Obtained jury verdict for our HVAC subcontractor client in a complex, high-exposure case wherein our client’s employee and foreman was injured while performing pipefitting work and filed suit against a contractor and two subcontractors, each of whom filed third-party complaints against our client; the jury found that our client was not liable for Plaintiff’s injuries, and as a result is entitled to recover the full amount of its net workers’ compensation lien.
- Successfully defended a mold remediation company client against plaintiff homeowners claiming our client improperly remediated their home; the Illinois Appellate Court agreed with our defense that the trial court’s “good faith finding” was improper, and remanded the case for further proceedings.
Education
- Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD, 1992
- Semi-Finalist Intra-School Moot Court Competition
- Northwestern University, BA, 1989, with honors
Admissions
- Illinois
- United States District Court: Northern District of Illinois
- United States Court of Appeals: Seventh Circuit
Affiliations
- Current Board Member, Moriah Congregation, Deerfield, Illinois
- Former Ritual Vice President, Moriah Congregation Deerfield, Illinois, 2014-2016
- Former Financial Vice President, Moriah Congregation Deerfield, Illinois
- Former Administration Vice President, Moriah Congregation Deerfield, Illinois
- Former Board Member and Chairman, Research Committee, CityPAC
Professional Memberships
- Faculty Member, Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education Workers’ Compensation Institute (2014 and 2015)
- Former Member of the American Bar Association
- Chicago Bar Association
- Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Association
Languages
- English
Related News
Presentations/Publications
- Presenter, “Trial Practice” course, Loyola University Chicago School of Law (September 2024)
- Featured quote, “Causation Questions Limit COVID Comp Claims,” Business Insurance (June 2022)
- Co-presenter, “The COVID-19 Presumption In Action”, National Association of Construction Boilermaker Employers (NACBE) and The Association of Union Constructors (TAUC) Joint Safety Committee Meeting (February 2022)
- Panelist, “Working from Home Post COVID-19: What’s Normal in Our New Normal?“, Marsh Webcast (June 2021)
- Co-author, “Illinois Workers’ Compensation COVID-19 Presumptions Explained,” Litchfield Alert (September 2020)
- Co-presenter, “Telecommuting and the New Work from Home Doctrine,” ExecuSummit Online webinar (June 2020)
- Panelist, “Workers’ Compensation Claims Trends,” 17th Annual Workers’ Compensation Insurance ExecuSummit, Uncasville, CT (January 2020)
- Panelist, “Remote Employees – A Legal Map to Managing Work from Home,” National Workers’ Compensation and Disability Conference & Expo, Las Vegas, NV (November 2019)
- Featured quote, “Remote Employees: Know Where the Pitfalls Are and How to Manage Them,” Risk & Insurance (June 25, 2019)
- Panelist, “Workers’ Compensation Claims Trends,” 16th Annual Workers’ Compensation Insurance ExecuSummit, Uncasville, CT (January 2019)
- Presenter, “Avoiding Unintended Consequences Obtaining Desired Litigation and Legislation Results,” National Workers Compensation and Disability Conference, Las Vegas, NV (November 2018)
- Presenter, “Preventing, Investigating and Managing Claims for Temp or Leased Workers,” National Workers Compensation and Disability Conference, Las Vegas, NV (2017)
Recognition
- Martindale-Hubbell DistinguishedSM Peer Review Rated™ attorney, recognized since 2009 for high professional achievement and ethical standards
- Selected as an Illinois Leading Lawyer annually since 2016 by peers in the area of Workers’ Compensation Defense Law, a designation received by fewer than five percent of all lawyers licensed in Illinois