Firm News - Part 6

The Collins Law Firm based in Naperville, Illinois, is pleased to announce the following attorneys have been included in the 2018 Super Lawyers list for Illinois. This honor is only granted to the top five percent of lawyers in the state based on performance and peer recognition. Attorneys are selected from over70 recognized practice areas after a rigorous selection process conducted through independent investigation, peer nomination and evaluation. Selections are made on an annual basis.

Shawn Collins is a founding partner of The Collins Law Firm who represents environmental, personal injury and business clients in complex litigation. Shawn graduated summa cum laude with majors in business and accounting from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. He earned a J.D. at the University of Chicago Law School in 1986. Since then, he has earned a reputation as an accomplished trial lawyer. Shawn was recognized by The American Trial Lawyers Association as one of the top 100 trial attorneys in America from 2005 through 2018. He was named by his peers as a "Leading Lawyer" in Illinois, an honor only offered to five percent of the lawyers in the state. Shawn has been included on the Super Lawyers list from 2005 to present, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award by America's Top 100 Attorneys for Illinois. Fewer than 0.05 percent of attorneys achieve this top designation.

Edward Manzke is an accomplished trial attorney who represents personal injury and wrongful death clients. He graduated with an economics degree from the University of Illinois, and earned a law degree from the University as well. Ed has a reputation for securing compensation for personal injury clients, and has been an expert witness in environmental contamination cases. He has tried cases before the Illinois state courts, Illinois Supreme Court, Illinois Appellate Court and federal courts across the United States. Ed has been selected as a "Super Lawyer" in Illinois for 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2018. His cases have been reported upon by prominent news organizations, including ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and MSNBC.

John Risvold represents personal injury, medical malpractice, environmental injury and wrongful death clients. He graduated from the University of Missouri and attended the University of Missouri School of Law, graduating with the prestigious Order of Barristers. This distinction is only awarded to the top 10 trial lawyers in each class. During law school, John was additionally recognized for his trial ability with the R. David Ray Excellence in Trial Advocacy Award and CALI Award for the best Trial Advocate. After graduation, he gained experience representing both the defense and plaintiff before joining The Collins Law Firm. In 2017, John was named to the Super Lawyers Rising Star List for Illinois. This honor is only bestowed upon 2.5 percent of Illinois lawyers under the age of 40 in any given year.

John Sopuch III serves Of Counsel at The Collin Law Firm and represents clients in business litigation and commercial dispute resolution. John studied English and history at the University of Texas and graduated with a legal degree from Pepperdine University in California. Accomplished in law school, he was a member of the Law Review, wrote for The Law Review's California Supreme Court Survey and was named as a Dean's Merit Scholar. John became the youngest partner at the firm of Bickel & Brewer in Chicago, leaving in 1997 to start his own law firm - Soupuch Annett Higgens & Gaubert. John was appointed in 1999 and 2001 as a Special Assistant Attorney General to assist the Virgin Islands Bureau of Internal Revenue with several cases, and settled over 10 million dollars worth of complex litigation. In 2005, he transitioned to the Hawaii law firm of Starn O'Toole Marcus & Fischer and settled one of the highest wrongful death suits in Hawaii.

The Collins Law Firm, P.C., in Naperville, Illinois, was named a "Best Law Firm" for 2017 by U.S. News and World Report. The firm has won over $100 million in settlements for its clients with environmental law, personal injury and business litigation cases. The Collins Law Firm has been featured in the news time and again for its work fighting contamination cases and against other powerful interests.

The firm represents individuals and businesses in Cook, DuPage and Will counties as well as clients throughout Illinois. Call them at (630) 527-1595 or email the firm to schedule a free consultation. When you need someone to fight for your interests, they will be there for you.

After serving as co-counsel to The Collins Law Firm in many ground-breaking environmental cases over the last 18 years, Norman Berger has joined the Firm as of counsel, where he will help lead the Firm's efforts to demand clean up and financial compensation for the families they represent who have been put in harms' way by dangerous chemical contamination.

He has been litigating environmental cases for over 30 years, beginning with his work as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois enforcing environmental laws in the 1980's. He participated in many of the major Superfund cases in the Midwest during the early years of Superfund enforcement in the late 80's and early 90's. He tried one of the first Superfund private cost recovery cases in federal court, and has since been involved in litigating environmental cases under the federal Superfund statute, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and many State statutes nationwide. For the last 18 years, together with The Collins Law Firm, Norman has represented individuals and families whose homes have been contaminated by industrial pollution, resulting in diminished property values, property damage and serious health issues. Their efforts in this area have resulted in remedies ranging from mandatory property cleanup to the provision of clean water supplies to monetary reimbursement for property damage and medical expenses in excess of $65 million. This includes negotiating a $7.2 million settlement in a toxic tort case for a client whose childhood exposure to chemicals caused cancer.

Shawn Collins, founder and partner at The Collins Law Firm welcomed Berger by saying: "We are really lucky to have Norm join us. He's a great lawyer, with a rare combination of technical ability and passion for helping the families for whom we work. The cases are difficult, and the stakes are as high as they could be. The peace and safety of our clients' homes, and their children's health, are often on the line, as we battle some of the world's largest companies, who are represented by some of the best lawyers, from the largest law firms. But Norm is more than up to the challenge, and I can't imagine anyone I'd rather go into these important battles with."

Norman also serves a current member and past chairman of the Dean's Advisory Council at DePaul University College of Law, has served as a faculty member of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, and was a founding participant in the Pro Bono Committee for Representation of Indigent Defendants.

Norman was honored with the Outstanding Service to DePaul University Award in 2013 for his efforts on behalf of the University, and has been recognized by Illinois Super Lawyers every year since its inception, from 2005-2017.

The Collins Law Firm would like to congratulate founder and partner, Shawn Collins, for being nominated for a Lifetime Achievement honor as one of America’s Top 100 Attorneys for Illinois. Less than one half percent of attorneys in the United States will receive this prestigious award. Shawn will join an elite list of nationally recognized lawyers from around the country, which includes many current and former presidents of major bar associations and attorney groups, and some of the best lawyers in Illinois. Only 100 attorneys in a state can hold the lifetime achievement award, and they are selected through a rigorous process.

Candidates for membership as one of America’s Top 100 Attorneys are initially nominated by elite peers or identified through third party research. Nominees must then pass through a multi-phase screening process that includes more third party research and a complex analysis that includes an attorney’s lifetime legal achievements, professional experience, case results and verdicts, peer reputation, client satisfaction, other honors and community impact, before being selected.

Shawn is honored to be included among the elite lawyers who have accepted a lifetime Achievement honor as one of America’s Top 100 Attorneys. As Shawn says: "My selection as a Top 100 Attorney is a great honor, of course, but one that must be shared with my wife and daughters, law partners, associates, and staff, as nothing I have accomplished as a lawyer would have been possible without their support and professionalism."

An outstanding trial attorney, Shawn has extensive experience in high stakes litigation in environmental, toxic tort, personal injury and commercial law. Many of his cases are against some of the biggest corporations in the world, and he thrives on "David versus Goliath" legal battles and never backs down from a fight. As a result, Mr. Collins and his law firm have recovered in excess of $415 million for his clients in their practice.