Collins Law Group, P.C. is the highest-ranked Naperville-based law firm in Chicago Lawyer magazine's 2026 Jury Verdict Reporter Settlements Report, the annual report of Illinois settlements of $500,000 or more, which this year lists 129 firms. Equity partners John D. Risvold and Edward J. Manzke are named for the firm's five reported settlements, which totaled $5,255,000.
The firm's largest settlement in this year's report came out of a rear-end crash in Naperville that left our client, an emergency room nurse, needing four spine surgeries. The at-fault driver carried a $100,000 policy, and the driver's insurer didn't offer that limit for two years even though it had a demand within the policy limits.
John D. Risvold and associate Christopher E. Gauthier tried the case to a DuPage County jury in October 2024. The jury returned a verdict of $1,362,382, and with interest the judgment exceeded $1.6 million. The firm then pursued the insurer for bad faith in refusing to settle within the limits, and the judgment and the bad-faith claim resolved for a total of $1,330,000.
In a Cook County wrongful death case handled by Edward J. Manzke, the firm settled for $925,000 on behalf of the family of a 64-year-old man who died after falling from a dump truck at a construction yard, where the family alleged that a grab bar on the truck was defective.
The firm's other three reported settlements aren't described here in order to protect our clients' confidentiality.
Each year Chicago Lawyer and the Jury Verdict Reporter rank Illinois law firms by the total of their reported settlements of $500,000 or more, and each entry lists the firm, its total, its number of cases and the attorneys named in those cases. The 2026 report covers settlements reported from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, and Chicago Lawyer's coverage of the 2026 report is available online.
Collins Law Group, P.C. has appeared in the report every year since 2020, including a fourth-place finish in 2024.
It's Chicago Lawyer magazine's annual ranking of Illinois law firms by their reported settlements of $500,000 or more, compiled by the Jury Verdict Reporter. The 2026 report covers settlements reported from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, and lists 129 firms.
Collins Law Group, P.C., a personal injury and wrongful death firm at 1770 Park St., Suite 200, in Naperville, ranked highest, and attorneys John D. Risvold and Edward J. Manzke were named for the firm's five reported settlements.
The firm's largest settlement in the 2026 report was $1,330,000 on a $100,000 policy, in a DuPage County case that followed a jury verdict for an emergency room nurse who needed four spine surgeries after a rear-end crash in Naperville.
We thank our clients and the attorneys who referred these cases.
Collins Law Group, P.C. is a Naperville-based trial firm representing individuals and families in catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, and environmental contamination cases throughout Illinois. The firm's office is at 1770 Park St., Suite 200, Naperville, IL 60563, and it can be reached at (630) 527-1595.
John D. Risvold is an equity partner at Collins Law Group, P.C. in Naperville, Illinois. He represents individuals and families in catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases and has tried cases to verdict in Illinois courts. He has been named to Best Lawyers in America for Personal Injury Litigation and Illinois Super Lawyers.
