As we write this in early May of 2025, we have deep concerns about what is going on in Washington, D.C., with multiple executive orders from the President that are coming down against law firms. About 45 days ago, we began to see executive orders against a number of big law firms, and some of them have capitulated and relented to the administration's wishes as to doing pro bono work for the administration. However, some of these law firms, including one very near us in Chicago, Jenner & Block, have not - and they've decided to fight back.

Our firm has decided to show our support by signing on to ...

Last month, Romanucci & Blandin hosted a Continuing Legal Education seminar that was attended by referring attorneys. The event, “Easiest Catch: Don’t Be Another Fish in the Dark ‘Net’” was presented by Mark Lanterman, Chief Technology Officer of Computer Forensic Service, via Zoom. A former member of the U.S. Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force, Mark spoke on common hacking techniques, common misconceptions about online security, and preventive measures to protect both personal and professional digital information. Read on to learn tips and tricks from ...

At Romanucci & Blandin, we handle a wide array of practice areas, from personal injury and medical malpractice to civil rights cases and class actions. Working on such a diverse caseload is a privilege, but it also poses challenges that can only be overcome with diligence and organization. 

When presented with new and often complex cases, it is vital for the attorney and their team to thoughtfully and efficiently develop a case strategy. We then break the case strategy into clear action items to ensure the most efficient path to resolution. Teamwork and division of labor are the most ...

In March 2021, our world was no longer as we knew it. It shut down, forcing business owners, including our law firm, to reimagine how they do business. In a law firm setting, so much is gained from in-person communication, whether it be client meetings, depositions, collaboration among attorneys and staff, or mentoring, just to name a few.

In an instant, our law firm went strictly remote- transitioning from a significantly hands-on office and an intensively collaborative environment, to Zoom meetings all day, every day. We learned a lot during this past year. We learned that our ...

The law is always changing. Whether it be from legislative changes made by the government, judicial rulings by judges or arguments thoughtfully made by attorneys, the law constantly evolves.  

Romanucci & Blandin has made it a goal to keep up with changes in the law and to emphasize education among its attorneys and staff. To this end, the firm has prioritized Continuing Legal Education (CLE) for the office. To stay current, the firm hosts in-house CLE seminars throughout the year on relevant legal issues, including the practice areas we focus on, as well as technology and community ...

At Romanucci & Blandin, we have the distinct privilege of representing clients in some of the most significant and most devastating cases from around the world: the Boeing 737 MAX 8 crash in Ethiopia, mass shootings in Las Vegas and Orlando, and claims nationwide for cancer caused by products like Roundup and Zantac. These cases bring together individuals who have all been injured, sickened, or otherwise harmed or killed by a common cause. Our firm is proud to not only seek justice for those people but also lead groups of law firms in that pursuit in such other high-profile cases as:

On June 5, 2020, Governor Pritzker signed into law the COVID-19 Presumption Bill which stated that for purposes of the Illinois Workers Compensation Act or Occupational Disease Act, for front-line Workers and first responders who were exposed to and contracted COVID-19, there will be a rebuttable presumption that the exposure and contraction of the virus arose out of and was in the course of their employment, and that the disease was causally related to their employment – meaning it will be presumed that it was contracted at work, and no further proof will be necessary. This ...

The team at Romanucci & Blandin, like all of our law firm peers, has been navigating this incredible time by adapting to work from home, continuing to advocate for our clients and keep our staff connected.

With the Governor of Illinois now moving us into the next stage of recovery, we are all trying to plan for the re-opening of our offices while keeping people distanced and healthy yet productive. At R&B, we have created a Return to Office model that we feel accomplishes all of those goals by using a staff rotation, allowing some team members to continue to work fully remote and installing ...

The economic devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic is cratering the restaurant and retail sectors, where the necessary government shutdown for non-essential businesses has quickly crippled thousands of companies.

Unlike many other businesses that have a robust online component, restaurants are in-person experiences and are all about sharing: sharing a physical space, being served by wait staff who handle your plates and beverages, and eating food prepared by others. The social distancing guidelines have made all of that impossible, and even restaurants that remain open for ...

There have been promising developments in recent months for anyone involved in a workers’ compensation (WC) case in Illinois. WC attorneys are pleased to see so many needed and overdue resources added to speed the resolution of more WC cases in the state. The appointment of new arbitrators and an enhanced document-handling process will deliver greater efficiency and more prompt conclusions for parties.  

Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC) arbitrators conduct judicial hearings, render awards and decisions, and approve settlement contracts in accordance with ...

On Friday, June 7, 2019, Antonio M. Romanucci, Founding Partner at Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, was installed as the 66th President of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA) at its annual convention at the JW Marriott Chicago.

Since 1995, Romanucci has been an active member of ITLA. He was elected to the Board of Managers in 2003 and has served on ITLA’s Executive Committee and Nominating Committee.

“As a trial attorney, it is my life’s mission to make a difference in the lives of my clients while changing society to better protect us all. If it weren’t for instrumental ...

As a member of the Board of Governors and Leaders Forum of the American Association for Justice (AAJ), I am so very proud of our most recent victory in successfully fighting forced arbitration.

The AAJ’s public affairs and communications teams were successful in squelching the efforts of The Carlyle Group, a private equity firm, to eliminate investor lawsuits! Carlyle filed with the SEC on January 10 to go public, and those IPO filings included a mandatory arbitration clause. As a result of the AAJ’s efforts, Carlyle backed down.

Make no mistake: this is an important victory for the ...

We at Romanucci & Blandin applaud a recent Illinois Appellate Court opinion that reversed a lower court’s decision, making it easier for all hospital patients who contract methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) to obtain medical records to pursue legal action.

The Court’s review arose from a case in which our firm represented two families whose breadwinners contracted MRSA at Advocate Christ Medical Center. One of the patients died.

In its ruling, the court rectified the injustice of the Circuit Court of Cook County by holding that information regarding MRSA ...

We at Romanucci & Blandin are extremely disappointed in and disturbed by a U.S. Supreme Court decision on April 28 that upheld consumer contracts banning class-action arbitration. It is pro-business and severely limits class-action litigation.

In its ruling, the court said that a California law that invalidated contracts banning class-action arbitration with businesses was preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act. What led up to the case being heard by the high court was a dispute between AT&T Mobility and a California couple who opposed being charged a $30 sales tax for a ...

Our Chicago law firm has learned that the Illinois House of Representatives is considering legislation that would increase awareness of football-related head trauma and provide concussion safeguards for high school student athletes. Bravo to them for trying to pass a long-overdue law.

Former Chicago Bears offensive lineman Kurt Becker urged a House panel yesterday to back the legislation, citing the suicide just days ago of his former teammate Dave Duerson. Prior to his death, Duerson made arrangements to have his brain donated for trauma research with the hope that more can ...

Have you recently been injured in an accident caused by another individual’s neglect, carelessness, or recklessness? If so, you may be entitled to significant compensation for your injuries.

The first step is to check with a Chicago personal injury attorney who has the training and experience to help you get the maximum compensation you deserve. Thankfully, you do not need to fight your own case.

Many people are apprehensive about consulting a personal injury professional because they are not aware of how these professionals work and what they do. The legal field is very complex and ...

The New York Times (12/22, A40) editorializes that in “a lamentable 5-to-4 decision earlier this year” in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, “the Supreme Court discarded 50 years of legal precedent to make it significantly harder for Americans to assert their legal rights in federal court.” The case “involved a Muslim man swept up on immigration charges after the Sept. 11 attacks,” but the “damage went beyond the case or the national security sphere.

The court altered the procedural rules for initiating a lawsuit, raising the bar in a fashion destined to make it far harder to bring valid ...

Romanucci & Blandin and other attorneys, working with Margaret Benson, director of the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (CVLS), recently hosted a breakfast meeting for volunteer lawyers interested in providing pro bono legal services at Operation PUSH in Chicago, established by Rev. Jesse Jackson.

At the event, Rev. Jackson told attorneys about the critical need for free legal counsel to low-income people in areas including divorce, child support and visitation, guardianship, adoption, special education, consumer fraud, landlord-tenant, bankruptcy and tort defense.

Should there be a cap on medical malpractice awards? No, said two-thirds of the respondents to a Chicago Tribune online survey published in the paper’s June 23, 2009, edition. There were 2,010 “no” responses and 1,045 “yes” responses, the Tribune reported. Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, has long opposed caps on damages.

Among reader comments printed in Wednesday’s Tribune:

• “There should not be caps. The numbers are arbitrary. Why should someone be compensated less because a negligent doctor hurt him than if a negligent driver did?”
• “Medical malpractice caps sound ...

The Bush administration is working hard on tort reform -- not through Congress but through the Supreme Court. Now that Bush has a majority most of the time, the Court has been issuing increasingly conservative decisions that preempt state laws on consumer safety.

Already, one decision, Riegler v. Medtronic, protects the medical device industry so long as it seeks federal approval for its product before selling it to the public. Even the doctors are worried. When the doctors worry about medical safety, it is time for you to worry also.