Michael R. Grieco

Michael began his tenure at Romanucci & Blandin, LLC as a law clerk in 2014, where he quickly learned the importance of representing the injured and wronged with tenacity, passion, and dedication.

Since joining Romanucci & Blandin as an associate attorney in 2018, Michael has focused on the practice areas of medical malpractice, construction negligence, toxic torts, motor vehicle collisions and wrongful death.  

In his first three years of practice, Michael had the privilege of second chairing multiple trials with Founding Partner, Stephan D. Blandin including a complex medical malpractice and nursing home case. He also crossed examined a Defendant driver before the jury awarded a $1.3 million dollar verdict. 

Michael’s work has helped secure multiple medical malpractice settlements in the amount of $12.35 million, $8 million, $4.25 million, and $2.875 million. Michael also had the honor of representing the family of a worker who died following a tragic workplace injury which resulted in a $50 million settlement in November 2020.  He took over 40 depositions in the case and worked with and presented expert witnesses across the country in an effort to help prove this complex case.   

Most recently, Michael filed lawsuits on behalf of nine Plaintiffs stemming from illnesses caused by metal companies that were dumping chemicals into the groundwater in Union, Illinois.  Further, he continues to litigate the firm’s concussion litigation cases against the National Football League (NFL) on behalf of retired football players and works on several Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash cases against Boeing.

Michael obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame in 2012 where he walked on the football team as a kicker and earned a varsity letter his senior year.  He went on to earn his Juris Doctor from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law. 

Michael is an active member of various professional organizations including the American Association for Justice, Illinois Trial Lawyer Association, Chicago Bar Association, and Illinois State Bar Association.  

Experience

• J.D., Loyola University Chicago School of Law, 2017
• B.A., University of Notre Dame, 2012

• Named one of The Best Lawyers in America© by U.S. News and World Report, 2023
• Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, 2021-2023
• American Association for Justice, Certificate of Recognition, 2020-2022
• American Association for Justice, New Lawyers Division – Excellence Award, 2020-2021
• Rising Star by Illinois Super Lawyers®, 2020-2023
• Emerging Lawyer by Law Bulletin Publishing Company, 2021-2023

• Anthony J. Fornelli Emerging Leader Award, 2017
• Justinian Society of Lawyers, Civil Justice Preservation Scholarship, 2017
• Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Emilie Tavoliere Furda Scholarship, 2017
• University of Notre Dame Football Monogram Recipient, 2012

• American Association for Justice (AAJ)
  • Board of Governors, 2022-2024
  • Professional Negligence Group Secretary 2022-2023
  • Professional Negligence Section Newsletter Editor, 2021-2022
  • New Lawyers Division Education Committee, Co-Chair, 2020-2022
• Chicago Bar Association (CBA)
  • Judicial Evaluation Committee, 2020, 2021
  • Young Lawyers Division Tort Litigation Committee, Co-Chair, 2021
• Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA), Member
• Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA), Member

• Joint Civil Committee of Italian Americans (JCCIA), Member
• Justinian Society of Lawyers, Member
• St. Ignatius College Prep
  • Young Alumni Society
  • Monogram Club
• University of Notre Dame
  • Monogram Career Network
  • Monogram Club
• University of Notre Dame Club of Chicago

• $50 million Work Place Injury Settlement (Confidential) – Highest Non-Aviation Wrongful Death Settlement in Illinois history, 2020 
• $12.35 million Medical Malpractice Settlement (Confidential) – Largest Medical Malpractice Settlement ever reported in Illinois for failure to diagnose breast cancer, 2019 
• $8 million Medical Malpractice Settlement (Confidential) – Experimental Surgery results in Colostomy Bag for Minor, 2021 
• $6 million Work Place Injury Settlement (Confidential) – Plumber suffered fall leading to fusion surgeries, 2018
• $4.25 million Medical Malpractice Settlement (Confidential) – Physician misdiagnosed 2-year old’s croup cough leading to death, 2019
• $3.3 million Premises Liability Settlement (Confidential) – Property owner allowed for dangerous condition leading to traumatic brain injury, 2019 
• $2.875 million Medical Malpractice Settlement (Confidential) – Failure to diagnose cauda equina syndrome, 2019
• $1.33 million Verdict – Crossed examined the Defendant driver at trial in motor vehicle crash case (Cohn v. Mezyk), 2018
• $500,000 Podiatry Malpractice Settlement (Confidential) – Highest Lake County Podiatry Settlement in the last 7 years, 2021

• Illinois, 2018
• Northern District of Illinois, 2018

Blog Posts

• Presenter, Professional Negligence Section Lunch and Learn Series Part 2: Client Engagement, AAJ Sections, February 2023
• Presenter, Under Pressure: Tips for Managing Stress, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Ethics and Professionalism Seminar CLE, 2021
• Presenter, Obstruction over Zoom – How to Maintain Control, American Association for Justice, Trial Lawyer Convention, Las Vegas, NV, July 2021
• Speaker with Martin D. Gould, An injured worker comes to your office. What do you do? Key pointers to litigating the Worker’s Comp Third-Party Crossover Case, Chicago Bar Association, Chicago, IL,  December 2019
• Speaker with Antonio M. Romanucci, The Noncredible or Unlikeable Client, How to Turn the Loser into a Winner, Frontiers in Advocacy Convention – Traumatic Brain Injury, Nashville, TN, May 2018
• Speaker, Discover Loyola, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Chicago, IL, April 2017
• Speaker, Bridging the Gap from Law School to Practice, Chicago Bar Association, Chicago, IL, October 2016
• Speaker, Current Issues in Collegiate Athletics: Ongoing Litigation and Workable Models for the Future of the NCAA, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Chicago, IL, October 2014