 | Shawn S. Kasserman
Corboy & Demetrio
33 North Dearborn St.
21st Floor
Chicago, IL 60602
312-346-3191 (direct)
312-346-3191 (firm)
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EDITORIAL REVIEW
He landed seven figure injury settlements for a rescue worker pinned between two vehicles and a carjacking victim. Submit your evaluation of this attorney. Contact Lawdragon about the information in this review.
Shawn combines a keen awareness of the law and a calculating approach to litigation with a
compassionate appreciation for his clients. As a Chicago personal injury lawyer working in an aggressive and resourceful
manner, Shawn has obtained many multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements on behalf of his clients. His work at Corboy
& Demetrio encompasses diverse areas of the law, including transportation negligence, trucking and automobile collisions,
product liability, premises liability, construction negligence and medical negligence.
The grandson of the late Illinois Appellate Court Justice George Kasserman, Shawn developed, at an early age, a respect for
the law and the protection it can bring to the vulnerable. In 1987 Shawn left his job as a construction worker and enrolled
in DePaul University College of Law. While attending school, Shawn was hired at the Chicago personal injury and medical
malpractice law firm of Corboy & Demetrio to work as a law clerk for Philip Corboy and Tom Demetrio. Upon graduation, Shawn
was hired as an attorney at the law firm, and less than four years later, obtained his first million-dollar verdict.
Shawn’s success as a personal injury and medical malpractice attorney includes a record-setting jury verdict of $6 million
for a family whose mother died from an anesthesiologist’s negligence. He obtained an $8.5 million settlement for the family
of an assistant fire chief killed when a fire erupted at a Neiman Marcus store, a $5.7 million settlement for a volunteer
emergency worker pinned between two vehicles and won a jury verdict of $4.4 million on behalf of a motorcyclist who was
waved into the path of an uninsured driver by a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus driver. In another case involving the
CTA, Shawn represented a pedestrian who was struck by a bus as he crossed a street mid block. After almost three weeks of
trial, the CTA paid $4.4 million dollars to settle the case.
In a premises liability case, White Castle Restaurant paid Shawn’s client $4 million for injuries sustained during an armed
robbery/car jacking attempt in the restaurant’s drive-through. Prior to the trial, defendants had made no settlement offer.
Following ten days of trial and closing arguments, the defendants paid $4 million to avoid the jury’s verdict.
Two significant product liability cases resulted in record settlements for Shawn’s clients. In separate but similar
incidents, two small children were killed when the portable cribs they were in collapsed. The manufacturers of the popular
baby shower gifts had settled similar cases earlier but insisted that the settlements be confidential. Both cases settled
only after the defendants gave up their demands for confidentiality in order to avoid jury trials. Playskool/Hasbro paid $3
million dollars to the family of an eighteen month-old boy, and Evenflo, Inc. paid $2.6 million to the family of an
eight-month old boy.
In a construction liability case, Shawn obtained a settlement of $3 million for a back hoe operator who drove his machine
too closely to a twenty foot ditch that had filled with water. The general contractor paid the settlement after it was
established that they failed to adequately shore up the earth around the trench.
His success as a Chicago personal injury trial attorney has gained him recognition. Shawn was named one of the top 100
Super Lawyers in Illinois, the youngest of only 17 plaintiff’s personal injury attorneys on the 2009 list. He has
been recognized as a Leading Lawyers, a designation given to only the top 5% of all Illinois lawyers by the Leading Lawyers
Network, and has achieved the highest rating in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory. In 2004, he was named to the
Law Bulletin Publishing Company’s list of “40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch,” based on his career achievements,
his quick rise in the field of personal injury law and his contributions to the community and the legal profession.
He is a frequent lecturer and moderator at continuing legal education seminars and is a contributing author for several
legal publications.
Honors
- AV rated - Highest level awarded - by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory
- Illinois Bar Foundation, Board of Directors
- Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Board of Managers
- Illinois Super Lawyer - One of the top 100 Super Lawyers in Illinois and the youngest of only 17 plaintiff's personal
injury lawyers, 2009
- Illinois Super Lawyer - Top 5% of all Illinois lawyers, 2005 - present
- Kids in Danger, Board of Directors
- Leading Lawyers Network Member - Top 5% of all Illinois attorneys, 2003 - present
- “New Stars, New World,” Honoree, Lawdragon, 2006
- “40 Under 40 Illinois Attorneys to Watch,” 2004
Professional Affiliations
- American Association for Justice (AAJ), formerly known as
Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA), Young Lawyers Section, Board of Governors, 1991
- American Bar Association (ABA), Political Action Committee, 1993
- Chicago Bar Association (CBA), Young Lawyers Section, Homeless
& Runaway Youth Committee, 1992-1993; Judicial Evaluation Committee, 1998-1999
- DePaul University College of Law Alumni Board, Mentor Program, 2001
- DuPage County Bar Association, Civil Practice Committee, 1995-1996
- Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA), Young Lawyers Division
Council Member, 1991; Ad Hoc Committee for the First Annual Illinois State Bar Association Leadership Conference,
1993-1994; Illinois State Bar Association Leadership Conference, Moderator, 1994-1995; Organizational Committee for the
Leadership Conference, 1995-1996; Young Lawyers Division, Chair, 1997-1998, Special Committee on the Future of the Courts,
2001-2002; Standing Committee on Legislation, 2008-2010
- Illinois Bar Foundation, Board of Directors, 2008; Scholarship
Committee, 2007; Gala Raffle Co-Chair, 2006
- Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA), Board of Managers, 2008
- National Moot Court Competition Midwest Regions Chairperson, 1991-92
- Supreme Court Historical Society, 2005
Community Involvement
- Glen Ellyn Planning Commission, 2005-2007
- Kids In Danger, Board of Directors, 2004-present
Practice Areas
Education
Bar & Court Admissions
See Library Tab for articles, publications and presentations
by Shawn Kasserman |
