Clifford Law Offices

Since 1984, Clifford Law Offices has represented clients facing catastrophic injury and wrongful death in Chicago and across the United States. Founded by Robert A. Clifford, the firm has recovered more than $5 billion for clients and built an international reputation for Righting the Heaviest Wrongs® when stakes are the highest.

Clifford Law Offices handles complex cases across personal injury, medical malpractice, transportation liability, aviation litigation, product liability, commercial litigation, and class action matters. With hundreds of years of combined experience, its attorneys have the talent, resources, and determination to take on major corporations, institutions, and government entities in litigation involving multiple defendants, highly technical evidence, and years of preparation and proceedings.

Together, its accomplished trial attorneys have built a record of results in complex litigation. The team has recovered numerous record verdicts and significant settlements for people whose lives have been permanently changed by catastrophic injuries and for families who have lost loved ones.

A Record of Results in Complex Personal Injury Cases

The firm's results demonstrate both the breadth of its personal injury practice and its ability to take on cases involving devastating injuries, multiple defendants, and complex questions of liability. In 2026, Clifford Law Offices secured a $60 million settlement for a 31-year-old woman who was paralyzed in a crash involving unsafe conditions in an Interstate 55 construction zone. The firm also obtained a $50 million verdict for the family of an eight-year-old boy who was sexually assaulted while attending a climbing and fitness camp.

Those results follow a record $66 million judgment for the family of a 39-year-old mother of four who died following a negligently performed surgical procedure. The firm has also secured major recoveries in transportation cases, including a $25 million settlement for a bicyclist who suffered severe injuries after a truck turned into her path. Together, these outcomes reflect the firm’s ability to pursue complex litigation across medical malpractice, transportation liability, and other areas of catastrophic injury law.

Leaders in Aviation Litigation

Clifford Law Offices is widely recognized for its aviation litigation practice, having represented victims and families in nearly every major commercial airline disaster in the United States over the past forty years, as well as numerous private aircraft incidents. The firm's aviation attorneys have handled high-profile cases involving aircraft manufacturers, airlines, government agencies, maintenance providers, and other entities responsible for aviation safety, often across multiple jurisdictions and countries.

The firm represented the families of more than 70 victims in the 2019 crash of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 in Ethiopia that killed all 157 people aboard, with Mr. Clifford serving as Lead Counsel and partner Tracy A. Brammeier serving as court-appointed Liaison Counsel for all plaintiffs.

The aviation team also represents individuals and families directly impacted by the November 2025 UPS Flight 2976 cargo plane crash in Louisville, Kentucky and filed the first wrongful death lawsuits arising from the mid-air collision of American Eagle Flight 5342 and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Washington, D.C., which killed 67 people.

Clifford Law Offices has also handled major aviation cases involving the Turkish Airlines crash at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, United Airlines Flight 585, and US Air Flight 427, with Mr. Clifford and the aviation team often serving in leadership roles in major aviation proceedings. Across decades of aviation litigation, the firm's work has helped uncover safety failures, establish accountability, and contribute to changes intended to make air travel safer.

Nationally Recognized Trial Attorneys

Through the work of its trial attorneys, Clifford Law Offices has been named one of the National Law Journal's Top 50 “America's Elite Trial Lawyers,” the only Chicago law firm to receive this distinction. The firm has also received top-tier rankings from Best Law Firms® in multiple practice areas, including aviation accidents, medical malpractice, product liability, and class actions. Super Lawyers has ranked Mr. Clifford #1 in Illinois 14 times, more than any other attorney in the state. In 2026, 15 Clifford Law Offices partners were also named to the Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers, reflecting the depth of the firm's trial team across multiple areas of plaintiff litigation.

Behind those distinctions is a firm that has spent more than four decades representing people during some of the most difficult moments of their lives. Clifford Law Offices approaches each case with thorough preparation, sound judgment, and an understanding that even the largest and most consequential litigation ultimately begins with an individual or family seeking answers and accountability.