Matthew L. Willens

Voted “Best of the Best” Personal Injury Lawyer in Chicago – Top Personal Injury Attorneys

Matthew L. Willens is recognized nationally and by the Illinois legal community as the “Best of the Best” in personal injury law.  Nationally, he has been selected for membership into the National Association of Distinguished Counsel – The Nation’s Top One Percent of Attorneys. In Illinois, he is rated best and voted best by his peers, year after year.

He has been designated by his peers as a Top 100 “Illinois Super Lawyer” – an honor given to less than 1% of Illinois lawyers.  He has an AV® Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5 peer review rating – the highest rating possible in personal injury and medical malpractice – in the highly distinguished Martindale-Hubbell® legal directory. He has a 10/10 (Superb) Avvo Rating with the highest possible marks in all categories including experience, industry recognition and professional conduct.

He is recognized as a “Leading Lawyer” in Personal Injury Law and Professional Malpractice – based on a survey of legal peers conducted by the Law Bulletin Publishing Company’s Leading Lawyer Network. He has been recognized as one of the “10 Best” Attorneys in Illinois by the American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys (AIOPIA) for having attained the highest degree of professional achievement in personal injury law and for impeccable client satisfaction ratings.

In 2004, he was named one of the ’40 Attorneys Under 40 in Illinois to Watch’ by the Law Bulletin Publishing Company – an honor given to less than 1% of the lawyers in Illinois. He is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum – where membership is limited to trial attorneys who have obtained million and multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements – where less than 1% of lawyers in the United States are members. He is also listed in Who’s Who in American Law and Strathmore’s Who’s Who, publications that honor the best and brightest lawyers in the country.

Mr. Willens has a unique understanding of the dynamics and strategies of serious personal injury and wrongful death cases because he has had experience from both sides of the aisle. Before starting his own firm, he was a partner at Clifford Law Offices where he successfully litigated and tried a wide variety of serious personal injury, medical malpractice and wrongful death cases on behalf of plaintiffs. Prior to that, he worked for a major insurance company where he coordinated and managed the strategic direction of million-dollar-plus personal injury and wrongful death cases. His knowledge of the defense industry is indispensable in prosecuting cases for individuals who have been victims of negligence.

Mr. Willens has recovered millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for a wide variety of personal injury and medical malpractice cases in his career including the following:

• $15.8M Verdict – Car Accident (recognized by the National Law Journal as one of the top 100 verdicts in the country in 2007)
• $10M Settlement – Medical Malpractice
• $7M Settlement – Medical Malpractice
• $4M Settlement – Medical Malpractice
• $3.1M Verdict – Medical Malpractice (record verdict in failure to diagnose breast cancer case)
• $3M Settlement – Car Accident
• $2.25M Settlement – Truck Accident
• $2.01M Settlement – Porch Collapse
• $1.7M Settlement – Medical Malpractice
• $1.5M Settlement – Truck Accident
• $1.25M Settlement – Police Misconduct
• $1.04M Partial Settlement – Asbestos Exposure
• $1M Settlement – Medical Malpractice
• $880K Partial Settlement – Asbestos Exposure
• $775K Settlement – Nursing Home Negligence
• $750K Settlement – Construction Accident
• $725K Settlement – Nursing Home Negligence
• $510K Settlement – Truck Accident
• $500K Settlement – Motorcycle Accident
• $500K Settlement – Car Accident
• $492K Verdict – Car Accident
• $460K Arbitration Award – Car Accident
• $378K Verdict – Premises Liability
• $374K Verdict – Bus Accident

Mr. Willens gives back to the legal profession as well. He is an adjunct professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Law where he teaches Advanced Trial Advocacy. He has written for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, the nation’s oldest daily legal publication. In addition, he has authored articles in legal periodicals and has been a regular speaker at legal seminars throughout the country on various topics related to trial advocacy.  In addition to giving back to the legal profession, he donates his time and money generously to many good causes.

Regardless of his awards and accolades achieved in his two decades as a trial lawyer, he’s unlikely to talk much about them.  He’s more likely to talk proudly about his wife and three children.

Learn more about Matthew Willens – personal biography