Appellate Litigation

Rusin & Maciorowski, Ltd., which has long had an outstanding reputation for trial litigation, has also developed a premier appellate litigation practice group. Our lawyers include former judicial law clerks who possess significant experience in the federal and state appellate courts. These lawyers have handled a broad spectrum of legal issues including transportation, product liability, indemnification, and Workers’ Compensation.

As the firms’ primary practice is defending employers in worker’s compensation cases, our attorneys have extensive experience in appeals before the Workers Compensation Division of the Illinois Appellate Courts.

Our appellate advocates are assisted by the extensive multi-discipline base of trial attorneys who develop the recognition of issues early in the lower court. Our insights serve clients by early identification of procedural, evidentiary and substantive legal issues at the trial level and re-evaluating the results to decide whether or not an appeal is pursuable. The greatest strength of our appellate practice group is our emphasis on presenting complex questions of law and fact in simple and straightforward terms. Effective appellate advocacy, like effective trial advocacy, is ultimately a challenge to tell a persuasive and clear story that enables the decision-maker to appreciate why our client is right and, within the boundaries of the law, should prevail. We strive not only to apply the law but to show why our client should and must win.

A representative list of our clients includes:

Insurance Companies

  • ACE/CIGNA
  • Acuity
  • American International Group
  • AmTrust North America
  • Argonaut Insurance Co.
  • Employers Mutual Companies
  • Farmers Insurance Company
  • Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company
  • Grocers Insurance
  • Harleysville Insurance
  • The Hartford
  • Liberty Mutual Insurance
  • Lumbermens Underwriting Alliance
  • Midwest Insurance Company
  • National Farmers Union
  • One Beacon
  • Sentry Insurance Company
  • Travelers Insurance
  • Standard Mutual Insurance
  • State Farm Fire & Casualty Co.
  • Tokio Marine Insurance Company
  • Transguard Insurance Company
  • Utica Insurance
  • West Bend Insurance/NSI
  • Westfield Insurance Group
  • Zurich Insurance Company

Manufacturers

  • ABC Rail/National Castings
  • Boise Cascade
  • Chrysler Corp.
  • Cooper Industries
  • Ford Motor Co.
  • Gardner Denver Machinery, Inc.
  • Gerresheimer Glass
  • Georgia Pacific
  • Gunite Corp.
  • Innophos
  • Johnson Controls
  • Keystone Consolidated Industries
  • Leggett & Platt
  • Marmon Group
  • Safway Steel/Safway Services
  • Sterling Steel
  • Vesuvius USA

Motor Carriers

  • Conway Central Services
  • Dayton Freight Lines
  • J.B. Hunt Transportation
  • McLane Midwest
  • XPO Logistics, Inc.

Municipalities

  • City of Bloomington
  • City of Wheaton
  • Village of Downers Grove
  • Illinois Public Risk Fund (IPRF)
  • Village of Alsip
  • Intergovernmental Risk Management Agency (IRMA)
  • Village of Addison
  • Village of Arlington Heights
  • Village of Barrington
  • Village of Bartlett
  • Bartlett Fire Protection Dist.
  • Village of Berkeley
  • Village of Bloomingdale
  • Village of Brookfield
  • Village of Burr Ridge
  • Village of Carol Stream
  • Carol Stream Fire Protection Dist.
  • Village of Cary
  • Cary Area Public Library Dist
  • Village of Clarendon Hills
  • City of Countryside
  • Village of Crete
  • City of Crystal Lake
  • City of Darien
  • Village of East Hazel Crest
  • Village of Flossmoor
  • Village of Glencoe
  • Village of Hanover Park
  • Village of Hazel Crest
  • Village of Hillside
  • Village of Hinsdale
  • Village of Homewood
  • Village of Indian Head Park
  • Village of Kenilworth
  • Village of LaGrange
  • Village of LaGrange Park
  • Village of Lake Bluff
  • City of Lake Forest
  • Village of Lake in the Hills
  • Village of Lake Zurich
  • Village of Lemont
  • Village of Libertyville
  • Village of Lincolnwood
  • Village of Lisle
  • Lyons Township Comm. Ctr.
  • Village of Morton Grove
  • Village of Mundelein
  • Village of Northbrook
  • Village of Northfield
  • Village of Oak Brook
  • Village of Olympia Fields
  • City of Palos Heights
  • Village of Palos Park
  • Village of Park Forest
  • Village of Richton Park
  • Village of River Forest
  • Village of Riverside
  • City of Rolling Meadows
  • Village of Roselle
  • Village of Stickney
  • Village of Sugar Grove
  • Village of Tinley Park
  • Village of Villa Park
  • City of West Chicago
  • West Chicago FPD
  • Village of West Dundee
  • Village of Westchester
  • Village of Western Springs
  • Village of Westmont
  • Village of Willowbrook
  • Village of Wilmette
  • Village of Winfield
  • Winfield Fire Protection Dist.
  • Village of Woodridge
  • Park District Risk Management Agency (PDRMA)
  • Special Recreation Association of Central Lake Co.
  • Deerfield Park District
  • Homewood Flossmoor Park Dist.
  • Forest Preserve Dist. Of Will Co.
  • Lake County Forest Preserve Dist.
  • West Suburban Special Recreation
  • Rockford Park Dist.
  • Will County Forest Preserve
  • Park District of Highland Park
  • Park Ridge Park Dist.
  • Lake Bluff Park Dist.
  • Park Dist. Of Oak Park
  • Elk Grove Park District
  • Peoria Park District
  • Manhattan Park District
  • Decatur Park District
  • Fox Valley Park District
  • Roselle Park District
  • Streamwood Park District
  • Wheeling Park District
  • Gurnee Park District
  • Wheaton Park District
  • Mundelein Park Distirct
  • Waukegan Park District
  • Crystal Lake Park District

Third Party Administrators and Agencies

  • AIG Claims Service
  • Aon Risk Services
  • Assisted Housing Risk Management Association (AHRMA)
  • Berkeley Risk Administrators
  • BerkleyNet
  • Brentwood Services Administrators
  • Broadspire/Crawford & Company
  • Cambridge Integrated Services
  • Cannon Cochran Management Services (CCMSI)
  • Constitution State Service Company
  • Corvel
  • ESIS
  • Gallagher Bassett Services
  • Helmsman
  • National Employee Care Systems
  • PMA Management
  • Risk Enterprise Management
  • Sedgwick CMS
  • Underwriters Safety & Claims

Utilities, Business and Retail

  • Arch Coal of Illinois
  • Certified Grocers
  • Claussen Pickle Company
  • Dial Corporation/Henkel
  • Exelon/Commonwealth Edison
  • Export Packaging
  • Gonnella Baking Company
  • Illinois Sports Service
  • J. S. Alberici
  • Koppers, Inc.
  • Kraft Foods, Inc.
  • Landry’s Restaurants
  • Lucent Technologies
  • Qwest Communications
  • SCI Companies
  • Silverado
  • Sprint PCS
  • Target Corporation
  • UHaul
  • United Service Companies
  • Verizon/GTE