Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca

Attorney Stanley Eisenstein

Stanley Eisenstein works closely with our diverse labor union clientele. He strongly believes that counseling, advising and educating our labor clientele is a critical component of the firm’s successful labor practice over many decades. In addition to traditional labor law practice for labor unions, he handles a wide range of individual employment-related disputes from discrimination to benefits. During his career, Stanley has handled literally over five hundred complaints issued by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for our many labor union clients, which is an unprecedented number for any labor attorney, on either the management or labor side. He was actively involved as a primary litigator for the UAW before the NLRB and numerous Federal and State courts in the unprecedented labor dispute between the UAW and Caterpillar Corp. during the 1990’s. He has successfully handled individual discrimination casas, including achieving a major jury verdict against United Airlines in a disability discrimination case. Gile v. United Airlines.

He has written numerous labor and employment law articles and case law updates in Illinois State Bar Association publications. He has been a frequent speaker on a multitude of labor issues before such organizations as the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education; Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago Bar Association; American Arbitration Association, National Academy of Arbitrators and the Illinois State Bar Association. He is a past chairperson of Labor and Employment Law Section Council of the Illinois State Bar.

Stanley has been inducted as a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Election as a Fellow is the highest recognition by one’s colleagues nationally of sustained outstanding performance in the field of labor and employment law exemplifying integrity, dedication and excellence.

Stanley repeatedly has been recognized by his peers in the field of labor and employment law by: The Best Lawyers in America; Illinois Superlawyers; Leading Lawyers; Chicago’s Best Lawyers. He has been selected as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers. He was named as 2013 Chicago Lawyer of the Year – Labor Law – Union.

Regarding the great honor and recognition which the firm received upon being named by U.S. News and World Report in 2013 as Law Firm of the Year  — Labor Law-Union, he observed “This is a great and humbling honor but it is received with some sadness on my part because my mentors and the co-founders of the firm, Harold Katz and Irving Friedman, were not around to see the fruits of their labor. “

Attorney Richard K. Johnson

Richard K. Johnson joined the law firm in 1983. Currently, he is the managing partner of the firm. In addition to these duties, Richard maintains a busy statewide practice representing injured men and women, many of whom are union members. The unique combination of representing labor unions and individual members in work-related injury claims provides Richard the opportunity to integrate the rights and benefits of a union contract with the statutory benefits of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act. Maximizing these benefits for the injured worker is the goal of every case.

Richard has had an active role in establishing the rights of injured workers in repetitive trauma claims, handling the trial and appeal of the cases from the Commission level to the Illinois Supreme Court. In addition, Richard has written “friend of the court” briefs on behalf of injured workers who are not his clients to persuade the Appellate and Supreme Court of Illinois to award compensation benefits. This work is done through the Illinois Trial Lawyers Amicus Committee and on behalf of the United Auto Workers CAP Council. Richard does not charge fees for his “friend of the court” briefing work as he considers it his duty to give back to his profession and to the injured workers who need his help.

Richard’s litigation before the Workers’ Compensation Commission has led to a number of decisions published by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Appellate Court as well as the Illinois Supreme Court. Each of these published decisions resulted in a victory for the injured worker. Richard will fight to the highest court in the State to insure maximum benefits for his clients.  Richard has successfully tried and settled cases against American Airlines, City of Chicago, Navistar, McLane Company, UPS, PepsiCo, Murray Center, North American Lighting, Toyota Boshoku, Chicago Public Schools, University of Chicago Hospital, University of Illinois,  Carle Hospital and Clinics, Amita Health, other hospital and State Prisons represented by the Illinois Nurses Association as well as Delta Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.  Flight attendants have some of the highest rates of injury at work.  As a recommended attorney for the Illinois Education Association, Richard has represented injured ESP workers and Teachers throughout the State against various school districts.

Attorney Philip A. Bareck

Philip A. Bareck has been with Katz Friedman since 1991, became a partner in 2003, and a shareholder in 2007. Currently, he is an Adjunct Professor at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law teaching Workers' Compensation Law, has been selected as an Illinois Super Lawyer (5% of the attorneys in Illinois), included in Best Lawyers in Workers’ Compensation Law, awarded inclusion in Top Trial Lawyers (American Trial Lawyers Association top 100 Trial Lawyers for Illinois), Top Attorneys in Illinois, selected as one of America’s Most Honored Professionals, nominated as “10 Best” Workers’ Compensation Attorneys for Illinois by the American Institute of Legal Counsel (AIOLC) and selected by his peers to be a Leading Lawyer in Workers' Compensation Law (fewer than 5% of all licensed attorneys in Illinois).

His practice concentrates in representing injured employees in Workers’ Compensation and Occupational Disease cases before the Workers’ Compensation Commission, Illinois Circuit, and Appellate courts. He has successfully represented thousands of individuals with a vast array of injuries and has deposed hundreds of physicians in order to protect and preserve his clients’ rights and entitlements. Moreover, he has secured future medical rights and ongoing treatment for his clients requiring long-term care. Philip has spent his career fighting against Caterpillar, Fiat-Chrysler, Knapheide Manufacturing Company, the State of Illinois/Illinois Veterans Home, UTC Hamilton-Sundstrand, AT&T, Comcast, Gardner-Denver Machinery, Mueller Company, Ipsen, Inc., Home Depot and other large and aggressive companies in Illinois. In 2016, he won a significant Appellate Court decision in Dunteman v. Caterpillar in which the Court found that an employee’s self-treatment, at home, for a work-related injury, which worsened the condition, still remained covered by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act. He has spoken to various lawyer groups concerning the Dunteman impact in Illinois and was interviewed and quoted in Work Comp Central concerning the Dunteman decision.

Philip has been a regular speaker/faculty member on workers’ compensation topics for the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education (IICLE) seminars, presented at the Chicago Bar Association, Rockford Bar Association and is a frequent speaker at Union meetings, Retiree meetings, and Labor Law/Workers’ Compensation Workshops in Illinois. He traveled the state as a speaker/presenter on the 2011 Illinois Workers’ Compensation Reform, authored an article captioned “Workers’ Compensation Reform Arrives” in the September 14, 2011 Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, and was quoted in the Chicago Tribune Business Section concerning the 2011 changes to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act.

Attorney Frank J. Bertuca

Frank J. Bertuca, an aggressive litigator, has obtained millions of dollars in benefits on behalf of his clients. He is one of a select group of lawyers to obtain rarely awarded penalties and attorneys’ fees against United Airlines, American Airlines and major automotive manufacturing and insurance companies for their unreasonable conduct denying benefits to injured workers.

He proudly represents injured workers in courts throughout Illinois, including those in the airline, automotive, manufacturing, construction, law enforcement and fire protection industries. Frank has numerous trial victories and settlements for members of the AFA, ALPA, APFA, FOP, Grain Millers, IAFF, lEA, MAP, SEIU, Teamsters, TWU, UAW and many others. He speaks to and educates Union and professional organization members about work injury law. Frank is a faculty lecturer for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education Workers’ Compensation Institute and an author for the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association Education Fund. Additionally, the National Trial Lawyers named Frank one of the top 100 Trial Lawyers and in 2016 Leading Lawyers named him a top attorney.

In the past two years Frank has recovered over $1.5 million dollars for injured police officers and firefighters. He has helped sheriffs’ deputies and corrections officers in Cook, DuPage, Kane and Winnebago counties, along with police officers and firefighters employed by municipalities and fire protection districts throughout Illinois. He has helped first responders with PEDA (Public Employee Disability Act) and PSEBA (Public Safety Employee Benefits Act) and volunteered his time arguing in his brief to the Illinois Supreme Court on behalf of disabled fire-fighters and law enforcement.

Frank has helped thousands of flight attendants with occupationals or IODs (Injury On Duty). Through his clients, Frank has learned about significant risks of injury posed to flight attendants, including turbulence, crew bus accidents, and other risks that have resulted in serious neck, back and disc injuries, along with meniscus tears and total knee replacements. Flight attendants based in Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Newark, Washington D.C., London, and Frankfurt have sought out Frank for his counsel.

Attorney David M. Barish

David M. Barish joined Katz Friedman in the fall of 2001. He covers cases that are set in Chicago, Rockford, Woodstock, Waukegan, Elgin, Wheaton, Geneva and New Lenox. He is available to meet clients at many locations in northern Illinois. David has tried cases against Chrysler and the supplier plants to the Belvidere Assembly including Grupo Antolin, Android and Syncreon.

David is fluent in Spanish and works with a paralegal who is also a fluent Spanish speaker. He has also represented many Polish speaking clients. During the course of his three-decade career he has practiced workers’ compensation law across the state of Illinois and has argued many cases before the Appellate Court of Illinois including Illinois Armored Car v. Industrial Commission, David has an AV, preeminent rating from Martindale Hubbell and a perfect 10 rating from Avvo. He has been recognized as one of Illinois’ Leading Lawyers.

A gifted teacher and public speaker, he has presented and moderated seminars on a variety of workers’ compensation topics for the Illinois State Bar Association, Chicago Bar Association, Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education, National Business Institute and other organizations on a variety of workers’ compensation topics including evidence, jurisdiction, whether an accident arises out of and in the course of employment, and trial strategy. He distinguished himself by achieving high ratings from the reviews he has received for these presentations. He has been a lecturer at the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission’s arbitrator training. He has been the moderator and co-coordinator for the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s Workers’ Compensation Institute since 2014.

David has been representing claimants for Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income for over 30 years.  He has had hearings all over the State of Illinois and has represented many clients in Hannibal, Missouri just across the river from Quincy, Illinois. 

Prior to his affiliation with Katz Friedman, David was a principal at another firm in Chicago where he represented employers and employees in workers’ compensation, social security, and longshoremen’s cases. While at that firm David presented at many client seminars and helped create those educational programs for the firm. He hired that firm’s law student clerks and does the same for Katz, Friedman. David continues to represent injured workers and social security disability claimants as a trial attorney at Katz Friedman. He is an active member of the Workers’ Compensation Lawyer’s Association. He was a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, where he was been a member of the Workers’ Compensation Section Council and served as chair of that Section Council from 2009 to 2010. David graduated from Northwestern University in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science in Speech majoring in Communication Studies. He earned his Juris Doctor from DePaul College of Law in 1983. As a Senior Law Student authorized by Illinois Supreme Court rule, David tried more than 50 criminal cases, including a jury trial, for Public Defender of Cook County. Before attending law school he was a member of Teamsters Local 703 when he worked for a fruit company on Chicago’s South Watermarket. He was sworn in before the Illinois Bar in November 1983.

Attorney Christopher W. Mose

Chris is a savvy litigator and negotiator who specializes in workers’ compensation law and social security disability law. Over the course of his career, he has represented thousands of clients from all walks of life: from teachers to truck drivers and from factory workers to nurses, and union members from the UAW, IEA, INA, SEIU, Teamsters, and various building trades. He is a tireless fighter on behalf of his clients and will do whatever it takes to make sure his clients receive their benefits. He has obtained awards from for disability benefits and penalties against employers for not paying disability benefits in cases before both the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission and the Illinois Appellate Court.

He represents many clients who work in the automotive industry, and has taken on such companies as Ford Motor Company, Mitsubishi Motors, Tower Automotive, and ZF Lemforder. An expert on cases involving injury due to repetitive trauma, he frequently pursues cases for carpal tunnel syndrome, rotator cuff tears, and cubital tunnel syndrome at the elbow from repetitive motion.

Chris also has successfully proven cases of total disability from conditions such as CRPS or RSD, failed back syndrome, spinal fusion and the amputation of a limb.

Over the years, Chris has had many significant decisions, including Judith Randle v. Illinois Industrial Commission, 05 IWCC 0530, which affirmed that an injured worker does not have to prove that her carpal tunnel syndrome was not caused by other medical conditions; Johnsy Anderson v. Dr. Kim Livtezy 16 IWCC 2090, which affirmed that a disabled worker does not have to perform an alternative job where the worker is certified as totally disabled, and Pamela Goff v. State of Illinois, 10 IWCC 12110I, which affirmed that tripping over a rug in the workplace qualifies as a work-related injury.

Prior to joining Katz Friedman in 2002, he worked for a law firm representing Teamster locals and unions in the building trades. In Ware v. Industrial Commission, he won a significant victory at the Appellate Court by establishing that truck drivers who are classified as independent owner-operators can, in fact, be employees of a trucking company and may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. William Ware v. Illinois Industrial Commission, 318 Ill.App.3d 117, 743 N.E.2d 579 (2000).

Attorney Christopher J. Johnson

Christopher Johnson has spent a significant part of his career obtaining tens of millions of dollars in compensation for the accidents suffered by workers on the job. He has litigated across the State of Illinois against various employers such as: Advocate Health Care; AT&T; Chicago Public Schools; City of Chicago; Chicago Transit Authority; Cook County; and State of Illinois. As the grandson and son of nurses, he also takes great pride in representing nurses across Illinois who are injured at work. Mr. Johnson is also a Certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT-B). While many of the injury cases that he has litigated have involved torn ligaments, cartilage, and tendons in the shoulders and knees, he also has years of experience handling cases involving disc injuries to the low back and neck. On less common occasions, he has worked on cases involving irreparable eye and brain injuries. Currently, Mr. Johnson is investigating injuries related to doctors, nurses, health care workers, and other essential workers due to contracting Covid-19 from patients and co-workers.

Much of Mr. Johnson’s career has focused on obtaining compensation for the harms and losses that result as a consequence of basic safety rule violations outside of the work place that cause injuries to innocent people. He has trial and appellate experience in personal injury cases across Illinois, many of which have involved: tractor-trailer crashes; car wrecks; motor vehicle to bicycle collisions; motor vehicle to pedestrian collisions; safety rule violations on construction sites; wrongful death; and negligent maintenance by businesses. He is also investigating cases where a work injury has taken place due to employment at Rush University Medical Center; University of Chicago Hospital; UIC Hospital; Uber; Uber Eats; Rasier LLC; Lyft; UPS, Amazon Flex; Amazon; Whole Foods Market; GrubHub; DoorDash; Postmates; and Instacart. He is also investigating car accident cases concerning State Farm Insurance Company; Chubb; Geico; Erie; Progressive; Travelers; AIG; Aon; and Allstate. He currently works on cases in Chicago; Peoria; Bloomington; Effingham; Quincy; East St. Louis; Madison County; St. Clair County; Granite City; and Belleville.

Attorney Joshua File

As a Partner in Katz Friedman's Labor and Employment practice, Joshua File serves as a zealous advocate for the firm’s many labor union clients. In addition to representing labor unions in traditional labor law practices, Josh represents individual employees who have been the victim of unlawful employment practices by their employers. Josh has successfully represented individual employees in cases arising under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), the Americans’ with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), the Illinois Wage Payment and Collections Act, and a variety of Equal Employment Opportunity laws such as Title VII and the Illinois Human Rights Act.

Josh joined the firm’s Labor and Employment practice in 2011. He has spent his entire legal career devoted to representing labor unions and fighting for the rights of working men and women everywhere. An aggressive litigator, Josh has gone head to head against many Fortune 500 companies such as BP, Ford, ABC and American Airlines. He has successfully litigated against major public employers such as the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois on behalf of both individual employees and public sector labor unions.

Josh frequently practices in State and Federal courts throughout the state of Illinois, as well as before the National Labor Relations Board, and both the Illinois Public Labor Relations Board and Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board. Josh has handled numerous labor arbitrations on behalf of the firm’s various union clients.

In addition to his work in the court room, Josh works closely with the firm’s union clients offering advice and counseling on a myriad of legal issues. Josh has traveled all over the State of Illinois regularly providing educational seminars to labor unions on a variety of labor and employment law topics. Josh has also been a speaker at the annual Illinois Public Sector Labor Law Conference for Continuing Legal Education at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Josh earned his Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law in 2011, where he graduated with a certificate in Business Law and was the recipient of the CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Litigation Strategies. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs from Indiana University in 2007, where he graduated with a major in Legal Studies and a minor in Business Management. He is a devoted fan of the Indiana Hoosiers.

Josh is a member of the Illinois State Bar. He is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Illinois and the United States District Courts for the Northern and Central Districts of Illinois. Josh is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association. He serves on the Chicago Bar Association’s Young Lawyers’ Division Committee for Labor and Employment Law.

Attorney Bridgette A. Kolb

Bridgette A. Kolb joined Katz Friedman in 2014. Her practice is focused on protecting the rights of workers in Workers’ Compensation, Labor, and Employment law.

Bridgette represents clients in Workers’ Compensation and Occupational Disease cases. She is a zealous advocate who is dedicated to obtaining the compensation that injured workers and their families deserve. Bridgette has successfully represented clients with a wide variety of injuries, including injuries to the back, neck, head, limbs, and shoulders as well as burns, infections, and significant injuries to eyes. 

Bridgette has represented numerous injured workers in the airline industry, including flight attendants and pilots based all over the world, baggage handlers, and customer services representatives, in their workers’ compensation and occupational disease claims. She has investigated and prosecuted claims against United Continental Holdings, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Delta, ExpressJet, Frontier, SkyWest, Republic Airways, and other airlines.  

Bridgette has represented many injured nurses in claims against Northshore, Presence Health, the University of Illinois hospital system, as well as other hospitals and nursing homes.  She has also successfully pursued claims against Ford Motor Company, PepsiCo, DHL, Sysco Foods, Hyatt, and other employers throughout Illinois. 

Bridgette represents the Firm’s labor union clients as well as individual employees in employment matters.  She represents workers who have been the victim of unlawful employment practices by their employers.  She has represented employees under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), the Illinois Wage Payment and Collections Act, and in discrimination claims based on Gender, Race, Pregnancy, and Sexual Orientation as well as sexual harassment claims under Title VII and the Illinois Human Rights Act.

Bridgette practices in State and Federal courts throughout the state of Illinois, as well as before National Labor Relations Board, the Illinois Public Labor Relations Board, Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, and the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. Bridgette has also handled labor arbitrations on behalf of the firm’s union clients.

Bridgette has written numerous briefs and successfully argued appeals at the Commission, Circuit Court, and Appellate Court levels. Bridgette authored the chapter on Handling Appeals, Writing Briefs, and Presenting Oral Arguments for Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s 2020 Annual Workers’ Compensation Institute. 

Bridgette has also assisted in research and drafting various other Workers’ Compensation, Labor, and Employment law articles and publications.  She has aided in the drafting of IICLE Continuing Legal Education topics covering a variety of topics, including assessing Permanent Partial Disability, settlement contracts guidance and pitfalls, and the impact of social media on workers’ compensation claims. 

Attorney David E. Rapoport

David Rapoport is the founder of Rapoport Law Offices, P.C. A veteran trial lawyer, Mr. Rapoport’s practice is focused exclusively on personal injury and wrongful death matters. In his more than 20 years of practice, he has handled a wide range of serious injury and death matters including airplane crash, medical malpractice, product liability, premises, workplace accident and collision cases.

Mr. Rapoport has obtained and collected record high jury verdicts on behalf of clients including an $8.1 million verdict in the first damages case tried arising out of the crash of USAir Flight 405 at LaGuardia airport, a $3.1 million jury award in a breast cancer medical malpractice case in Wisconsin, a $3 million jury award in a plane crash case in Illinois and a $2.4 million jury award for two injured construction workers in Illinois. He has also negotiated many out of court million and multimillion dollar settlements. During his career, Mr. Rapoport has collected more than $100 million on behalf of his clients.

Mr. Rapoport has successfully represented clients involved in airplane crash cases in venues all across the county. For example, he was selected to act as the lead trial attorney in consolidated federal cases arising out of the crash of United Airlines Flight 232, a DC-10 that crashed at Sioux City, Iowa on July 19, 1989 and USAir Flight 1016, a DC 9 that crashed at Charlotte, North Carolina on July 2, 1994. He has been appointed by federal judges to serve on Plaintiff’s Steering Committees in cases arising out of the crashes of American Airlines Flight 1420 (Little Rock, Arkansas), Egypt Air Flight 990 (Nantucket Island, Massachusetts), Swissair Flight 111, American Eagle Flight 3379 (Morrisville, North Carolina) and USAir Flight 1016 (Charlotte, North Carolina). Mr. Rapoport represents or has represented clients in cases arising out of the crashes of United Airlines Flight 811 (Hawaii), USAir Flight 405 (LaGuardia Airport, New York), USAir Flight 427 (Pennsylvania), United Express Flight 5925 (Quincy, Illinois), American Airlines Flight 587 (Belle Harbor/Queens, New York) and Air Midwest Flight 5481 (Charlotte, North Carolina). Mr. Rapoport has also successfully handled numerous general aviation cases.

Mr. Rapoport is certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA)*, a non-profit organization created to promote trial quality and standards within the legal profession, and serves as its Illinois State Coordinator. He is a quoted authority on trial procedure and has been interviewed by television, radio and newspaper reporters nationwide. The television program 60 Minutes interviewed Mr. Rapoport for a segment entitled “Open and Shut Case?” on some of the unexpected issues airplane crash victims or their families may encounter in the aftermath of a disaster. In The Lost Art: An Advocate’s Guide to Effective Closing Arguments, United States District Court Judge Joseph Anderson, who presided over the USAir Flight 1016 trial, published an excerpt of Mr. Rapoport’s closing argument to the jury in that case as an example, according to the judge, of attacking an opponent’s case “in the right way.”

Attorney Vitas J. Mockaitis

Vitas J. Mockaitis has 32 years of experience handling Illinois workers’ compensation claims throughout the State.  He is a graduate of the University of Illinois Chicago and the John Marshall Law School. Respected as a leading trial lawyer, Vitas has briefed and successfully argued many cases before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission during the course of his distinguished career. He was elected president of the Workers' Compensation Lawyers Association for 2021 and remains a member of the Board of Directors. With his extensive knowledge and experience in workers’ compensation law and related fields of legal practice, Mr. Mockaitis has presented numerous seminars on the theme of injured workers’ rights and benefits, addressing unions and labor organizations throughout the state of Illinois.  In addition, he has authored and co-authored several guidebooks and information pamphlets concerning workers’ compensation issues as they relate to injured workers in Illinois.  Subjects of the publications have included repetitive trauma and overuse injuries and injured workers’ medical rights, among other topics.

Attorney Jonathan R. Currie

Jonathan R. Currie joined Katz Friedman in 2022. His practice is focused on representing injured workers in workers’ compensation claims throughout Illinois.

The son of a petitioners’ workers’ compensation attorney, Jonathan learned early on the value of representing hard-working people. He takes pride in the relationships he builds with his clients and is fiercely protective of their rights. Prior to joining the firm, he has worked as a representative of both employees and employers in workers’ compensation claims. This experience has allowed him to have unique insights into the evaluation of the claims and aids in obtaining the best possible results for his clients.