Elliot R. Schiff - Founding Partner

Email: Elliot R. Schiff   | Direct Dial: (312) 345-7202

Fax: (312) 345-8645

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Elliot R. Schiff is the founding partner of Schiff Gorman LLC. In addition to his career at Schiff Gorman LLC, he was formerly a founding partner of O’Connor, Schiff & Myers, a shareholder of Sweeney & Riman, Ltd. and following an outstanding legal education was selected for a judicial clerkship with Justice Francis Lorenz, Illinois Appellate Court.

Elliot’s commitment to excellence is reflected in the recognition the legal community has given him. He has received the highest ratings offered by Martindale Hubbell Peer Review ratings since 1980. Elliot is a fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America representing less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, an organization that is also by invitation only. Among his peers in Illinois, he has been named as a Super Lawyer every year since 2005. For over two decades, his peers have acknowledged his legal ability and the highest ethical standards in his selection as an A.V (highest) rated lawyer by Martindale-Hubbell. His devotion and reliability extends outside of law to his personal life as a husband and the proud father of two children.

Practice Area Emphasis

• Legal Malpractice
• Broker Malpractice
• Accounting Malpractice
• Architectural Malpractice
• Personal Injury and Wrongful Death in Trucking and Other Vehicular Matters
• Construction Injuries

Professional Activities & Honors

• President, Society of Trial Lawyers (2010-2011)
• Member, American Board of Trial Advocates (2011)
• Vice President, Society of Trial Lawyers (2009-2010)
• Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America (2007)
• Super Lawyers (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008,2009, 2010,2011 selection)
• Chairman, Professional Liability Committee, Chicago Bar Association (2005)
• Committee Member of the Chicago Bar Association on Professional Liability (2003-2004)
• Committee Member (Civil Practice) of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (2004)
• Board Member, Society of Trial Lawyers (2003)
• Committee Member (Civil Practice) Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (2003)
• Chairman, Professional Liability Committee, IDC (1999)
• National Law Journal selection honorable mention for best verdict of year (1996)
• National Law Journal selection as one of the ten best jury verdicts of the year (1995)
• Trial Advocacy Program, Instructor,  Chicago Bar Association, (1991)
• Martindale-Hubbell, peer reviewed A.V. highest recognition, ability and ethics since 1980
• Over 75 jury trials to verdict as published in the Cook County Jury Verdict Reporter.

Admissions and Memberships

• Illinois State Bar Association (1973-present)
• Chicago Bar Association  1973-present)
• Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (2010-present)
• United States District Court, (1974-present)
• United States Court of Appeals (7th Circuit)(1976 to present)
• Federal Trial Bar (1986 to present)
• United States District Court Central District of Illinois (1998)
• United States District Court Eastern Division of Wisconsin (1999)

Publications

• Legal Malpractice: 2010: Attorney's Legal Liability, Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education (2010)
• The Rules Governing Actual Damages in Legal Malpractice, Illinois Trial Lawyers Journal (2009)
• Legal Malpractice: 2005 Supplement: Attorney's Legal Liability, Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education (2005)
• Apportioning Liability in Third-Party Cases: Illinois Bar Journal, Vol. 93, No. 1 January 2005
• Legal Malpractice:  2007: Attorney’s Legal Liability, Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education (2007)
• Getting To Trial: Law Update and Practice Update - Current Strategies in Third Party Practice", presented to the Illinois State Bar Association, Law Ed Series (2003)
• Preventing Legal Malpractice: Learn from the Experts", Chicago Bar Association (2003)
• Legal Malpractice, Attorney's Legal Liability, Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (2002)

Presentations

• The 2011 Rules Of Professional Conduct, presented to Serbian Bar Association, (2011)  
• Fiduciary Duties of an Attorney, presented to the Litigation Counsel of America (2010)
• "Professional Ethics and Responsibility," presented to the Illinois State Bar Association, Law Ed Series (2008)
• "Contribution, Indemnification and Other Means to Spread or Avoid Damages," The Annual Conference on Legal Malpractice and Risk Management (2006)
• "Strategic Considerations in Prosecuting Legal Malpractice Actions," Chicago Bar Association Annual Seminar on Legal Malpractice (2005)
• "Ethics and Professional Responsibility," Illinois Trial Lawyers Mid-Winter Seminar (2004)
• "Techniques and Issues in Litigation," The Annual Conference on Legal Malpractice and Risk Management (2003).
• "Cross-Examination of the Physician," Chicago Bar Association (2000)
• "The Use of Demonstrative Evidence," Chicago Bar Association (1994)
• "Defending the Structural Work Act," Chicago Bar Association (1988)
• "The Parameters of The Structural Work Act of Illinois" (1987)
• "Hotel Liability," Hyatt Corporation (1987)
• "Errors and Omissions," Risk Insurance Managers (1986)
• "Opening Statements, The Do's and Don'ts," Chicago Bar Association (1986)
• "Dramshop Liability," Casualty Adjusters Association (1985)