Practice Areas

Education

  • DePaul University College of Law, Chicago, J.D., 1990
  • Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois, B.A., 1987

Bar & Court Admissions

  • Illinois, 1990
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 1990
  • U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois, 1990
Shawn S. Kasserman
Partner
33 N. Dearborn Street
21st Floor
Chicago, IL 60602
SSK@CorboyDemetrio.com    vCard

Shawn combines a keen awareness of the law and a calculating approach to litigation with a compassionate appreciation for his clients. As a Chicago personal injury lawyer working in an aggressive and resourceful manner, Shawn has obtained many multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements on behalf of his clients. His work at Corboy & Demetrio encompasses diverse areas of the law, including transportation negligence, trucking and automobile collisions, product liability, premises liability, construction negligence and medical negligence.

The grandson of the late Illinois Appellate Court Justice George Kasserman, Shawn developed, at an early age, a respect for the law and the protection it can bring to the vulnerable. In 1987 Shawn left his job as a construction worker and enrolled in DePaul University College of Law. While attending school, Shawn was hired at the Chicago personal injury and medical malpractice law firm of Corboy & Demetrio to work as a law clerk for Philip Corboy and Tom Demetrio. Upon graduation, Shawn was hired as an attorney at the law firm, and less than four years later, obtained his first million-dollar verdict.

Shawn’s success as a personal injury and medical malpractice attorney includes a record-setting jury verdict of $6 million for a family whose mother died from an anesthesiologist’s negligence. He obtained an $8.5 million settlement for the family of an assistant fire chief killed when a fire erupted at a Neiman Marcus store, a $5.7 million settlement for a volunteer emergency worker pinned between two vehicles and won a jury verdict of $4.4 million on behalf of a motorcyclist who was waved into the path of an uninsured driver by a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus driver. In another case involving the CTA, Shawn represented a pedestrian who was struck by a bus as he crossed a street mid block. After almost three weeks of trial, the CTA paid $4.4 million dollars to settle the case.

In a premises liability case, White Castle Restaurant paid Shawn’s client $4 million for injuries sustained during an armed robbery/car jacking attempt in the restaurant’s drive-through. Prior to the trial, defendants had made no settlement offer. Following ten days of trial and closing arguments, the defendants paid $4 million to avoid the jury’s verdict.

Two significant product liability cases resulted in record settlements for Shawn’s clients. In separate but similar incidents, two small children were killed when the portable cribs they were in collapsed. The manufacturers of the popular baby shower gifts had settled similar cases earlier but insisted that the settlements be confidential. Both cases settled only after the defendants gave up their demands for confidentiality in order to avoid jury trials. Playskool/Hasbro paid $3 million dollars to the family of an eighteen month-old boy, and Evenflo, Inc. paid $2.6 million to the family of an eight-month old boy.

In a construction liability case, Shawn obtained a settlement of $3 million for a back hoe operator who drove his machine too closely to a twenty foot ditch that had filled with water. The general contractor paid the settlement after it was established that they failed to adequately shore up the earth around the trench.

His success as a Chicago personal injury trial attorney has gained him recognition. Shawn was named one of the top 100 Super Lawyers in Illinois and is the youngest of only 17 plaintiff’s personal injury attorneys on the list. He has been recognized as a Leading Lawyers, a designation given to only the top 5% of all Illinois lawyers by the Leading Lawyers Network, and has achieved the highest rating in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory. In 2004, he was named to the Law Bulletin Publishing Company’s list of “40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch,” based on his career achievements, his quick rise in the field of personal injury law and his contributions to the community and the legal profession.

He is a frequent lecturer and moderator at continuing legal education seminars and is a contributing author for several legal publications.

View expanded bio

Profiles

"Shawn Kasserman - 40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch ," Law Bulletin Publishing Company, 2004 

News

Publications

  • Proper Parties, Amended Complaints and Relation Back Doctrine, 2009
  • Proper Parties, Amended Complaints and Relation Back Doctrine, 2008
  • Proper Parties, Amended Complaints and Relation Back Doctrine, 2007
  • Proper Parties, Amended Complaints and Relation Back Doctrine, 2006
  • Proper Parties, Amended Complaints and Relation Back Doctrine, 2005
  • Jury Selection Strategy & Science

Honors

  • AV rated - Highest level awarded - by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory
  • Illinois Bar Foundation, Board of Directors
  • Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Board of Managers
  • Illinois Super Lawyer - One of the top 100 Super Lawyers in Illinois and the youngest of only 17 plaintiff's personal injury lawyers, 2009
  • Illinois Super Lawyer - Top 5% of all Illinois lawyers, 2005 - present
  • Kids in Danger, Board of Directors
  • Leading Lawyers Network Member - Top 5% of all Illinois attorneys, 2003 - present
  • “New Stars, New World,” Honoree, Lawdragon, 2006
  • “40 Under 40 Illinois Attorneys to Watch,” 2004

Professional Affiliations

  • American Association for Justice (AAJ), formerly known as Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA), Young Lawyers Section, Board of Governors, 1991
  • American Bar Association (ABA), Political Action Committee, 1993
  • Chicago Bar Association (CBA), Young Lawyers Section, Homeless & Runaway Youth Committee, 1992-1993; Judicial Evaluation Committee, 1998-1999
  • DePaul University College of Law Alumni Board, Mentor Program, 2001
  • DuPage County Bar Association, Civil Practice Committee, 1995-1996
  • Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA), Young Lawyers Division Council Member, 1991; Ad Hoc Committee for the First Annual Illinois State Bar Association Leadership Conference, 1993-1994; Illinois State Bar Association Leadership Conference, Moderator, 1994-1995; Organizational Committee for the Leadership Conference, 1995-1996; Young Lawyers Division, Chair, 1997-1998, Special Committee on the Future of the Courts, 2001-2002; Standing Committee on Legislation, 2008-2010
  • Illinois Bar Foundation, Board of Directors, 2008; Scholarship Committee, 2007; Gala Raffle Co-Chair, 2006
  • Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA), Board of Managers, 2008
  • National Moot Court Competition Midwest Regions Chairperson, 1991-92
  • Supreme Court Historical Society, 2005

Community Involvement

  • Glen Ellyn Planning Commission, 2005-2007
  • Kids In Danger, Board of Directors, 2004-present

Seminars & Speeches

  • "Filing the Lawsuit. Setting the Proper Foundation to Successfully Prosecute or Defend the Case - Pleadings, Proper Parties, Amended Complaints, Relation Back Doctrine, Venue and Non Conveniens," Civil Practice & Procedure Update, Illinois State Bar Association, 2009
  • "Maximizing Damages Panel Discussion," Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, 2009
  • "Pre-trial Conference Strategies," Litigation Skills Seminar I, Law Bulletin Seminars, 2009
  • "Witness Impeachment Bootcamp," National Constitution Center Audio Conferences, 2008
  • "Litigating Back and Neck Injury Case," Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education, 2008
  • "Ethics of Confidentiality Clauses," Case Evaluation Conference, Law Bulletin Seminars, 2007
  • "Crosses That Kill - Top Cross-Examination Techniques," Law Bulletin Seminars, 2007
  • "Civil Complaints: Plaintiff's Perspective: Drafting the Complaint; Responses to Defense Motions," 2006
  • "Accident Reconstruction and Its Effect on Your Case," Lorman Education Services, 2006
  • "Civil Litigation - Proper Parties, Amended Complaints and Relation Back Doctrine," Illinois State Bar Association, 2006
  • "Premises Liability," Update & Review Seminar, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, 2005
  • "Civil Litigation - Proper Parties, Amended Complaints and Relation Back Doctrine," Illinois State Bar Association, 2005
  • "Closing Arguments," Maximizing Damages & Preserving Plaintiff's Recovery Seminar, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, 2005
  • "How Plaintiffs' Lawyers Perceive Insurance Companies - What Works, What Doesn't," Commercial Property Underwriters Society, 2005
  • "Plaintiff's Attorney Perspective," Construction Defects Seminar, Arthur J. Gallagher & Company, 2004
  • "Evidence and Objections: Laying Foundations for Introducing and Raising and Rebutting Evidence; Practical Applications of Laying Foundations," Chicago Bar Association, 2003 and 2004
  • "Maximizing Your Clients' Recovery through Proper Allocation of Settlement," Potpourri of Civil Practice, Tort and Insurance Law Program, Illinois State Bar Association, 2003
  • "Toxic Torts," National Business Institute, 2000
  • "Civil Practice and Procedure," Illinois State Bar Association, 1999
  • "Establishing Negligence & Rebutting the Defense of Contributory Negligence," Chicago Bar Association, 1998
  • "Vehicle Rollovers, Latch Failures, Air Bags and More," Product Liability Seminar, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, 1998
  • "Trucking Accidents and Motor Carrier Liability," Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, 1998
  • "Maximizing Damages: The Plaintiff's Perspective," Prosecuting the Negligence Case, 1997
  • "Plaintiff Personal Injury Law," Illinois State Bar Association, 1997
  • Mock Trials, Illinois State Bar Association, 1997
  • Judge, Chicago Coalition for Law-Related Education, Mock Trial Advocacy Competition, 1993 
  • "Taking Defendants Depositions," Chicago Bar Association, 1993
  • "Negligence," Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, 1992
  • Chairperson, National Moot Court Competition Midwest Regions, 1991, 1992