Practice Areas
- Construction Negligence
- Personal Injury & Wrongful Death
- Premises Liability
- Product Liability
- Railroad Negligence & FELA
- Vehicular Negligence
Education
- DePaul University College of Law, J.D., 1973
- DePaul University, B.A., 1970
Bar & Court Admissions
- Illinois, 1973
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 1973
- U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois, 1992
21st Floor
Chicago, IL 60602
Edward G. Willer is a Chicago personal injury lawyer and represents individuals and their families in serious personal injury and wrongful death cases in the areas of construction negligence, product liability, premises liability, and vehicular negligence.
As a trial attorney at the Chicago law firm of Corboy & Demetrio, Mr. Willer has obtained numerous multi-million settlements and verdicts. His many accomplishments include a $7.6 million verdict, after a fourteen day jury trial, awarded to his client for injuries he suffered as a result of a construction site accident. In a case that he successfully argued before the Illinois Appellate and Supreme Courts, Ed secured a $6 million settlement for the death of a worker in an oil refinery explosion. With Robert Bingle, he obtained a $4.5 million construction site wrongful death settlement for the family of a union laborer who was killed when crushed by a backhoe truck. In a strict product liability action, a Morris maintenance technician received a $5 million settlement for injuries he suffered on the job when he was caught between an automated guided vehicle and a stationary rack. In a vehicular action, Mr. Willer obtained a $4.75 million settlement on behalf of a young woman who was seriously injured when her car was broadsided by an ambulance as she drove home from work. At the time of the collision, the ambulance driver was inappropriately using the siren and ambulance lights for a non-emergency patient.
Mr. Willer has traveled the world investigating and preparing his cases. In Japan, he investigated and conducted discovery depositions of design engineers for a lawsuit involving the manufacturer of an all-purpose lighter by a Japanese company. In order to fully research another case, he traveled to Germany to investigate the design and manufacturing process of a strapping machine and conveyor system. Ed is presently working on a case against a pre-eminent tour company for violations of security at its campsite in Uganda, Africa.
Ed joined the Chicago law firm of Corboy & Demetrio in 1994 after having practiced with the preeminent law firm of Leonard M. Ring & Associates. He graduated in 1973 from DePaul University College of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review and the International Moot Court Team.
Recognized as one of the top 5% of all Illinois attorneys by the Leading Lawyers Network, he also has an AV rating - the highest possible rating for any lawyer - from the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.
A member of many legal and civic organizations, Ed has served eighteen years on the Circuit Court Committee of the Chicago Bar Association and is also a member on the Product Liability Committee of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.
News
- Thirteen Corboy & Demetrio Lawyers Selected Leading Lawyers in Illinois
- Corboy & Demetrio - The Leader in Aviation Litigation
- 13 Corboy & Demetrio Attorneys Selected as Illinois Leading Lawyers
- Corboy & Demetrio Files Suit on Behalf of Worker Crushed to Death at Blue Island Plant
- $3.5 Million Settlement for Family of Girl Killed in Fire Started by Utility Lighter
- Corboy & Demetrio - Leaders in Bridge and Structural Collapse and Defect Litigation
- Settlement Over $4 Million Obtained for Injured Worker
- Chicago Firefighters, Injured While Battling Fire, Receive Over $1 Million
- $1 Million Settlement for Passenger Injured in Car Crash
- $6 Million Settlement Featured in News
- $4.5 Million Settlement for Construction Worker's Death Featured in News
- Corboy & Demetrio Lawyers Edward Willer and Kenneth Lumb Selected as Leading Lawyers
- Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Settlement of $1.4 Million
- Corboy & Demetrio Named One of Chicago's Top Law Firms
- First Settlement Under the Illinois Drug or Alcohol Impaired Minor Responsibility Act
- "Lawyers Hunt For Foreign Defendants Here and Leave"
Publications
Honors
- AV rated - Highest level awarded for professional excellence - Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory
- Leading Lawyers Network Member - Top 5% of all Illinois attorneys
- Knights of Columbus, Illinois State Medallion Recipient, 1992
- Knights of Columbus, Master's Medallion Recipient, 1986
Professional Affiliations
- American Association for Justice (AAJ), formerly known as Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA), Stalwarts Committee, 1999-present; Hall of Fame Committee, 2000-present
- American Bar Association (ABA)
- American Judicature Society
- Chicago Bar Association (CBA), Circuit Court Committee, 1990-present; Civil Practice Committee, 1991-present
- Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA), Committee on Product General Liability and Consumer Law, Vice Chair; Section on Tort and Insurance Practice, 1989-1990
- Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA), Product Liability Committee, 1998-present
Community Involvement
- Knights of Columbus Youth Fund Drive, Legal Counsel
- Leonard Ring Legal Foundation, Legal Counsel
- St. Catherine Laboure Church, Religious Education Program Instructor
Seminars & Speeches
- "High Impact, Low Cost - The Effective Use of In-House Technology to Prepare and Present Your Case: The Use of Standard, Off the Shelf Products to Impress Jurors and Win Cases," Association of Trial Lawyers of America, 2005
- "The Effective Use of Technology," Kansas Trial Lawyers Association, 2005
- "Product Liability Update," Illinois State Bar Association, 2002
- "Product Liability," Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, 2000