MICHAEL CRANE
AGE 37
FIRM Costello, McMahon, Gilbreth & Murphy, Ltd.
LAW SCHOOL DePaul University College of Law
AREA(S) OF PRACTICE Personal injury
2024 ILLINOIS ATTORNEYS TO WATCH
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M ichael Crane has positively impacted the lives of his many clients, helping them find financial relief after they have been injured or have suffered the loss of a family member. Retired Cook County Circuit Court Judge Jack Callahan presided over a trial in which Crane was one of the lead attor- neys for the estate of a 6-year-old girl who was killed by a trac- tor-trailer driven by a City of Chicago subcontractor. According to Judge Callahan, “Mike's trial skills and personal touch allow him to connect with jurors more than many litigators. Mike is simply a great talent and well respected attorney.” The case re- solved two weeks into trial for $5 million. Robert Lauer of Kasdorf, Lewis & Swietlik S.C., represented one of the main defendants that Crane’s clients were pursuing in a multi-plaintiff, multi-defendant fatal trucking case in Wiscon- sin. He described Crane as always being prepared. “For instance, his two-day depositions of a bank representative spanned over a decade of complex financial information and covered thou- sands of pages of financial records. His work on the case was in- strumental in pushing the case towards its ultimate resolution.” That case settled for $11.5 million, with Crane’s clients receiving $8 million. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Joan Powell presided over two lengthy jury trials that Crane tried to verdict. "These were not simple trials," Powell said. "He made his arguments to the court in pretrial motions and to the jury with intelligence, passion and preparedness, zealously protecting his client's
Mike's trial skills and personal touch allow him to connect with jurors more than many litigators. ”
position and remaining professional in his demeanor and ac- tions." Both juries returned verdicts in favor of Crane’s clients. Robert Burtker with Chicago's Brennan Burtker LLC op- posed Crane during a three-week medical negligence trial in which Crane played a key role in every aspect of the case. "Mike has the unique ability to remain calm and focused, even when things were not going his way. There was never a display of dissatisfaction with the court's rulings. His approach earned him the respect of the trial judge." The jury in that case returned a $2 million verdict for Crane's client. Because of results such as these, Crane has earned a reputa- tion as a star in the personal injury field. While Crane, a graduate of Fenwick High School, dedicates his practice to personal injury, he is most proud of his pro bono representation of a Cook County torture victim who spent 30 years in prison based on a coerced false confession. For three years, Crane and co-counsel litigated the post-conviction peti- tion, which resulted in a bench hearing where the judge over- turned the wrongful conviction and set the innocent man free.
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