2026 ILLINOIS ATTORNEYS TO WATCH
JUDY CONWAY AGE: 38 FIRM : Cooney & Conway LAW SCHOOL : University of Michigan Law School Judy's national presence sets her apart from her peers. ” “
AREA(S) OF PRACTICE: Toxic torts
J udy Conway never hesitates to take on the most challeng- ing of cases. It's not unusual, either, for Conway to earn major victories for her clients in them. It's one of the reasons why Conway has carved out a repu- tation as one of the top plaintiff's personal injury attorneys in the Chicago area. Conway successfully briefed and argued that amendments to Illinois’ Statute of Repose, Worker's Occupational Diseas- es Act, and Worker's Compensation Act were constitutional, which expanded access to justice for plaintiffs statewide. She has also recovered millions of dollars on behalf of catastroph- ically injured individuals, with an emphasis on clients who have suffered diseases from asbestos exposure. “Judith represents a wide range of clients across the coun- try and takes on massive corporations in her efforts to make the world safer,” said Eirene Nakamura Salvi with Chicago's Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. “The work that she and her firm do in holding these corporations accountable is truly phenomenal.” Conway's results speak for themselves. In a 2018 civil rights case, she helped secure a $20 million settlement on behalf of two plaintiffs after three weeks of trial with co-counsel Timothy Cavanaugh and Michael Sorich. In a 2022 personal
injury case, she recovered $9.2 million for a plaintiff whose was injured from chemical exposures at work. Conway recovered $5 million in a 2024 sexual abuse case in New York and in 2025 recovered $10 million for a client killed in a vehicle collision in Texas. She recently recovered $4.95 million from a single defendant in an asbestos case. “Judy is quite a remarkable woman,” said Jennifer Irmen with the Irmen Law Group. “It is truly impressive how she can juggle complex tort litigation, acting as a leader in multiple bar associations and motherhood.” Conway is past Chair of the Young Lawyer and Tort Law Councils of the ISBA and will be President of the Illinois Bar Foundation in 2028. She is regularly invited to speak at conferences across the country. During her career, Conway has worked on more than 50 in- jury cases that have resolved in excess of $1 million. She has also been the lead attorney on more than 100 matters that are past trial, recovering in excess of $110 million. “Judy's national presence sets her apart from her peers,” said Bruno Marasso of Chicago's Marasso Law, LLC. “While there are many accomplished and skilled trial lawyers helping individ- uals in our state, very few members of the Plaintiff's bar can translate our success with our rules, communities and laws into success in completely different venues. Judy does it regularly.”
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40 Under Forty 2026
CHICAGO LAWYER & CHICAGO DAILY LAW BULLETIN
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