Menu
For nearly 40 years, Richard Pullano has been widely recognized as one of the preeminent trial lawyers in all of Illinois. Mr. Pullano began his legal career in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, where he served as a Prosecutor in the Felony Trial Courts and Gang Crimes Unit. Since 1987, he has concentrated his entire practice on protecting injury victims and securing justice on their behalf.
Mr. Pullano focuses on cases involving serious personal injury, medical malpractice, and wrongful death, including but not limited to trucking and train accidents, construction-site accidents, aviation negligence, nursing home negligence, products liability, and premise liability. He has extensive experience in representing victims with brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, orthopedic injuries, amputations, and severe burns.
After working for legendary personal injury lawyer Robert Clifford for about a decade, in 1998 Mr. Pullano became the founding partner of Pullano Law Offices, which is now doing business as Pullano & Siporin. Over the past 35 years, he has obtained more than $250 million in verdicts and settlements on behalf of his clients. These results have not only been life changing for injury victims, but have also been recognized by the legal community as record-breaking results. And in some instances, they have helped spur changes in laws and regulations.
In addition, Mr. Pullano has handled numerous high-profile cases, including the wrongful death of Nancy Clay, a tenant who called 9-1-1 during a fire at the high-rise building popularly known as One Illinois Center–but was not rescued because the building’s actual street address, 111 W. Wacker Drive, did not appear on the dispatcher’s screen. As part of the city’s settlement with Clay’s family, the city council passed a law requiring that vanity addresses be accompanied with a registered street address. “One of the top priorities of the deceased’s father was to see some type of remedial action on the part of the city,” Mr. Pullano recalls.
Mr. Pullano has successfully litigated several aviation disasters including a commercial crash involving Turkish Airlines and a helicopter crash outside New York City. He has appeared on multiple news outlets to discuss the impact his work has had on keeping our communities safe, including “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and WTTW’s “Chicago Tonight.”
As evidenced by his many successes, Mr. Pullano has a passion for his work, spurred by the ability and power to achieve justice for those whose lives have been irrevocably altered. Past clients have consistently praised Mr. Pullano’s character and reputation. As one client put it:
“From day one, Mr. Pullano told me and my brother that he would do whatever was necessary to ensure we were fully compensated for the loss of our mother.
Weeks before our trial date, the insurance company made us a significant settlement offer. We considered taking it because we feared a jury might award us less money, or even find the defendant not guilty.
Mr. Pullano was clear and confident when he encouraged us to reject their offer and go to trial. We followed Mr. Pullano’s advice because we trusted and believed in him. The jury ended up returning a verdict four times greater than the insurance company’s final offer.
If it were not for Mr. Pullano’s strength and confidence, we would not have been able to reject the final offer and proceed to trial.”
For many years, Mr. Pullano was an Adjunct Professor at DePaul University College of Law where he taught Trial Advocacy. He recently served as President of the North Suburban Bar Association (NSBA). As an active member of the NSBA Board of Directors, Mr. Pullano serves as the co-chair of the Suburban Bar Coalition-Judicial Evaluation Committee and served as the co-chair of the High School Mock Trial Invitational involving over 100 students representing 16 area high schools.
He is also on the Board of Managers at the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA), which gave Mr. Pullano The President’s Award for his outstanding contributions, which have included serving for many years as Planning Chair for ITLA’s Continuing Legal Education Program. He has also lectured extensively to bar groups throughout Illinois on topics related to his expertise in tort litigation, such as “Maximizing Damages in a Personal Injury Action” and “How to Effectively Litigate a Trucking Accident Case.”
In addition, Mr. Pullano has been recognized as an Illinois Super Lawyer since its inception, he has received the Jury Verdict Reporter Award for Trial Lawyer Excellence, he has been named to Leading Lawyers, and he has received the highest rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
Beyond the legal profession, Mr. Pullano has been active in his community. At the local high school, Glenbrook South, Mr. Pullano has served as the President of the Booster Club, where he initiated a program that encouraged each varsity team to participate in a charitable community project. The program continues to thrive more than 10 years since its inception and has helped countless student-athletes develop a sense of social responsibility. Additionally, he speaks to students at Glenbrook South High School about the legal profession. He has been actively involved on the Board of Directors for several youth sports programs, including the Glenview Jr. Titan football program and the Glenview Blaze baseball program. He also served as head coach for youth football, basketball, and baseball teams. He and his wife, Candace, live in the Chicago area, as do their two adult children, Michael and Olivia.
Mr. Pullano received his undergraduate degree at Notre Dame University. While at ND, he was a four-year starter on the baseball team and a two-time captain and two-time MVP. He went on to earn his law degree from DePaul University College of Law.
America’s Top 100 Attorneys, 2018
Trial Lawyer Excellence Award – Jury Verdict Reporter, 2014
Super Lawyers, 2006-Present
Our attorneys will travel to your kitchen table, a location of your choosing or even virtually.
Meeting to discuss your case is completely free. We only get paid if we win.
