Emmett Robert Mccarthy

Emmett R. McCarthy was born on the south side of Chicago and attended Mt. Carmel High School. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and received his Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law. While at DePaul, he received the CALI Award for Legal Ethics and was an Editor for the DePaul Environmental Law Digest. He has spoken at seminars for the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and the Chicago Bar Association. He is past Chair of the Real Estate Taxation Committee and the Tax Sale and Tax Deed Subcommittee of the Chicago Bar Association, and has also served as Legislative Liaison for those committees.  Mr. McCarthy joined the firm in 2002 and has been a partner since 2007. Mr. McCarthy has been selected as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers.

Mr. McCarthy has handled a wide range of medical malpractice and personal injury claims, business and real estate transactions and other areas of civil litigation. He worked on a case that resulted in a record-breaking $51 million verdict for a client who was severely injured in an automobile collision. The verdict is the highest Illinois compensatory verdict for personal injury. He also worked on a case that resulted in a record-high verdict of $12,508,098 for the family of a quadriplegic child who drowned in a bathtub after being left unattended by her home health care nurse. The verdict is an Illinois high for death of a minor and is also a record high for death of a severely disabled individual.

Mr. McCarthy also handled a jury trial involving a breach of contract and fraud claim between two corporations regarding the sale of newspaper publications. The plaintiff pierced the defendant’s “corporate veil” and obtained a jury verdict in the amount of $580,. The plaintiff also won a motion to award pre-judgment interest of almost $85,. The judgment was affirmed on appeal in its entirety. The plaintiff then moved to collect on the judgment through a citation to discover assets and was forced to file a complaint to set aside a fraudulent transfer of the defendant’s largest tangible asset, the real estate of its president. The transfer was set aside and then the plaintiff levied against the real estate. Shortly before the levy sale, the defendant paid the judgment, plus post-judgment interest and costs, in full.

Mr. McCarthy’s practice is concentrated in real estate tax sale, tax deed and exemption matters; Indemnity Fund proceedings; sheriff levy sales; medical malpractice and personal injury claims; business and real estate transactions and other areas of civil litigation.