Michael Kevin Goldberg

I have known Mr. Goldberg a long time (specific time left out to preserve my anonymity) and feel I am in a good position to review him. I recommend without reservation Michael Goldberg, J.D. as an attorney specifically for healthcare providers appearing before the Illinois Department of Financial & P...rofessional Regulation (IDFPR), aka the Illinois Board. Mr. Goldberg represented me as an applicant for a license before the Illinois Board. Mr. Goldberg's greatest strength is he is accessible. Mr. Goldberg is a partner who gives his cell phone number to his clients and visibly works on his clients' cases. I have not felt like I was ever stepping on eggshells to contact him. In terms of his competencies, Mr. Goldberg stands out for counseling against foreseeable pitfalls that other attorneys who are not familiar with local case law would easily miss. In 20/20 hindsight, it is clear Mr. Goldberg and the counsel directly assigned to my case prevented me from committing career suicide. An easy to overlook strength is Mr. Goldberg's tact. Mr. Goldberg has an incredible bedside manner. When dealing with the Board, healthcare providers need to remember the Board has incredible discretion. From my experience talking with Illinois' Board, providers are not given much of an opportunity to speak. The Board asks questions, and providers only talk when I addressed. (I got chided for talking when not spoken to.) It helps to have an attorney whom the Board members like. I believe they like him and respect his firm enough to negotiate the best outcomes possible. With negotiation, he has former Board prosecutor(s) on his team. Again; since Board has incredible discretion, negotiation will be important. I believe that Mr. Goldberg's firm has a special relationship with the Board's prosecutor. I believe this is a credit both to Mr. Goldberg's group and to the clients he has chosen to represent in the past that the prosecutors are willing to go to the table. I'll throw in that I believe Mr. Goldberg is ethical. I somewhat abruptly ended an attorney-client relationship with one of his competitors because I felt that competitor was unethical in his billing. It was clear, from the first day Mr. Goldberg and I talked, he has my personal interest at heart. Even though my original case finished, I never consented to end our attorney-client relationship (i.e., by accepting a refund of my remaining retainer). The reason I don't give 5 stars is I feel that Mr. Goldberg uses a similar approach for different situations that is successful with Boards but not as successful with employment disputes. For employment disputes, especially where there are legally protected concerns (i.e.; discrimination, working conditions violations/ACGME/whistle-blowing, and retaliation), one's best bet is to go to an employment attorney. I say this not just of Mr. Goldberg but also of his competition among healthcare provider attorneys. Mr. Goldberg's representation and advice were always competent, but he is much stronger representing individuals before the Board. If you are contacted by the licensing investigator for any reason (in most states, the way investigations work is providers are called cold on the phone with the intention to catch them off-guard and scare them into making inculpating statements), my (non-legal) advice is to ask politely if you are allowed to have counsel answer questions and to consult Mr. Goldberg.