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Steven devotes much of his energy to making common sense of complicated, multi-layered disputes that often involve intractable parties/postures. He works very closely with corporate and individual clients on a wide array of disputes ranging from professional malpractice, business to business disagreements, contested estates, investment advisor/financial exploitation claims, property disputes, employment/HR issues, contests over the rights and interests of LLC-corporate-partnership owners and property rights, commercial leasing issues and zoning contests.
Steven is a certified mediator and registered to mediate with the 18th Judicial Circuit Court in DuPage County. Steven founded the mediation service provider, Settlement by Design, in order to help litigants and their attorneys strive towards settling their toughest disputes. Steven also understands the triggers that drive parties to litigate and is often engaged on a pre-litigation basis to consult with clients and establish sensible strategies to resolve or head off their dispute, privately and proactively. Steven has shielded many clients from the risks of expensive, time-consuming, and non-confidential commercial litigation by encouraging a sensible, negotiated resolution which often includes the use of hand-picked mediators and strategic positioning among other unique methods for resolving disputes.
Steven serves on the Advisory Board for Tone Products, Inc. and has been appointed to serve a second term on the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee. Steven has served on the Board of the College of DuPage Foundation (2010-2015) where he chaired the Bylaws Committee and the Planned Giving Committee and as President of the DuPage County Bar Association (2010-2011.
Steven has also served as special counsel to the College of DuPage 2009-2015, the Ethics Officer for the Village of Glen Ellyn (2014-2018), and General Counsel to the DuPage County Bar Association and was appointed Assistant Village Attorney for the Village of Hinsdale.
Steven is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the Federal Trial Bar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
Since 1999, Mr. Ruffalo has consistently maintained the highest “AV” rating (very high to preeminent) among his peers for legal ability, professional reliability, diligence and ethics, maintains a “Superb-10” AVVO ranking and since 2015 has been selected by his peers as a Leading Lawyer among the Nation’s Top Lawyers.
Steven joined Fuchs & Roselli, Ltd. in 1990 and has served as the firm’s Managing Partner since 2017
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Practice Areas
37 years | 1,500 cases
37 years | 500 cases
37 years | 500 cases
Free Consultation
$0 first 30 minutes
$ 250-815 per hour
State: Illinois
Acquired: 1989
No misconduct found
200 S Wacker, Suite 600, Chicago, IL, 60606
kriegdevault.com/professionals/steven-ruffalo
Other places you can find Steven online.
Showing 1 - 5 of 12 client reviews from Avvo
Posted by anonymous | August 3, 2023 | Hired Attorney
Steven was the first lawyer I ever worked with and I did not know what to expect. He did an amazing job clarifying the process, explaining what I needed to do when, and answered questions immediately. He is an ultimate professional who is highly organized and proactive. I always felt respected and l...
Posted by Phil | May 31, 2023 | Hired Attorney
I have known Steven Ruffalo for over 25 years. He is an excellent lawyer who has the uncanny ability to resolve complex matters by simplifying the issues and providing practical solutions aimed at achieving his client's objectives. When disputes arise, you will have a distinct advantage when Steve...
Posted by Michael | May 22, 2023 | Hired Attorney
I had an issue with a contractor; he completed subpar work causing the problem I hired him to fix to come back. He refused to take responsibility or return my calls or texts. I hired Steven, and he immediately went to work to resolve the issue and get my money back, which he did. I would recommend hi...
Posted by Lisa | April 13, 2023 | Hired Attorney
Mr. Ruffalo helped guide me through a very challenging David vs Goliath dispute. He had great ideas and wonderful additional counsel who were patient and smart. It was obvious that he had both the passion and experience to win the dispute on my behalf. For my part, I researched the company and ...
Posted by Amit | February 23, 2023 | Hired Attorney
I had a great experience working with Steven. I am on a tight budget as a new business owner but I found his pricing model to be flexible, and most importantly, reasonable. He was great to work with, and was very reliable and trustworthy. I had explored many options, and found him to be the best choi...
Thanks Amit - I am delighted that we could help you and grateful for your kind words.
"Steven is an exceptional commercial trial lawyer and mediator. He is a lawyers’ lawyer as well. I trust him to give me advice and counsel on particularly difficult and complex Issues. Lawyers I highly respect have referred to him as one of the best commercial mediators in the Chicago area. Steven is also highly respected by judges in state and federal courts."
"I have worked extensively with Mr. Ruffalo, and highly recommend him as an experienced litigation attorney. He is skilled, knowledgeable, aggressive and an excellent trial lawyer whom I had the pleasure of learning many things from. I would recommend him for complex litigation matters and those involving municipal clients."
Election campaigns and political law lawyer | Aug 09
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
"I endorse this lawyer."
"I endorse this lawyer's work. Steve is considered to be aggressive, hard working, and a valuable attorney by his clients. You should be calling this attorney if you are in need of a great lawyer!"
"I endorse this lawyer's work. Steve is an excellent lawyer and well respected by his peers. And the judges in our community also respect him, his work, and his integrity."
Litigation lawyer
Litigation lawyer
Discrimination lawyer
2025
AV Preeminent Rated, Martindale-Hubbell
2019
Leading Lawyer, Leading Lawyers Network
2017
Leading Lawyer, Leading Lawyers Network
2016
Leading Lawyer, Leading Lawyers Network
1999
AV Preeminent Rated, Martindale-Hubbell
1990 - Present
Partner, Krieg De Vault, LLP
2022 - Present
DuPage County Bar AssociationChair
2018 - Present
Illinois Supreme Court Rules CommitteeMember
2014 - 2018
Village of Glen EllynEthics Officer
2011 - 2012
DuPage County Bar FoundationPresident
2011 - 2015
College of DuPage FoundationDirector
2010 - 2011
DuPage County Bar AssociationPresident
2006 - 2007
DuPage County Bar AssociationDirector
2004 - 2005
DuPage County Bar AssociationGeneral Counsel
Settled after appeals
Summary Judgment affirmed on appeal.
Settled after appeal.
Case settled in favor of our client.
1988
1988
M.B.A
1984
2025
Chair ADR Section Meetings for DuPage County bar
2021
Host/Attendee Annual Judges Night
2012
2012
Presided over all Bar Meetings in 2011 & 2012 as acting president for DuPage County Bar Foundation
English
Legal Answers
Who pays Capital Gain Taxes?
21 Feb 2022
I was wondering if a case could be reopened once a plea of guilty has been made an a sentence has been set for going on 2 months
21 Feb 2022
If the small claims court judge recommended mediation but the mediator can not get a hold of the plaintiff, does that look bad?
20 Feb 2022