Joseph F. Madonia is a partner in the Chicago office of Barnes & Thornburg LLP and a member of the firm's Environmental and Litigation Departments as well as our Toxic Torts Practice Group. Identified every year since 2008 by Chambers and Partners as one of the top environmental litigators in the country, Mr. Madonia has been recognized by Chambers for his "great toxic tort litigation" experience and commended as a "strong litigator who is tenacious and highly regarded." For over 25 years, Mr. Madonia has defended and counseled clients in a wide array of toxic tort and environmental matters. He has also been voted one of the top environmental litigators in the 2010 and 2012 editions of Illinois Super Lawyers, and named one of the top environmental attorneys in the 2010, 2011 and 2012 editions of Illinois Leading Lawyers.
Mr. Madonia's experience includes having served as national trial counsel in complex litigation for international chemical companies. He has assisted his clients in successfully defending large environmental class action suits involving groundwater, air, and soil contamination issues in multiple states throughout the U.S., as well as governmental enforcement actions, citizen suits, and private party cost recovery litigation. Mr. Madonia also consults frequently in connection with major site remediation projects and has handled numerous matters involving remediation of manufactured gas plant (MGP) sites, Superfund sites, RCRA facilities, underground storage tank sites, and voluntary remediation under various state programs. Mr. Madonia also has experience in both the prosecution and defense of several high-profile criminal environmental cases, which he has handled both at the grand jury and trial stages.
Prior to joining Barnes & Thornburg, Mr. Madonia was a partner at Wildman Harrold in Chicago. He also served as Deputy Chief of the Illinois Attorney General's Environmental Enforcement Division, where he tried and supervised civil and criminal proceedings in federal and state courts and before a variety of regulatory agencies.
Mr. Madonia earned his B.A. in 1982 from the University of Notre Dame, and his J.D. from Southern Methodist University in 1985. He is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, where he served as appointee to the Environmental Law Section Council for two years. He also is former chair of the Defense Research Institute's Expert Witness Subcommittee for Trial Tactics.
Mr. Madonia is admitted to practice in the state of Illinois; before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, where he is a Trial Bar member; before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri; and before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Publications
7/1/2007, Toxics Law Reporter - "Opposing Class Certification in Ground Water Contamination Suits"
4/1/2007, Mealey's Pollution Liability Report - "The MTBE Multidistrict Litigation - Has the Bar Been Lowered for Toxic Tort Claims?"
3/16/2007, Mealey's Emerging Toxic Torts - "New Developments in the Evolving Relationship Between Toxic Tort Liabilities and Environmental Regulations"
2/1/2007, Toxics Law Reporter - "Clean or Not? The Unpredictable Interplay Between Regulatory Standards and Common Law Duties in Toxic Tort Cases"
4/1/2003, ABA, Natural Resources & Environment - "Case Management Techniques in Complex Tort Litigation"
6/1/2000, Illinois Bar Journal - "Unanswered Questions After Kumho Tire"
Events
· The New Age of Hydro Fracking
· Attorney Presentation - "Recent Trends in Toxic Tort Litigation"