Cassiday Schade LLP

The Transportation Practice at Cassiday Schade has extensive experience in defending what often are catastrophic accidents involving trucks, trains, buses, vans, automobiles and other modes of transportation. We have a rapid response team in place, which is on-call 24 hours a day. The team is comprised of a select few attorneys, accident reconstructionists and investigators who work on transportation cases on a daily basis. This team can be immediately dispatched to preserve and document physical evidence at the scene, inspect the vehicles, and perform a download of the electronic control module.

Cassiday Schade also defends cases where the defendant’s first notice is the lawsuit. Our experience in driver qualification and retention issues, and in both spoliation of evidence and punitive damage claims in the specific context of transportation litigation, has helped drive down indemnity payments. It is Cassiday Schade’s philosophy to perform an early case assessment of both the liability and damage aspects of each case. This analysis often leads to an early resolution of the case by way of an alternate dispute mechanism. Mediations have been very successful as plaintiffs are often unrealistic in their expectations of the value of their cases.

Cassiday Schade draws on its work and qualifications in the defense of medical malpractice cases, to assess and defend the damage aspect of transportation cases. We have been successful in limiting damages, particularly when we contest the nature and extent of plaintiffs’ claimed injuries. Our transportation team works in conjunction with the coverage department when there are issues involving tenders of defense, contractual indemnity, insurance policy interpretation, and coverage litigation between insurers.

Cassiday Schade has defended large motor carriers as well as small owner-operators. We have been retained directly by truck companies as well as by insurance carriers in this niche market. We are active in the Transportation Lawyers Association (TLA) and Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA) and have published articles in other transportation industry newsletters. We are dedicated to the defense of the unique issues facing the transportation industry.

At Cassiday Schade LLP, diversity is more than just a statement, it is a priority. Our firm is committed to reflecting the diverse clients we represent as well as the communities we serve. It is our belief that the legal community best serves its clients when firms reflect a strong, diverse  cross-section of the business community, maintain high legal standards, a broad base of knowledge and a wealth of experience.  We actively strive for a professional work environment that promotes equal opportunity and professional growth potential for all.

To accomplish this, we integrate diversity initiatives throughout many levels of our business, starting with the recruitment and retention of outstanding women and minority candidates. At Cassiday Schade, women attorneys comprise 42% of our attorney workforce. We have ranked high in terms of percentage of women partners (of responding firms with more than 100 attorneys) in the annual Chicago Lawyer diversity survey and proudly sponsor the annual Women in the Law supplement to The Daily Law Bulletin. In 2013, the firm formed a Women's Leadership Committee, which aims to provide professional development tools and opportunities to its women attorneys.

Emphasizing our commitment to achieving diversity among our professionals, Cassiday Schade’s Executive Committee established a Diversity Committee. These individuals, with varying backgrounds and life experiences, work toward identifying areas of opportunity within the firm to expand the presence of women and minorities. Since its inception, the committee has worked to foster dialogue and community through formal and informal activities. The committee also works with the Recruitment Committee in the hiring, retention and professional development of minority members of the firm.

Our attorneys proudly support - as members, volunteers and leaders - numerous civic and professional organizations that promote the advancement of minorities and women in the legal and business communities, including:

• American Bar Association
• Asian American Bar Association
• Black Women Lawyers Association of Greater Chicago
• Chicago Bar Association
• Cook County Bar Association - Minority Law Student Job Fair
• Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois
• Illinois State Bar Association, Task Force on Diversity and Standing Committee on Women and the Law
• Japanese American Service League
• National Association of Women Lawyers
• National Bar Association
• United Way of Metropolitan Chicago
• Women's Bar Association of Illinois

While there is always more to be done in the area of diversity, testimonials from our family of employees and clients is positive affirmation that the work we do to promote diversity is making a difference.