David E. Rapoport is the founding and managing partner at Rapoport Law Offices. In his 29 years as a full time trial attorney he has won numerous multimillion dollar jury verdicts and settlements for clients with personal injury and wrongful death negligence lawsuits. These cases have involved commercial and general aviation negligence, semi-truck and motor vehicle negligence, medical malpractice, product liability, recreational and commercial boating accidents, premises liability, work injuries and construction accidents.

In the last three years, for example, David was lead counsel in a semi-tractor trailer truck crash personal injury and wrongful death case that settled for $13 million, and served as the lead trial attorney in three multi-million dollar jury trials: one resulting in a record setting $7.1 million wrongful death and loss of consortium verdict for the family of a passenger killed in a regional jet crash in Lexington, Kentucky; another resulting in a record setting $6.9 million settlement while the jury was deliberating in a semi-truck personal injury and wrongful death accident case tried in Madison, Wisconsin, and the third garnering a $1.942 million record setting jury verdict (reduced to $1.55 million for 20% contributory fault) against a trucking company in a personal injury case tried in Friendship, Wisconsin. David also managed Rapoport Law Offices trial teams that obtained a $9.858 million record setting jury verdict in a medical malpractice case tried in Chicago; a $3.38 million jury verdict in a product liability case tried in Chicago (reduced to $2.03 million due to a finding of 40% contributory fault); and a $2.75 million bench verdict in a collision case tried in Peoria, Illinois (reduced to $2.25 million due to 20% contributory fault).

In 1990 David earned Board Certification* as a civil trial attorney from the National Board of Trial Advocacy, now the National Board of Trial Advocay Division of the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification. The NBTA/NBLSC is a non-profit American Bar Association accredited certification board "created to promote trial quality and standards within the legal profession." In 2009 David Rapoport was elected as a member of NBLSC Board of Directors and since 1995 he has served as NBTA's Illinois State Coordinator. David has been re-certified by the NBTA every five years since 1990.

In 2009 David was also elected to membership in the invitation only American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). ABOTA is dedicated to preservation of the right to trial by jury in civil cases. The requirements for election are rigorous and the members of ABOTA consist of the most experienced personal injury trial lawyers in America.

David Rapoport's quailifications include recognition as a top personal injury and wrongful death lawyer by: 1) Martindale-Hubbell where his is rated "AV Preeminent®"; 2) Thomson-Reuters' Illinois Super Lawyers, which has named David an Illinois Super Lawyer every year the program has been in existence. Super Lawyers "names attorneys in each state who received the highest point totals, as chosen by their peers and through the independent research." This distinction is awarded to the top five percent of a state's attorneys; 3) Avvo, one of the world's largest online lawyer directories, which has rated David a "10-Superb", their highest possible rating; and 4) The Law Bulletin's Leading Lawyers Network, designating David as a "Leading Lawyer" since the inception of the Leading Lawyer Network.

David is a quoted authority on personal injury and wrongful death law. He has been interviewed by many television, radio and newspaper reporters over the years. For example, after the Value Jet crash in Florida's Everglades the television program 60 Minutes featured an interview with David for a segment entitled "Open and Shut Case?" on some of the unexpected issues airplane crash victims or their families may encounter in the aftermath of an aviation negligence disaster. And in The Lost Art: An Advocate's Guide to Effective Closing Arguments, United States District Court Judge Joseph Anderson, who presided over the USAir flight 1016 liability trial, published an excerpt of David's closing argument to the jury in that case as an example of attacking an opponent's case "in the right way".

Few attorneys have experience as extensive as David's in successfully representing clients in aviation negligence and airplane crash cases in venues across the country. He was selected to act as the lead trial attorney in consolidated federal cases arising out of the crash of United Airlines flight 232, a DC-10 that crashed at Sioux City, Iowa on July 19, 1989 (where he represented crew members in their product liability cases) and USAir flight 1016, a DC-9 that crashed at Charlotte, North Carolina on July 2, 1994 (where he represented passengers in claims against the airline and air traffic controllers). The Sioux City case settled on the day of trial under favorable terms for the plaintiffs, while the Charlotte case was tried for six weeks and resulted in a jury verdict finding USAir negligently caused the crash even though the airline vigorously argued it was not negligent.

David has been appointed by federal judges to serve on plaintiffs' steering committees in several major air disaster cases. In addition, early in his career he was lead trial lawyer in the first damages case tried arising out of the crash of USAir flight 405. That case, tried in Cleveland, concluded with an $8.1 million jury verdict. $7.35 million of this verdict was for a single wrongful death and established an Ohio record high for that category of case.

David Rapoport was the lead plaintiffs' trial attorney in both of the last two contested commercial air disaster liability trials against airlines in the United States. In both cases the jury ruled the airline was negligent over the airline's objection. He also served as lead trial attorney in the most recent airline crash passenger damages case tried in America, resulting in the $7.1 million verdict mentioned earlier.

David Rapoport enjoys representing people and never represents insurance companies or other businesses. He recently explained: "I am a 54 year old husband, father, son, brother, friend and trial lawyer. My job is to obtain justice for people who have been harmed using their right to trial by jury, truth and the law. I've enjoyed this work from the start."