Joseph A. Garofalo
Born
1952, Chicago, IL
Practice Areas
Workers’ Compensation Defense
Background
Joe Garofalo, along with his partner Scott Schreiber, founded the law firm of Garofalo, Schreiber, Storm & Grant, Chtd. in 1984. Joe has over forty years of experience defending workers’ compensation cases before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, the Circuit Court, the Appellate Court, and the Illinois Supreme Court. Joe graduated magna cum laude from North Park College where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1974. He received the Louis Kokoris Memorial Scholarship in Political Science and Law. He wrote an undergraduate thesis: The Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Due Process of Law. He earned his Juris Doctorate from DePaul University College of Law in 1977. Joe provides leadership to his colleagues and clients with a straightforward and pragmatic style. He is a skilled trial lawyer and negotiator.
Contributions
Joe has lectured on the topic of workers’ compensation defense before the Chicago Bar Association, various business groups, insurance companies, and self-insured professionals. He also served as an Arbitrator in the Circuit Court of Cook County mandatory arbitration program. Joe was a contributing author for the 2012 Workers’ Compensation Manual prepared for the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.
Honors
- AV Preeminent LexisNexis Martindale Hubbell Peer Review rating for Ethical standards and legal ability, the highest rating.
- Leading Lawyer Network: 2018’s second highest rated and 2014’s third highest rated workers’ compensation business defense lawyer
- Super Lawyer
- Named the 2014 Midwest Region’s Workers’ Compensation Attorney of the Year by Old Republic Construction Group
Reported Cases
- Johnson Outboards v Industrial Comm., 77 Ill. 2d 67, 394 N.E.2d 1176, 31 Ill.Dec. 799 (1979).
- Auto-Trol Technology Corporation v Industrial Commission, 189 Ill. App. 3d 1065, 545 N.E.2d 939 (1989).
Publications
- Chicago Law: A Trial Lawyer’s Journey, North Charleston, South Carolina: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015.
- Tales From Healdsburg: A Story of Self-Awakening, North Charleston, South Carolina: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015.
- Recipe for Success: The Key Ingredients for Living Sucessfully, North Charleston, South Carolina: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2018.
- Chicago Law II: The Journey Continues, North Charleston, South Carolina: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2018.
- They Call Me Joey Flowers: A Collection of Stories Worth Telling, North Charleston, South Carolina: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2018.
Memberships and Affiliations
- United States District Court of the Northern District of Illinois
- United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
- Illinois State Bar Association
- Chicago Bar Association
- Workers’ Compensation Lawyers’ Association
- The College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers
- Justinian Society of Lawyers