Meet Susan—Skilled Attorney and Committed Advocate
Susan L. Novosad, Partner, is well known in the Chicago legal community for the compassion she brings to her work as a tireless advocate for victims of personal injury and wrongful death matters, including medical malpractice and nursing home abuse and neglect. Susan also has a reputation for unmatched negotiating skills and her ability to help opposing parties resolve disputes in ways that deliver justice for her clients.
For Susan, the practice of law has always been a family affair. After an earlier career as an elementary school teacher for gifted students, Susan accepted her brother Steve Levin’s invitation to come work with him and learn about the practice of law. Soon after, Susan began attending John Marshall Law School at night. While pregnant with her first child in 1986, she passed the bar and was sworn in on the day the Bears won the Superbowl. Her three children are now grown, and she has been married to her husband Steve Novosad for 35 years.
Susan’s commitment to her clients is evident in the relationships that last well beyond the scope of her cases—sometimes for decades. Her first medical malpractice trial involved a brachial plexus birth injury to an infant, which caused nerve damage in her spinal cord, neck and arm. The trial concluded when the girl was just three years old, but Susan recently received the young woman’s college graduation announcement. The family has stayed in touch with Susan all these years, and believe that the successful outcome of the trial improved the quality of their daughter’s life.
A fundamental aspect of Susan’s practice is her accessibility to her clients. She believes that her clients are entitled to fair compensation for the harm they have suffered, and has met with Illinois legislators to oppose laws placing limits on recoveries of medical malpractice victims.
Recently, Susan was chosen for inclusion in Chicago Magazine’s Illinois: The Top 100 list, along with the Illinois: The Top 50 Women list. These honors highlight the attorneys who topped the Illinois Super Lawyers nomination, research and review processes. Susan was named to the Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers by Martindale-Hubbell®. Susan was honored among the WBAI’s 2015 Top Women Lawyers in Leadership. This award recognizes outstanding women lawyers in Illinois who serve in a leadership role, who have excelled in their legal field and have gone beyond traditional mentoring to create new pathways for other women. She was also named as a Leading Lawyer for 2012-17 by her peers.
Some of Susan’s most notable achievements include:
$6.7M
birth injury verdict in a medical malpractice lawsuit
$4.1M
jury verdict on behalf of an 85-year-old woman injured in a nursing home when her medications were mismanaged
$3.5M
settlement in a birth injury lawsuit
$2.4M
verdict in a personal injury lawsuit against the City of Chicago. Follow the link to read coverage of this accident verdict
$1.5M
settlement on behalf of an elderly resident of a long-term care facility who suffered burns after being placed in a scalding bath
$1M
settlement (the largest nursing home negligence settlement in Lake County, IL, history) for the family of a deceased former nursing home resident who died after suffering injuries in a fall at a nursing home
Education
J.D., The John Marshall Law School, 1986
cum laude
B.A., University of Illinois, 1978
- Illinois, 1986
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 1986
- Supreme Court of the United States, 1986
Past and Present memberships and positions
- Women’s Bar Association of Illinois
- American Association for Justice
- Nursing Home Litigation Group
- Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
- Illinois State Bar Association
- Leading Lawyer, Leading Lawyers, 2021
Top 10 Lawyer, Leading Lawyers
Leading Women, 2021, 2022
- Top Lawyer – Leading Women, Leading Lawyers, 2021
- Best Lawyers in AmericaⓇ – Personal Injury, since 2021
- Trial Excellence Award – Highest reported Illinois Nursing Home Care Act verdict, Jury Verdict Reporter, 2019
- Chicago’s Notable Women Lawyers, Crain’s Custom Media, 2018
- Illinois Leading Lawyers 2012-2017
- Illinois Super Lawyers, 2005, 2012 – 2022
Illinois Top 100, Illinois Top 50 Women 2013 – 2020 - Martindale-Hubbell® Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers 2012, 2013, 2014
- Chicago Lawyer Magazine’s Illinois Top 100 Attorneys 2013
- Chicago Lawyer Magazine’s Illinois Top 50 Women Attorneys 2013
- Leading Lawyers Magazine’s Top 10 Women in Personal Injury 2015
- The John Marshall Law School Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution. “Preparing for Trial,” Chicago, IL. April 19, 2012.
- Illinois Trial Lawyers Association’s Everything You Need to Know About Motor Vehicle Accident Cases Seminar. “Party Depositions” Oak Brook, IL. March 23, 2012.
- JCC Chicago – Anita M. Stone Community Center. “Advocating for Yourself and Your Loved Ones in Long-Term Care Facilities.” Flossmoor,IL. May 11, 2010.
- Oasis Senior Center, Northbrook Court. “What You Should Know About Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect.” Northbrook, IL. February 18,2010.
- Appeared on WCPT 820 AM’s UN-COMMON LAW Radio Show with Kurt Moller on March 22, 2009.
- IICLE Nursing Home Negligence Conference.“Prosecuting and Defending Physical and Sexual Abuse.” Springfield, Illinois. January 11, 2007.
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