Wheaton, IL

Adam J. Zayed

Adam J. Zayed is the founder and managing trial attorney of Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys, a nationally recognized and award-winning personal injury trial attorney. Since the firm's formation in 2009, he has recovered over $50 million for clients. He specializes in trucking negligence, car accidents, highway accidents, medical malpractice, premises liability, product liability, construction accidents, and wrongful death. Mr. Zayed holds an undergraduate degree from Loyola University Chicago (High Honors), a Juris Doctor from Notre Dame School of Law, and an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business (dean's list). He is licensed in Illinois and the U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois Trial Bar, and has handled cases in numerous states including Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, California, Alabama, Arizona, and Texas.

Edward J. Walsh

Ed Walsh is the founding (1980) member of Walsh, Knippen & Cetina, Chartered and a consumer advocate trial lawyer committed to securing justice and financial recovery for his clients. He has promoted justice by securing numerous multi-million dollar settlements and jury verdicts for his severely injured clients. In recognition of his successful representation of his clients over his 43-year Trial Lawyer career, the Law Bulletin Publishing Company and Jury Verdict Reporter awarded Ed the 2016 “Plaintiff Trial Lawyer Excellence Lifetime Achievement Award”. Ed’s most significant accomplishments include a $10,080,000.00 jury verdict after the completion of a six-week medical malpractice/products liability trial in Chicago, a $7,287,083.00 medical malpractice jury verdict, the highest jury verdict on record in Illinois for facial disfigurement and, along with his partner, an $18,600,000 Circuit Court of Cook County settlement in a construction site brain injury case. Ed has secured the largest medical malpractice settlement, $5,735,000.00, in the history of the Circuit Court of Will County, Joliet, Illinois in a case involving catastrophic brain injury in a newborn infant. Ed has been recognized as an Illinois “Super Lawyer” for 13 straight years since the publishers of Law & Politics and Chicago magazines first recognized “Super Lawyers” in 2004 for his representation of seriously injured people and the loved ones of people who are negligently and wrongfully killed. He is also rated as a “Top Medical Malpractice Attorney” on AVVO and maintains the status of a “Leading Lawyer” in Illinois. He has also been named a “Top 100 Lawyer” by the National Trial Lawyers organization. Recognizing Ed as a true consumer advocate trial lawyer, the Law Bulletin Publishing Company/Chicago Daily Law Bulletin publication singled him out as being the only lawyer in Illinois to secure justice for his clients by achieving three monetary settlements of one million dollars or more during a single year, in court jurisdictions outside of Cook County, Chicago, Illinois. By appointment of the Illinois Supreme Court, Ed serves as a member of the Supreme Court Rules Committee and the Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism. He is a past member and chairman of the Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness to Practice Law. Ed is an elected member of the Board of Managers of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA). Ed is a frequent continuing legal education and professionalism speaker and has authored the chapter “The Empty Chair Defense and Respondents in Discovery” in the ITLA published Medical Malpractice Trial Notebooks for 2011-2017. Ed Walsh represents plaintiff clients with special emphasis in representing clients with serious personal injuries and complex damages as a result of medical malpractice, automobile and truck collisions, wrongful death, product liability and legal malpractice. Ed and his wife, Bobbi have four sons and five grandchildren. When he is not working for his clients, Ed enjoys endurance training, wilderness backpacking, fly-fishing, land stewardship, and native plant and forestry restoration at his upper Mississippi River Valley farm.

Steven R. Roach

Steven R. Roach is an attorney at law who provides tough, effective, and experienced representation in criminal defense and personal injury cases. With almost 30 years of experience, including a background as a former prosecutor, he possesses in-depth knowledge of courthouse procedures and judicial systems. He is committed to defending clients' rights in cases ranging from murder and sex crimes to DUI and other felonies and misdemeanors, as well as handling personal injury, workers' compensation, and Social Security disability claims. He leads a team of highly experienced lawyers and is known for his result-driven approach and open communication with clients.

Joseph M. Laraia

A trusted and highly experienced attorney, Joseph M. Laraia is a representative in the courts of DuPage, Kane, and Will Counties in Illinois. Mr. Laraia has been a trial attorney for more than 48 years and takes pride in serving clients in both criminal and civil cases. When Mr. Laraia first started our law firm back in 1966, attorneys had to be versatile enough to represent clients in all types of legal cases. Because of this experience, he has been successful in cases ranging from traffic violations to capital murder, as well as in family law and business litigation. Joseph M. Laraia was chosen by the Illinois Supreme Court as chairman of the Capital Litigation Trial Bar Committee for the Second District Appellate Court, which screens applications of attorneys who wish to be certified to try capital cases. He has been the chairman from the committee's inception in 2002. Mr. Laraia was also chosen as one of 92 Laureate Attorneys by the Academy of Illinois Lawyers as representing the highest principals of the profession demonstrated by his persuasive record, and he is the recipient of the 2010 Ralph A. Gabric Award for Professional Excellence awarded by the DuPage County Bar Association. On a national level, Mr. Laraia is one of very few Fellows of the highly prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers, which includes lawyers from the United States and Canada. Mr. Laraia was named as an "Illinois Super Lawyer" and holds a perfect 5.0 peer rating on Lawyers.com. Mr. Laraia has achieved the highest rating in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory and has held that rating for over 30 years.

Aldo Botti has extensive Federal and State trial experience involving complex legal matters that include commercial and business disputes, personal injury, family law, and criminal law. He has represented national and international corporations, as well as individuals in federal and state courts in a number of jurisdictions throughout the United States. An experienced litigator recognized for his extensive, innovative and thorough trial preparation, Mr. Botti has been selected to be the lead trial attorney in cases that are already in progress. Mr. Botti has won numerous multi-million dollar awards for clients or their families, and has tried numerous high profile criminal and commercial cases. Because Aldo Botti is a highly respected and versatile trial lawyer who represents individuals as well as large corporations, he has been selected by his peers as a member of the Illinois Super Lawyers. He is listed as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Illinois by the American Trial Lawyers Association, and is certified by the Supreme Court Capital Litigation Trial Bar. Mr. Botti is also certified as a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, which is recognized as the most prestigious group of trial lawyers in the United States. Membership is limited to trial attorneys who have demonstrated exceptional skill, experience and excellence in advocacy by achieving a verdict award or settlement in the amount of one million dollars or more. Currently, Mr. Botti concentrates on high award personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, product liability, family law, and complex corporate and criminal law cases. In 1990, Mr. Botti was overwhelmingly elected as the Chairman of DuPage County, and he served for four years. While serving in Wheaton, Illinois as County Board Chairman, he was elected President of the Metropolitan Counties. Mr. Botti has been a guest speaker and lecturer at various seminars and has been recognized in the National Who’s Who of Attorneys, and Martindale Hubbell Publication AV Rating. Additionally, Mr. Botti is a United States Army Veteran (U.S. Army Intelligence). Mr. Botti started his distinguished legal career as an Assistant State’s Attorney, DuPage County. After starting his private practice, Mr. Botti also served as a Deputy Public Defender. Mr. Botti has authored articles dealing with Illinois child custody and civil practice that have been published in the Illinois Bar Journal and lectured his peers on civil practice matters.

Michael S. Cetina

Mike Cetina is a partner with Walsh, Knippen & Cetina, Chartered. He began his career as an Assistant State’s Attorney in DuPage County, Illinois, where he handled misdemeanor and felony trials. He entered private practice as an insurance defense attorney for a 300+ attorney firm in Chicago. He gained valuable insight into the thought processes and tactics of insurance companies. He recognized that his desire was to assist those severely injured rather than improve the bottom line of insurance companies. Mike has been an advocate for those who were needlessly injured or killed through the negligence, neglect, or wrongful conduct of others since 1990. He concentrates his practice in the areas of medical malpractice, wrongful death, nursing home neglect, motor vehicle and trucking collisions, institutional sexual assault, and slip-and-fall cases. Mike has secured multiple millions in settlements and jury verdicts for his clients. Here is a sampling of some of his past cases: Recovered a multimillion-dollar settlement for DuPage County courthouse occupants, including clerks, judges, probation officers, and prosecutors, who sustained injuries and adverse health conditions caused by the “toxic torthouse”. He was featured in the 1992 American Bar Association Journal article regarding the “sick” building. Successfully recovered $1.8 million for three young boys who were sexually abused in an educational and residential facility. Obtained $1.5 million for a man who sustained a shattered ankle in a car crash. Received $1 million for the estate of a 65-year-old woman who died as a result of her physician’s negligence in failing to recognize and promptly treat a strep infection in the immunocompromised patient. Obtained a confidential settlement for a young woman who was sexually assaulted by an officer. Secured health insurance coverage for a young father who was wrongfully denied health insurance benefits following his cancer diagnosis. Mike has also been an active member in bar associations. He is the past Chair of the Civil Law & Practice Section for the DuPage County Bar Association (“DCBA”). He has taught at College of DuPage as an adjunct professor and was invited to lecture at Benedictine University. He has been a speaker at several bar association seminars and has authored several articles. He was a founding member of the Robert E. Jones Inn of Court and served as the Vice President. He has presided over mock trial competitions and has taught at the multi-week trial advocacy program sponsored by the DCBA. He was Trial Attorney of the Year in the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office and was more recently awarded an AV Preeminent Rating, the highest rating in both legal ability and ethical standards. Mike’s interests outside of work include spending time with his wife and four children. He has coached various sports through the Wheaton Park District and coached football for 12 years in Wheaton, along with serving on the Wheaton Rams Youth Football Board.

Julian D. Hoshell

Julian D. Hoshell is a Partner at Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys, focusing on Personal Injury, Nursing Home Abuse, Medical Malpractice, Wrongful Death, Trucking Accidents, Car Accidents, Premises Liability, Dog Bites, and Product Liability. He earned his Juris Doctor from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and graduated magna cum laude from University of St. Francis with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Mr. Hoshell has recovered millions for clients and is recognized as a National Trial Lawyers top 40 under 40 trial attorney and a Super Lawyers Rising Star. He is admitted to practice in Illinois, U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois, and U.S. District Court Southern District of Illinois.