Lawrence Theodore Ruder

Larry is the managing partner at RUDER LAW, LLC in Chicago. During his 40-year career, Larry has tried dozens of cases obtaining millions of dollars in verdicts/settlements. He is a member of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and sits on its Board of Advocates. Larry is also a member of American Association for Justice (Civil Rights Committee), the Illinois State Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, the Lake County Bar Association (Civil Trials & Appeals Committee) and The Society of Trial Lawyers. Larry has an AV-Preeminent Rating by Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest possible rating in both legal ability and ethical standards and is a recognition given to less than 9% of attorneys nationwide. He has been included in the Martindale-Hubbell Register of Preeminent Lawyers and the National Trial Lawyers has named him a Top 100 Trial Lawyer in each of the last 5 years. Larry has authored and published peer-reviewed teaching articles for the highly respected Trial Journal of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, his closing arguments have been chosen for publication in: Closing Arguments: The Art and the Law (West) and Cyclopedia of Trial Practice (West) and his case work involving the institutional negligence of a well-known Chicago hospital was reviewed and cited in Hospital Negligence: Legal and Administrative Issues, S. 3:26, West (2009) Larry’s courtroom results: McHenry County, Illinois jury awards $897,000 ($0 offer) for back injuries caused when a school bus from the local high school rear ended our clients stopped jeep. The verdict stands as the largest personal injury verdict ever handed down against a local school district in this ultra-conservative county in northwest, Illinois; Chicago jury returns a gross verdict of $5,000,000 in favor of our client, the estate of a 28 year old West African girl, who was killed on the Indiana Tollway by an inattentive semi driver. The trucking company’s last offer before trial was $100,000; $8.8 Million settlement obtained for our client who was hit by a school bus while crossing the street suffering a TBI; Chicago jury awards a gross verdict of $1.013 Million for foot fractures suffered by an ER nurse when another driver made a right turn on red in front of her in an intersection. $1.8 Million paid by (confidential) trucking company who's semi driver was rear ended while illegally parked on a municipal road in DuPage County, IL; $2.85 Million paid by well-known Lake County, IL hospital that discharged a 5 year old too soon from its emergency department--child died 15 hours later from an undiagnosed bowel obstruction; $6 Million paid by CTA to young woman run over by its bus at Michigan and Ohio streets in Chicago; $2.3 Million paid by local hospital and anesthesiology group to young woman injured during routine gynecological procedure; $1Million paid by local Ob-GYN group for failing to diagnose breast cancer in 40 year old woman who later died; $1 Million paid by local pain management group to 33 year old woman who was over-prescribed opiates leading to severe addiction. $1.2 Million paid by Cities of Hammond and East Chicago, Indiana after a police chase that killed an innocent 12 year old girl. Sealed/Confidential: two families who lost loved ones in an aircraft crash. Known for his service and contribution to the underserved in his community, Larry has proudly sponsored the Ruder Scholarship for Hispanic Law Students. And, he sponsors and provides legal advice and service to underprivileged parishioners at Maternity BVM Parish in Chicago.