John Sawin

As a trial lawyer, I have always been willing to "fight the good fight" for my clients when the cause and their circumstances made it the right thing to do—even when the odds were stacked against us. Following that simple principle has allowed me to spend the last 30 years helping clients resolve what I hope are the most significant legal challenges they will ever face.

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Over the years, my practice has expanded to represent individuals and businesses in mass actions, particularly those affected by large-scale disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes. I advocate for those seeking compensation from utility companies and other responsible parties in wildfire litigation, as well as policyholders whose insurers fail to honor their contractual obligations after catastrophic losses. Holding insurance companies accountable is an important part of my work, as too often, families and businesses already facing disaster are forced to fight an additional battle just to receive the coverage they paid for.

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My team and I prosecuted the federal lawsuit that paved the way for thousands of Flint, Michigan residents to pursue federal civil rights claims against those responsible for allowing lead to contaminate the city’s public drinking water. We then successfully defended that outcome through appellate challenges, including before the U.S. Supreme Court.

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In addition to my work in wildfire and first party insurance litigation, I have spent much of the last 14 years representing deaf and hearing-impaired individuals across the U.S. in product liability lawsuits against major cochlear implant manufacturers. No law firms in the U.S. have filed as many product liability lawsuits against Cochlear Limited and Cochlear Americas concerning the now-recalled Cochlear Nucleus CI512 cochlear implant as my firm and my colleague Scott Morgan's firm have filed as a team. We are also representing many individuals who have suffered injuries and damages as a result of Advanced Bionics HiRes Ultra and Ultra 3D cochlear implant failures.

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I knew from an early age that I wanted to become a trial lawyer. I attended law school in Washington, D.C., at American University, where I earned my J.D. in 1994. Prior to that, I graduated from the University of Iowa with a B.S. in Economics in 1990. I was admitted to the Florida Supreme Court Bar in 1994 and the Illinois Supreme Court Bar in 1995, and I have been a member of the trial bar for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois since 1998.

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When I’m not in the courthouse, I spend my time with my wife and two daughters. I can also often be found engaged in an altogether different type of conflict resolution—refereeing soccer.