General Information

Year founded: 1984
This is the year the firm (or its earliest predecessor entity) was founded.
Logo for Clifford Law Offices

Overview

Content is provided by the firm.

The lawyers at Clifford Law Offices represent years of practice in the area of personal injury law including aviation, transportation, medical malpractice and product liability law. The largest personal injury law firm based in Chicago concentrating on plaintiffs’ personal injury and wrongful death law, Clifford Law Offices’ attorneys have hundreds of years of combined experience. Some of the partners have held leadership positions within various bar associations on the local, state and national level. Every member of the firm upholds the highest principle of the legal profession in placing the individual client first. The firm often is said to set the standard in professional excellence. Moreover, it is important to note that as a result of the litigation handled by the firm, many defective products and dangerous practices have been changed or abandoned altogether.

The National Law Journal named Clifford Law Offices one of the 50 Elite firms in the country, and they are the only firm in Chicago to be given this distinction. The National Law Journal also named the firm as one of the 10 Top Litigation Boutiques in the country in 2013. With over 20 Chicago personal injury lawyers, Clifford Law offers experienced counsel in a wide range of critical practice areas:

  • Personal Injury
  • Wrongful Death
  • Maritime Law / Maritime Litigation
  • Medical Malpractice and Hospital Negligence
  • Medical Devices and Pharmaceutical Litigation
  • Spinal Cord Injury
  • Transportation Liability
  • Railroad Accidents
  • Truck Accidents and Injuries
  • Product Liability
  • Construction Liability
  • Premises Liability
  • Qui Tam / Whistleblower
  • Pelvic Mesh / Mass Torts
  • Natural Gas Explosions
  • Aviation Litigation
  • Commercial Aviation Liability

Rankings

Clifford Law Offices is nationally ranked in 4 practice areas and metro ranked in 10 practice areas. Best Law Firms rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process.

Read how Best Law Firms ranks firms

National Rankings

Tier 1
Tier 1 for Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs
Tier 1 for Railroad Law
Tier 1 for Transportation Law
Tier 3
Tier 3 for Commercial Litigation

Metro Rankings

Chicago
Tier 1 for Aviation Law
Tier 1 for Commercial Litigation
Tier 1 for Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs
Tier 1 for Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs
Tier 1 for Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs

About Our Clients

Clifford Law Offices is exclusively a plaintiffs’ law firm. Since 1984, the firm has established a reputation that has now become one of national, if not international, significance in the area of plaintiffs’ litigation. The firm sets itself apart in its standard of excellence in securing the nation’s top experts on a matter and then taking a case all the way to trial, if necessary, so that the client feels that justice has been achieved. From lawsuits dealing with high-rise safety to train protocol, from airline safety standards to the regulations governing the construction of porches and scaffolding.

Clifford Law Offices, headed by senior partner Robert Clifford, has been involved in a number of high-profile cases that impact Chicago and beyond. Many times the lawyers go that extra step in trying to secure equitable relief for a client, such as the family who lost a son to binge drinking at Northwestern University. The parents wanted the university to become part of the Red Watch Band program whereby students would be trained to watch for students who became victims of binge drinking and report it to authorities, without consequences to the student, so that lives could be saved. Northwestern finally agreed to become part of the program and it has spread to colleges and universities across the country.

The firm also has become part of No Texting and Driving to make the roads safer, particularly for teenagers. In 2010, before No Texting and Driving became a law in Illinois, Clifford Law Offices sponsored a program at a local high school where driving simulators would be shipped from school to school so that new drivers could see the effects of alcohol when driving. Illinois’ Secretary of State Jesse White along with state legislators and other local leaders took part in the day’s event along with the Illinois Governor proclaiming it STATIC Day – Stop Texting And Talking in Cars.

A young woman was trapped in a high rise years ago, and despite her calls for help in a burning building, she died of smoke inhalation. Her family turned to Clifford Law Offices that also saw to it that changes were made in the 911 response system to vanity addresses, as her parents insisted her death could not be in vain.

More recently, when the tragic news of eight young women suffering injuries, some of them permanent and crippling, in a horrific collapse in Rhode Island at the Ringling Brothers Circus, seven of them reached out to Clifford Law Offices, halfway across the country, to represent them in their greatest time of need. Many of them are from foreign countries and English is not their first language, yet they turned to Clifford Law Offices after learning of our dedication to helping those who need quality representation.

Highlighted Client Comments

All client comments represent the opinions of the people who provided them. All potential clients are urged to remember that no two cases are ever completely alike and that the result in one case does not guarantee a similar result in another case.
Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs
I have worked with Clifford Law Office as co-counsel and have had the privilege of referring them complex litigation matters. They are second-to-none in a variety of areas.
Kevin Frost

Rankings

National Rankings

Tier 1
Tier 1 for Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs
Tier 1 for Railroad Law
Tier 1 for Transportation Law
Tier 3
Tier 3 for Commercial Litigation

Regional Rankings

Chicago
Tier 1 for Aviation Law
Tier 1 for Commercial Litigation
Tier 1 for Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs
Tier 1 for Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs
Tier 1 for Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs
Tier 1 for Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs
Tier 1 for Professional Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs
Tier 1 for Railroad Law
Tier 1 for Transportation Law
Tier 3 for Bet-the-Company Litigation

Practice Areas

The below are areas of legal specialty volunteered by the firm and do not designate a specialty in which a Best Law Firms ranking is held.
  • Aviation Litigation
  • Bet-the-Company Litigation
  • Construction Law
  • Consumer Protection Law
  • Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs
  • Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs
  • Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs
  • Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs

Individuals Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America®

Clifford Law Offices has 19 lawyers recognized for individual performance in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. By receiving this Best Lawyers recognition from their peers for their professional excellence, these lawyers made Clifford Law Offices eligible for evaluation for Best Law Firms rankings. For almost two decades, Best Lawyers has awarded these singular accolades, making them the foundation of our Best Law Firms awards. Read more about our Best Lawyers process here.
Spinning circle
{{ practiceAreaName }}
{{ lawyer.FirstName[0] }}{{ lawyer.LastName[0] }} {{ lawyer.FirstName[0] }}{{ lawyer.LastName[0] }} {{ lawyer.Locations[0].City }}{{lawyer.Locations[0].StateCode ? ', ' + lawyer.Locations[0].StateCode : '' }}

Client Comments

All client comments represent the opinions of the people who provided them. All potential clients are urged to remember that no two cases are ever completely alike and that the result in one case does not guarantee a similar result in another case.
Spinning circle
{{ comment.ClientFullName + (comment.ClientTitle ? ", " : "") }} {{ comment.ClientTitle }} – {{ comment.ClientCompanyName }}

Demographics

Partners
Male: 11
Female: 6
White / Caucasian: 17
Of Counsel (but not partners)
Male: 3
White / Caucasian: 3
Associates
Male: 3
Female: 3
White / Caucasian: 6
Attorney Management / Department Heads
Male: 1
White / Caucasian: 1

Awards

Awards are self-reported by firms and are not verified by the Best Law Firms rankings.

Main Location

Chicago, IL
120 North LaSalle Street, 36th Floor
Chicago, IL 60602
United States
312-899-9090 Call our Chicago, IL location at 312-899-9090 Get Directions Get directions to our Chicago, IL location

Contacts

Communications Partner
Pamela Menaker 312-899-9090
Find the Best Law Firms
Search for a Law Firm
Search our directory of over 16,000 firms across the Globe.
Search
Is Your Law Firm Ranked?
Enhance your firm's reputation and visibility with our marketing opportunities.
Marketing Opportunities
Ranked Practice Areas
See the practice areas included in our Best Law Firms research.
Practice Areas