Meet Michael—Dedicated to Family, Passionate About Service
Michael Bonamarte IV is a skilled and passionate attorney who has achieved outstanding results in a number of high-profile nursing home, wrongful death, medical malpractice, and personal injury cases. His commitment to his clients is rooted in a family legacy of love of the law and meaningful service to those in need, with a special respect and admiration for the elders that our society so often fails to honor.
Michael enjoys golf, basketball, running, yoga and spending time with his wife, Julia, and their daughter Gabriella Grace, “GG,” who is seven years old. He was raised in Highland Park, a community his family has been dedicated to serving for generations. His great grandfather was a fingerprint expert with the Highland Park Police, and his grandfather served as the police chief for 38 years. Michael’s father was a Lake County attorney who represented elders in probate transactions. With a legacy like that, it is only natural that Michael IV would thrive in leadership roles and pursue work that made a difference in people’s lives. After a successful high school football career as captain and starting varsity quarterback at Highland Park High School, Michael earned his B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, graduating with academic distinction. In 2005, he graduated from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, where he earned a place on the dean’s list during his second and third years. He joined Levin & Perconti as an associate attorney in August 2005 and in March 2014 was named Partner.
Along with his casework, Mike enthusiastically shares his knowledge and experience by speaking regularly to colleagues and community organizations, including the American Association for Justice, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, and the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education. He has also made presentations on nursing home abuse to Chicago-area senior organizations and Illinois aging professionals.
Mike is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association, American Bar Association, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Former President of the American Association for Justice Nursing Home Litigation Group, and Former President of the Justinian Society of Lawyers. Additionally, Mike is a member of the ISBA’s Young Lawyers Division Council and serves on the Illinois State Bar Association Steering Committee on Racial Inequality. He also served on the board of directors for the River North Business Association.
In 2010, Michael was named as one of the Law Bulletin Publishing Company’s “40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch.” This honor is awarded to forty of the most talented young lawyers in the state for their outstanding work on behalf of clients, their efforts to advance the legal profession and their community service. Michael has also been named an Illinois Rising Star by Super Lawyers in every year since 2011. Additionally, Mike was honored with an award for Trial Lawyer Excellence for the Highest Reported Illinois Verdict in a Nursing Home Malpractice case.
Michael is president and founder of the Michael F. Bonamarte III Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness and funding research on the treatment and prevention of strokes. Michael founded the organization in memory of his late father, Michael F. Bonamarte III, who passed away in 2006. The Foundation has raised over $60,000 since its inception.
Some of Michael's most notable achievements include:
$40M
$20M
verdict on behalf of a child who suffered preventable HIE and asphyxia injuries at birth, resulting in permanent cognitive and developmental impairments.
$12M
medical malpractice verdict
$8M
medical malpractice verdict
$7.5M
Illinois Record Jones Act settlement recovered on behalf of a boat worker who was injured in an explosion
$7M
Federal Tort Claims Act verdict
$4.75M
medical malpractice settlement
$2.9M
verdict for the family of a deceased 57-year-old nursing home resident who suffocated due to the home’s negligent care of her tracheostomy tube.
$2.7M
verdict for the estate of a 67-year-old man who died from complications related to a fall at Southpoint Nursing Home on Chicago’s southside.
$2.325M
nursing home pressure ulcer settlement
$1.8M
medical malpractice verdict
$1.5M
construction accident settlement
$1.4M
nursing home settlement
$1.25M
medical malpractice settlement
$1M
nursing home pressure ulcer settlement
Education
J.D., John Marshall Law School, 2005
B.S., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2001
- Illinois, 2005
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 2006
Past and Present memberships and positions
- American Bar Association
Member - Illinois State Bar Association
Member, Council Member, Steering Committee for Racial Inequality - Chicago Bar Association
Member - Justinian Society of Lawyers
Member, Past President 2017-2018, Founder and Chair of COE Committee, Member of Endowment Fund - Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
Member, Board of Managers - American Association for Justice
Chair of COVID Committee, Member of COE committee - River North Business Association
Member, Former Member of Board of Directors - AAJ Nursing Home Litigation Group
Member, Past Chair
- The Best Lawyers in America®: Medical Malpractice Law: Plaintiffs, 2023-2024
- The Best Lawyers in America®: Personal Injury Litigation: Plaintiffs, 2023-2024
- Illinois Super Lawyers®: Medical Malpractice, 2020-2024
- Illinois Super Lawyers®: Top 100 in Illinois, 2024
- Illinois Super Lawyers®: Rising Stars, Medical Malpractice, 2011-2019
- Leading Lawyers: Leading Lawyer, 2017-2023
- Leading Lawyers: Top 10 Lawyer: Nursing Home Negligence, 2021-2022
- Leading Lawyers: Emerging Lawyer, 2015-2016
- Crain Communications, Inc.: Crain’s 2021 Notable Gen X Leaders in Accounting, Consulting & Law, 2021
- Top 20 Illinois Settlement, 2020
- Top 100 Wrongful Death Settlements, 2020
- Top 50 Medical Malpractice Settlements in the United States, 2020
- Jury Verdict Reporter: Trial Excellence Award: Highest Reported Illinois Verdict: Nursing Home Malpractice Case, 2015
- Jury Verdict Reporter: Trial Excellence Award: Highest Jones Act Settlement: Illinois, 2015
- Illinois Trial Lawyers Association: Amicus Curiae Committee’s William J. Harte Amicus Volunteer Award, 2011
- Chicago Law Bulletin Publishing Company: Top “40 Attorneys Under 40 to Watch” in Illinois, 2010
Jury Verdict Reporter: Trial Excellence Award: Highest Reported Coles County Verdict: Birth Injury Case, 2024
- Trial Lawyer Nation Podcast, What does it take to win a $20 million verdict? October 2022
- AAJ Elder Abuse College, Settlement Strategies: How to Value, Negotiate, & Mediate to Get the Best Results, May 2022
- Chicago Bar Association, “Covid 19: Impact on Long Term Care Litigation” May 2021
- The Justinian Society, “A Guide for Young Lawyers Starting Your Career, CLE” May 2021
- AAJ Nursing Home Litigation Group, “Cross Examination Techniques in Nursing HomeCases” May 2020
- New Jersey Association for Justice Boardwalk Seminar, “Case Selection to Winning Your Trial” May 2019
- AAJ Nursing Home Litigation Group: Washington D.C., “Trial Preparation and Closing Argument” April 2019
- Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Ethics & Professionalism Seminar “Social Media Protecting Yourself and Your Client” March 2019
- New Jersey Association for Justice Annual Board Walk Seminar, “Nursing Home: Proving the Case,” Depositions: Using the Witnesses’ Words, May 10, 2018, Atlantic City, New Jersey
- Deposing Nursing Home Employees and Owners in Neglect and Abuse Cases, Strafford Publications Webinar, April 11, 2018
- Strafford Nursing Home Depos Webinar, “Deposing Nursing Home Staff and Corporate Representatives in Nursing Home Injury Cases.” April 20, 2017. CLE Webinar.
- Evergreen Park Public Library, “Arbitration in Nursing Homes & Signs and Symptoms of Abuse and Neglect.” October 22, 2016. Evergreen Park, IL.
- American Association for Justice Nursing Home Litigation Group, “Don’t Forget the Deposition,” CLE Program: Issues Often Missed in Nursing Home Cases, July 11, 2015, Montreal, Canada.
- Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, “Expert Witnesses-When and How to Depose Them and How to Take a Good Deposition,” Nursing Home & Assisted Living Facility Litigation Seminar, February 6, 2015, Chicago, IL.
- The John Marshall Law School, Cultural Considerations in Nursing Homes. March 25, 2014, Chicago, IL.
- “Nursing Home Neglect –Medical Malpractice – Personal Injury,” LULAC of Lake County* Legal & Insurance Workshop. March 12, 2014, Waukegan, IL.
- Indiana Trial Lawyers Association 49th Annual Institute, Nursing Home Litigation – How to Take Key Depositions in a Nursing Home Lawsuit. November 2013, Indianapolis, IN.
- Illinois Trial Lawyers Association Update and Review Seminar, Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Litigation Review. October 14, 2013, Chicago, IL.
- Kentucky Justice Association Nursing Home Seminar, Taking Depositions to Win The Case. May 31, 2013. Lexington, KY.
- American Association for Justice, Nursing Home College: Depositions. May 10, 2012. Washington, DC.
- The John Marshall Law School, Personal injury in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. April 2, 2012, Chicago, IL.
- Illinois Department on Aging 2011 Elder Rights Conference, The Role of the Private Attorney in Enforcing Elder Rights through Litigation. July 7, 2011. Chicago, IL.
- Lake County Bar Association Meeting, The Importance of Serving Vulnerable Populations September 22, 2010, Waukegan, IL.
- National Association of Elder Law Attorneys National Telephonic Seminar, Personal Injury Actions on Behalf of Elderly Populations July 7, 2010.
- Illinois Trial Lawyers Association Rights and Remedies Seminar, Nursing Home Litigation. April 10, 2010, Oak Brook, IL.
- Chicago Bar Association Tort Litigation Committee, Meeting Complex Issues and Pitfalls in Discovery for the Tort Trial Lawyer. March 4, 2010, Chicago, IL.
- Vernon Park Church of God’s Senior Council Meeting, Advocating for Your Loved One in a Nursing Home Setting. January 16, 2010, Chicago, IL, with Steven M. Levin.
- Sons of Norway Torske Club’s Fall Dinner Meeting, Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect. October 11, 2008, Des Plaines, IL.
- National Association of Elder Law Attorneys National Teleseminar, Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Actions in Elderly Populations June 2008.
- Illinois Trial Lawyers Association Top Topics Seminar, Deposition Strategies, June 8, 2007, Chicago, IL.
- Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education Personal Injury Practice Update, Wrongful Death – Nursing Home Negligence, June 15, 2007 Chicago, IL and June 29, 2007 Springfield, IL.
*LULAC of Lake County works in advancing the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, health, and civil rights of the Hispanic population in Lake County Illinois and across the United States
- “States Move to Shield LTC Facilities from Civil Liability,” American Bar Association, July 23, 2020
- “Attorney’s Fees and Costs Under the Nursing Home Care Act after Grauer vs. Clare Oaks,” ITLA Trial Journal, Volume 22, Number 1, Winter 2020.
- “Nursing Home Legal Group Looks for Ways to Improve Profession,” Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, December 11, 2019.
- “Two Partners Talk About Going from Student to Teacher,” Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, August 1, 2019.
- “Plaintiff’s Perspectives,” Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education Long-Term Care Litigation 2013 Edition with Steven M. Levin.
- “Advising Elder Clients and Their Families – Chapter 7 – Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Actions Under the Nursing Home Care Act,” Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education, 2008 Handbook and 2012 Supplement. IICLE (2012) with Steven M. Levin.
- Steve Levin and Mike Bonamarte, selected by the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, recently wrote a brief and submitted it to the Illinois Supreme Court arguing that punitive damages, a form of punishment and deterrence, should be allowed in nursing home death cases when the conduct of the nursing home is egregious.
- “Plaintiff’s Perspectives on Long-Term Care Litigation,” Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education, and 2010 supplement. IICLE (2008) with Steven M. Levin.
- “Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Actions in the Elderly Population,”The Advocacy & Litigation SIG Advocate: National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Inc. (Spring 2008) with Steven M. Levin.
- “Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Actions Under the Nursing Home Care Act,” Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education, 2006 Handbook, 2008 and 2011 supplement. IICLE (2006) with Steven M. Levin.
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