1954 - 2007

Paul E. Garfinkel received his Juris Doctor degree from Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago and his Bachelor of Arts degree, with high distinction, in speech communications from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan where he was a member of the debate team and the Honors College of the school of Literature Science and the Arts. In law school, Mr. Garfinkel served as a member of the student-elected judicial council and was the co-founder, editor and columnist for the student weekly newspaper. Prior to joining Kopka, Pinkus, Dolin & Eads as a partner, Mr. Garfinkel was a member of the workers' compensation defense litigation practices at two major Chicago firms for a total of 15 years. He concentrated his practice in the defense of worker's compensation and employment litigation. He had additional experience in business litigation, regulatory issues, third-party recovery and defense, employment law counseling and unemployment compensation. Mr. Garfinkel regularly spoke and gave seminars to clients and organizations. He wrote and produced a full mock trial presentation for the Workers' Compensation Claims Association (WCCA) and served as a speaker at a National Business Institute "Advanced Workers' Compensation" seminar. In conjunction with the seminar, Mr. Garfinkel prepared an extensive article entitled "Preparation of the Employer's Case". He also served on a legal committee of the WCCA and is a member of the Workers' Compensation Lawyers Association. In May, 1999 Mr. Garfinkel presented a seminar on two current issues in Illinois workers' compensation: the recent decision by the Appellate Court which found fibromyalgia to be a compensable condition and the recent application of Petrillo to the workers' compensation arena. Mr. Garfinkel lectured for the American Institute of Paralegal Studies and previously served as a Commissioner of the Cable T.V. Commission for the Village of Skokie.