Chicago Attorney Advocating Aggressively for Accident Victims



David Abels is a law partner at Abels & Annes, P.C. concentrating in Illinois personal injury, auto accident, work injury, premises liability and wrongful death cases. He often handles bicycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, motorcycle crashes, truck collisions, and many other areas of personal injury law. He has successfully collected millions of dollars for his clients and has focused on handling personal injury cases since 1997.

In 2016, Dave was selected to the Top 100 Lawyer List published by SuperLawyers, Thomson Reuters. There are more than 90,000 active licensed attorneys in Illinois, so the selection places him in approximately the top one-tenth of one percent. Further, Dave was selected as a SuperLawyer in 2014, 2015, and 2016, a distinction given to the top five percent of attorneys in the state. Additionally, Dave has a "10.0 Superb" personal injury lawyer rating from AVVO and has been named as a lifetime member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Membership in the Million Dollars Advocates Forum is limited to attorneys who have won million dollars verdicts, awards and settlements and membership in the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum is limited to lawyers who have acted as counsel in at least one case which resulted in a multi-million dollar verdict, award, or settlement.

Dave was born in Chicago and raised in Evanston, Illinois where he graduated from Evanston Township High School in 1987. Growing up he was an avid hockey player and later became captain of Evanston’s high school hockey team.

In college, he continued to play hockey for the University of Wisconsin at Madison on the junior varsity team. In 1991, Dave received his Bachelor of Arts degree from UW Madison.

After college, Dave continued his education at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago. In 1994, he received his juris doctor degree from John Marshall and was sworn in to the Illinois Bar that same year. He is also a member of the Arizona State Bar as well.

Soon after becoming licensed in Illinois, Dave joined The Henry County State's Attorney's Office, in Cambridge, Illinois. There he prosecuted traffic, misdemeanor and felony cases. He tried numerous bench trials and over 20 jury trials while working at the State's Attorney's Office. This experience was incredibly valuable for his legal career. Almost immediately after law school he was gaining experience that most lawyers don’t obtain until many years later. His courtroom battles prepared him well to fight for the rights of those seriously injured in accidents.

After leaving the State's Attorney's Office, Dave returned to Chicago and worked for the criminal defense firm of Kreiter & Gibbons. There he mainly worked on defending felony criminal cases in Cook County, Illinois. Most of his time was spent in the tough criminal courtrooms at 26th & California in Chicago.

After experiencing several areas of law early in his career, Dave came to the conclusion that he wanted to spend his career in personal injury where he could fight for the rights of those who were injured and help the victims obtain justice. This led Dave to join the personal injury law firm of Foreman & Foreman, Ltd. in 1997. Since then he has been only working on personal injury matters. Dave was later made a partner at the firm, which was renamed Foreman & Abels, P.C., and he continued to concentrate in personal injury law.

In 2008, Dave formed a new partnership with Gary Annes, a well-known personal injury litigator in Chicago. The firm Abels & Annes, P.C. was born with the goal of fighting for the rights of those injured through negligence of others. Partnering with Gary has allowed the firm to provide comprehensive services to its clients from the first day of a case through its resolution. While at Abels & Annes, P.C., Dave has collected millions of dollars in settlements for his clients and has a track record of success.

Dave has represented clients in several high profile cases which have resulted in Dave speaking on several news programs. He is often contacted by the media and asked to provide his opinion when a story breaks with a legal quality. The name Abels & Annes, P.C. has been mentioned in news publications as far away as the Washington Post, the Miami Herald, the San Francisco Chronicle, and online at the Huffington Post. Dave is recognized by his peers as an outstanding Chicago personal injury lawyer, and based on Dave’s history of success, this recognition is well deserved.

Dave prides himself on making his clients happy and obtaining strong results. He understands that being seriously injured in an accident can be the most difficult time in someone’s life, and he takes helping victims very seriously. As the reviews from his clients indicate, he gets the job done right, so much so that most of the firm’s new business comes from his old clients referring new ones.

When working with Dave, it becomes clear from the outset that his goal is to serve the best interests of his clients, making clients happy from the first time they contact him through the resolution of each client's case and at any time in the future if any client needs assistance. With every case he handles, Dave fights for the best possible outcome and he is willing to take on insurance companies to do what is right for injured victims. As his experience representing accident victims has illustrated, Dave recognizes that people need help at all hours of the day and night and that is why the law firm of Abels & Annes, P.C. always has a personal injury attorney standing by 24 hours a day, seven days a week to take phone calls toll free at (855) LAW-CHICAGO (529-2442).

EDUCATION:
  • J.D -  The John Marchall Law School - 1994
  • BA - University of Wisconsin - 1991

BAR ADMISSIONS:
  • Illinois Bar, 1994
  • Arizona Bar, 2010

WORK EXPERIENCE:
  • Abels & Annes, P.C.  (Partner) 2008 - Present
  • David Abels & Associates, P.C. (Partner) 2005 - 2008
  • Foreman & Abels, P.C. (Partner) 2004 - 2005
  • Jerome Foreman & Associates, P.C. (Associate) 1997 - 2004

ASSOCIATIONS:
  • Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (Member) 2016 - Present
  • Public Justice (Member) 2013 - Present
  • State Bar of Arizona (Member) 2010 - Present

AWARDS:
  • Illinois Super Lawyer (Illinois Super Lawyer)  2017, 2016, 2015, 2014
  • TOP 100: 2017 ILLINOIS SUPER LAWYERS (Illinois Super Lawyers)  2017
  • TOP 100: 2016 ILLINOIS SUPER LAWYERS (Illinois Super Lawyers)  2016
  • Lifetime Membership (Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum) 2016
  • Lifetime Membership (Million Dollar Advocates Forum) 2016
  • Premier 100 Civil (National Academy of Jurisprudence) 2016

PUBLICATIONS:
  • Abels & Annes, P.C. (Will Your Personal Injury Case go to Trial?) 2016
  • Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog (Poor, Less Educated Drivers at Greater Risk of Death in Car Accidents) 2015
  • Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog (Self-Driving Cars and the Future of American Transportation) 2015

CONTACT:
100 North LaSalle Street #1710
Chicago, IL 60602
Phone: (312) 924-7575
Fax: (312) 924-7555