About Us

Our attorneys are committed to maintaining excellent communication with our clients to keep them informed about the progress of their cases and making sure our clients questions are answered.

Daniel E Goodman

Mr. Goodman attended undergraduate studies at the Univerisity of Illinois Champagne Urbana and earned a Bachelors degree in Liberal Arts.

Mr. Goodman then attended Depaul Law School in Chicago and earned a doctorate in Juris Prudence. While attending Law School, Mr. Goodman clerked for the Illinois States Attorney's Office, the United States Department of Justice organized crime strike force, and for the Civil Division of the United States Attorney's Office.

Mr. Goodman was admitted to the Illinois Bar on February 4th, 1986. Since Mr. Goodman's admission to the bar he has handled nothing but personal injury claims which arise out of motor vehicle collisions, motorcycle collisions, slip and falls, products liabilty and medical negligence. Mr. Goodman has handled in excess of 1200 personal injury cases in his career, of these cases, many have been settled prior to the filing of a lawsuit. Those cases that cannot not be settled prior to filing suit are litigated by Mr. Goodman in the Court system, to verdict when necessary. The vast majority of cases which Mr. Goodman has handled have been settled without trial.

Mr. Goodman is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and the American Trial Lawyers Association.

Mr. Goodman is 48 years old, is married and has two children, a daughter and a son, aged 8 and 7.

Mr. Goodman's philosophy is that each client is important. He is diligent and aggressive in the pursuit of each and every case he handles no matter how big or small. He communicates with his clients regularly to determine the status of their medical condition and of the status of their treatment. He then acquires the records as quickly as possible and forwards them to the insurance adjusters. Shortly thereafter, he contacts the adjuster in an effort to settle the case. If the case settles, Mr. Goodman acquires releases and checks and the case is then over.

For those cases which can not be settled, Mr. Goodman files a complaint and then tenaciously pursues discovery to bring the case to a close, again as quickly as possible.

Mr. Goodman will not settle a case until a fair and reasonable offer is made. If no such offer is ever forthcoming, Mr. Goodman will try your case to verdict.

In short, Mr. Goodman is an aggressive and experienced attorney who will do all possible to maximize his clients recovery.

Some examples of compensation Mr. Goodman has obtained for his clients areas follows:

Scott L. Spiegel

Mr. Spiegel attended the University of Wisconsin- Madison where he received a Bachelors of Arts degree in 1998.  While at the University of Wisconsin- Madison, Mr. Spiegel successfully completed the following majors: Behavioral Science and Law, Political Science and Sociology.  He also received a certificate in Women’s Studies.

Mr. Spiegel received his Juris Doctor from Chicago-Kent College of Law- Illinois Institute of Technology.  He graduated with honors in 2001.  Mr. Spiegel was a member of the Dean’s List four of his six semesters at Chicago-Kent and was a three time CALI award winner (highest grade in the class).  In addition, Mr. Spiegel participated in a clinical course where he served as a mediator for the Center for Conflict Resolution (CCR).  Further, Mr. Spiegel completed an externship for the Honorable Ann C. Williams at the United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Mr. Spiegel began his legal career as an Assistant State’s Attorney at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in 2001.  He served the people of the State of Illinois for over five years.  During that time Mr. Spiegel was the first chair of a misdemeanor traffic courtroom where he prosecuted drunk drivers, hit and run drivers and individuals driving on a suspended or revoked license.  Mr. Spiegel then went on to serve in the Narcotics Special Prosecutions Unit where he prosecuted felony narcotic offenses.    Mr. Spiegel also served on the Felony Review Unit where he took handwritten statements from offenders and witnesses and approved felony charges for offenders.  While working as an Assistant State’s Attorney Mr. Spiegel grew to become an effective and experienced trial attorney as he performed numerous bench and jury trials.

In 2006 Mr. Spiegel made the jump from criminal law to civil law and began his tenure as an associate attorney at the Law Office of Daniel E Goodman.  At the Law Office of Daniel E Goodman, Mr. Spiegel serves as a litigator and trial attorney specializing in personal injury law and criminal defense.  Mr. Spiegel successfully tried numerous personal injury cases to verdict.  In addition, Mr. Spiegel has achieved numerous favorable settlements on behalf of clients.  Mr. Spiegel conducts thorough investigations and aggressively pursues each case that he handles.  He takes pride in maintaining an open line of communication with clients and wants all of his clients to understand each step of the litigation process.

Mr. Spiegel was born and raised in the Chicagoland area.  He is married and has one son.  His hobbies include spending time with his family, collecting sports memorabilia, exercising and dining out.  In addition, Mr. Spiegel is an avid sports fan and enjoys spending his summers cheering on his favorite team, the Chicago Cubs.

Gary W. Klages

Gary has practiced personal injury defense for over 20 years after beginning his career as an Assistant State’s Attorney. He has tried over 25 civil jury trials to verdict in Illinois, and Indiana. His major emphasis of practice is construction, auto, premises, municipal and product liability.

Gary has also been a speaker on the issues pertaining to litigation and insurance law having presented at numerous seminars on insurance topics. Gary has written articles for legal publications on topics such medical malpractice liability from a hospital’s perspective, the Illinois Paternity Act and the Domestic Violence Act.

Gary attended the University of Nebraska, receiving his degree in 1979. Gary then received his Juris Doctor from the John Marshall Law School in 1982. Gary was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1982 and is also a member of the Federal Bar in the Northern and Central Districts of Illinois, Central District of Indiana, and United States Supreme Court. Gary has been rated “high” to “very high” in legal ability, and very high in ethical standards by Martindale-Hubbell’s Peer Review ratings system. Gary is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association.

Gary now looks forward to applying his knowledge in the pursuit of personal injury cases on behalf of people who have been injured due to the negligence of others.

Daniel Flaherty

Daniel Flaherty has been happily and successfully practicing civil litigation for a number of years. In those years, he has handled a wide range of civil litigation matters, including personal injury, dram shop, premises liability, insurance coverage, insurance defense, and subrogation. Dan’s past experience also includes working at the Public Defender’s Office of Douglas County. Dan has successfully argued numerous jury trials to verdict and handled hundreds of arbitration hearings.

Dan received his Bachelor of Arts in Entrepreneurship from the University of St. Thomas. Dan later earned his Juris Doctorate from William Mitchell College of Law, where, in his second year, he was a member of the American Trial Lawyers Association trial team competing in a regional trial competition in Boston. Dan is also a member of the Illinois State Bar Association.

Dan is married and lives with his wife in the western suburbs. He enjoys spending time with his family and friends and working on projects around the house. When he gets the chance, Dan cheers for his favorite sports teams: the White Sox, the Bears, and the Nebraska Huskers.

Adam Smestad

Adam graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and a Bachelors of Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Iowa in 2005. He received his Juris Doctorate Degree from DePaul University in December of 2009. While at DePaul, he was a member of the Dean’s List and a Teaching Assistant for the DePaul College of Law Legal Writing Department. Adam also studied law in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Madrid, Spain through DePaul University College of Law. He was also a founding member of the DePaul Law Constitutional Society student branch and served as Vice President of Membership. He was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 2010.

Since becoming admitted to the Illinois Bar in 2010, Adam has achieved a wide variety of civil litigation experience. He worked as a foreclosure defense attorney for the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services, where he represented clients who were in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. Adam has also volunteered as a mock trial competition coach for Chicago Public Schools, where he coached high school students on litigation strategies and trial practice.

Prior to joining the Law Office of Daniel E Goodman, Adam worked as a Law Clerk for plaintiff’s personal injury litigation firm Arquilla & Fink, where his work was integral in helping ensure his clients were able to maximize their recoveries. Adam takes great pride in representing his clients’ interest in obtaining compensation for their injuries, and is dedicated to advocate on their behalf until they are fairly compensated. He believes in treating every client with respect and understands the importance of communicating the litigation process to his clients.

Adam was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and grew up in Libertyville, Illinois. He enjoys playing music, playing sports, exercising, snowboarding, and spending time with family and friends. Adam is an avid sports fan, and loves soccer, football, the Iowa Hawkeyes, and the Chicago Cubs and Blackhawks.

Honorine Richards

Honorine Richards graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Mass Communication from the University of Georgia in 2005. She received her Juris Doctorate Degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in December of 2009. While at Loyola, she was a member of the Dean’s List, the VIS Moot Court Team, the Mock Trial Team, the ABA Client Counseling Team, and the ABA Mediation Team. She also served as Vice President of Black Law Student Association. Honor studied law in Italy, France, Belgium, Luxemburg, England, and Chile through Loyola University. She also was selected to complete a teaching fellowship in Santiago, Chile at the Universidad de Alberto-Hurtado. Honor has earned certificates in International Law and Trail Advocacy. Subsequent to completing her Juris Doctorate, Honor was admitted to the Illinois Bar and continued her legal studies at Loyola University in their L.L.M. program.

Honor has had the opportunity to gain experience in a number of different areas of law. Honor began her legal career with the Chicago Transit Authority. At the CTA, she worked in the Tort Litigation Department where she successfully argued bench trials, won arbitration hearings and negotiated settlement agreements. Before joining the Law Office of Daniel E Goodman, Honor worked for Katz Law Office, Ltd. During her time at Katz Law, Honor was a general practice attorney. She rigorously advocated for her clients enabling them to avoid foreclosure and secure significant loan modifications. She also practiced Immigration Law, Family Law, Criminal Law, Civil Law, Bankruptcy Law, and Estate Law. Honor enjoys working hard on her client’s behalf to make sure their interests are properly protected, their positions are ardently advocated, and they are more than fairly and adequately compensated for their injuries.

Honor was born in Georgia and grew up in Metro Atlanta. She enjoys playing music, salsa dancing, playing sports, competing in team trivia and spending time with family and friends. During football season, she cheers on her favorite teams, the Georgia Bull Dogs and Atlanta Falcons—please do not hold her obvious lack in judgment in sports against our firm.