Bradley A. Bertkau

Partner

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Attorney Bradley Bertkau provides litigation defense for large and small corporations and individuals, including cases where his clients are self-insureds or insured by insurance companies. Brad primarily concentrates his practice on legal representation in all areas of transportation litigation, including casualty claims, cargo claims, and insurance coverage. In addition, Brad also provides legal representation for cases involving all areas of construction litigation, including construction injury and construction defect litigation. He handles matters from the initial inception of a claim through trial, including post-judgment appellate work. His responsibilities include managing clients' files from the event/incident through resolution, and he works with clients to prepare and implement a strategy for defense from the initial investigation. His litigation experience extends throughout the state of Illinois.

In addition, Brad is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, the Transportation Lawyers Association (TLA), the Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA), and the Conference of Freight Counsel (CFC). The TLA, TIDA, and CFC are independent associations dedicated to the issues of the transportation industry both nationally and internationally.

Brad graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law (formerly the John Marshall Law School) in 2008. He earned his B.A. from Lafayette College in 2003. He has been recognized as an Emerging Lawyer by Leading Lawyer magazine and a Rising Star and Top Rated Lawyer by Super Lawyers.

Practice Areas

• Transportation
• Insurance Coverage
• Cargo
• Construction Litigation
• General Negligence
• Appellate

Bar Admissions

• Illinois, 2008
• United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 2009
• United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, 2017
• United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, 2018
• United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, 2010

Education

• University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, Chicago, Illinois, J.D., May, 2008
• Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, B.A. Economics and History, 2003

Current/Past Affiliations and Offices Held

• Transportation Lawyers Association
  • Freight Claims Committee
• Trucking Industry Defense Association
  • Diversity & Inclusion Committee
• Conference of Freight Counsel
• Chicago Bar Association

Honors and Awards

• Emerging Lawyer, Leading LawyerMagazine
• Super Lawyers - Rising Star, Top Rated Lawyer

Published Works/Presentations

• "Limiting Immaterial Discovery Directed at Motor Carriers in Casualty Cases," The Transportation Lawyer
• "F4A What? FAAAA Preemption as it Relates to Casualty Claims, The Scope and Reach of FAAAA," Transportation Lawyers Association, Chicago Regional Seminar, 2021
• "The FAAAA Preemption of Personal Injury Lawsuits: Creagan v. Wal-Mart Transp., LLC," The Transportation Lawyer
• "Broker/Shipper Liability," Presentation, 2016
• "Liability Issues – Under the Uniform Intermodal Facilities Access Agreement (UIIA)," 2016
• Ready v. United/Goedecke Services, Inc., Case Note, Construction Law, Newsletter

Representative Cases

• Amicus Brief on behalf of Leading Industry Freight Brokers in Support of Petition for Writ of Certiorari inMiller v. C. H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., 976 F. 3d 1016(9th Cir. 2020)
• Acuity v. Decker, 2015 IL App (2d) 150192
• Carolina Cas. Ins. Co. v. Estate of Sperl, 2015 IL App (3d) 130294
• Rahic v. Satellite Air-Land Motor Serv., 2014 IL App (1st) 132900
• Hoffman v. Crane, 2014 IL App (1st) 122793-U
• Quality King Distribs. v. Celtic Int'l, LLC, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 232322
• Signature Transp. Grp., LLC v. Jacobs, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58890
• Massarelli's Lawn Ornaments, Inc. v. Cont'l Studios, Inc., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 180576
• Oshkosh Storage Co. v. Kraze Trucking LLC, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 176217
• Swanson v. Nims, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25299 (N.D. Ind.)