Michael Crane

Mike is a graduate of Fenwick High School and attended Boston College where he received a BA in psychology. After college, Mike lived in Portoviejo, Ecuador where he volunteered teaching English to local students. Following his year in Ecuador, Mike attended DePaul University College of Law on a partial academic scholarship and graduated in 2013 after winning CALI Awards (highest grade) in several classes.

 

After graduation, Mike worked at a boutique civil litigation firm in Chicago where he successfully litigated, tried, and appealed numerous cases around the United States, including personal injury suits, aviation litigation, commercial disputes, and probate matters. Most notably, Mike successfully litigated a Post-Conviction Petition in Cook County that resulted in the release of a wrongfully convicted man who had spent 30 years in prison because of a coerced confession.

 

Mike joined Costello, McMahon, Gilbreth & Murphy in March 2019 and since then has tried and settled numerous cases. Of note, Mike went to trial against the City of Chicago for the death of a 6 year old girl who was run over by a City contractor and secured a $5 million dollar settlement from the City and the contractor during the second week of trial. He then negotiated a $1.2 million settlement for a 70 year old man who suffered a traumatic brain injury after he slipped and fell on ice at a condominium complex. Less than a month later, Mike obtained a jury verdict in excess of $300,000 for a teenager whose foot was run over by a distracted driver, after the insurance company made no offer on the case. He also successfully argued against a post-trial motion that sought to overturn a $4.2 million jury verdict for an electrician who was injured while changing a light bulb.

 

His recent results include an $8 million settlement for a truck driver who was burned in Wisconsin; a $3 million settlement for passengers in a bus crash; and a $2 million jury verdict in a failure to diagnose medical malpractice case.

 

Mike’s great-grandfather and grandfather were both members of Laborer’s Local 4. Mike has numerous other relatives who are members of various labor unions in the State of Illinois. Mike speaks Spanish and currently lives in the Western Suburbs with his wife and two young children. His practice includes personal injury, medical malpractice, insurance coverage, and appeals.

 

In 2024, Mike was named as one of the 40 under Forty attorneys to watch in Illinois law. This recognition is given to the best young lawyers in Illinois.