Prosecutor. Corporate defense. Plaintiff’s advocate. The full picture changes everything.
Dan Touhy has seen the courtroom from every angle — as a state prosecutor, a corporate defense attorney, and a plaintiff’s trial lawyer.
He’s tried and defended cases in state and federal courts, led landmark class actions, and recovered tens of millions for clients who refused to be outmatched.
That breadth of experience is rare. The way he uses it is rarer still.
Defended corporations in catastrophic-injury and product-liability cases, gaining firsthand knowledge of corporate defense tactics.
Led large-scale class and collective actions that established federal precedents protecting workers nationwide.
Tried and defended cases on behalf of the State in federal court.
Shifted fully to representing individuals in catastrophic-injury, medical-malpractice, and civil-rights cases.
Returned to solo practice — taking fewer cases, working each one personally, and fighting them until he got the right result for the client.
After years defending corporations, Dan chose to fight for people instead of institutions. He’d seen how power and resources are used to grind down ordinary plaintiffs — and decided to use what he learned to even the field.
Lead counsel for 1,000+ store managers. Established the “80–80 Rule,” allowing employees whose hours weren’t tracked to claim overtime if they worked more than 80 hours over a two-week period at least 80% of the time over six months to a year. Now followed nationwide.
Represented Illinois families whose homes were contaminated by toxic mercury. Secured a seven-figure settlement and prompted stronger utility-safety standards.
In a case involving the death of a young mother due to her bowel being perforated by a doctor at Lutheran General, Dan was able to resolve the case for millions of dollars after two trials.
In a case for an emergency-room physician, used defense-side evidentiary rules to bar prejudicial photos and secured a $250,000 verdict — the tactical edge that comes from seeing both sides.
Lead counsel in a federal civil-rights police-brutality case in which the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed an award of punitive damages against the police and upheld a substantial attorney-fee award for the client.
Dan knows how the other side thinks because he’s been there.
He anticipates defense strategies before they’re raised and dismantles them before they gain traction.
That defense-side insight turns decades of experience into a competitive advantage — one that consistently changes how cases unfold and how they end.
Illinois Supreme Court (1982)
U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit (1990)
U.S. District Courts, Northern & Central Illinois (Trial Bar, 2003–2004)
Admitted pro hac vice in federal courts in New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
Chicago Bar Association
Illinois State Bar Association
Serving clients throughout Chicago, Cook County, and across Illinois.
