Leynaud, George G.

Ed Walsh is the founding (1980) member of the Firm and for 38 years he has been a consumer advocate trial lawyer committed to securing justice for his clients. He has promoted justice by securing numerous multi-million dollar settlements and jury verdicts for his injured clients. His most significant accomplishments include a $10,080,000.00 jury verdict after the completion of a six (6) week medical malpractice/products liability trial in Chicago and a $7,287,083.00 medical malpractice jury verdict, the highest jury verdict on record in Illinois for facial disfigurement.

Ed has secured the largest medical malpractice settlement, $5,735,000.00, in the history of the Circuit Court of Will County, Joliet, IL. This complex case involved the failure of doctors to diagnose Group B Strep infection in a newborn baby. As a result of the doctors' medical negligence, the baby needlessly suffered profound brain injury resulting in cerebral palsy.

As a consumer advocate, Ed has secured three (3) multi-million dollar medical malpractice jury verdicts in which the amount of each verdict exceeded the monetary amount of insurance available to protect the doctors who were sued. Two of these "excess verdicts" resulted in "bad faith" claims against the doctors' insurance carriers.

Based upon recognition by his peers, since its inception in 2004 the publishers of Law & Politics and Chicago magazines, have consistently selected Ed Walsh as one of Illinois' "Super Lawyers" in the specialized practice areas of personal injury and medical malpractice, representing seriously injured people and the loved ones of people who are negligently and wrongfully killed.

Recognizing Ed as a true consumer advocate trial lawyer, the Chicago Lawyer publication has singled him out as being the only lawyer in Illinois to secure justice for his clients by achieving three (3) monetary settlements of one million dollars or more during a single year, in court jurisdictions outside of Cook County, Chicago, Illinois.

By appointment of the Illinois Supreme Court, Ed serves as a member of the Supreme Court Rules Committee and the Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism. He is a past member and chairman of the Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness to Practice Law. He is the past associate general counsel and general counsel for the DuPage County Bar Association under the terms of five presidents. Ed is a past president of the Inns of Court and an elected member of the Board of Managers of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA).

Ed is a frequent continuing legal education speaker and in 2011 ITLA invited Ed to address the statewide audience of trial lawyers at its annual Medical Malpractice Seminar on the topic of "The Case Theme: Meaning Purpose and Direction". Ed has also authored the chapter "The Empty Chair Defense and Respondents in Discovery" in the 2011 ITLA published Medical Malpractice Trial Notebook.

To assist him and the firm in providing the highest quality and most sophisticated legal expertise and advocacy for their clients, Ed Walsh pioneered the implementation of network computer technology at the firm in 1988. The firm skillfully and efficiently uses computerized case management, deposition and trial transcript management and digital trial evidence presentation graphics. Along with his trial advocacy skills, this technology has empowered Ed to achieve for his clients record setting jury verdicts and settlements.

Ed Walsh represents plaintiff clients with special emphasis in representing clients with serious personal injuries and complex damages as a result of medical malpractice, automobile and truck collisions, wrongful death, product liability and legal malpractice.

Ed and his wife of 43 years, Bobbi, have four adult sons and 4 grandchildren. When he is not devoting his time to his family and clients, Ed actively enjoys environmental stewardship, reforestation and native plant restoration at his Upper Mississippi River Valley Minnesota farm, horsemanship, wilderness backpacking, fly fishing and endurance aerobic and strength training.