Richard Cook

After graduation from law school, I began working as a law clerk for the Honorable Andrew P. Rodovich, who served as a Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana in Hammond, Lake County Indiana. I had a chance to see some of the best civil and criminal trial attorneys in action and deal with a broad and diverse range of legal issues, such as: environmental litigation, serious personal injury claims, civil rights claims, preliminary injunctions and complex criminal pre-trial motions.Following my service as a law clerk, I worked as Deputy Prosecutor for the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office. I tried a number of jury trials which encompassed crimes including: capital murder, murder, rape, robbery, child abuse, OWI causing death, theft and criminal confinement.From there, I went on to serve as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana in South Bend, Indiana Division. There I handled a number of complex criminal matters involving crimes such as: conspiracy, counterfeiting, mail fraud, wire fraud, illegal drug manufacturing, racketeering and murder-for-hire. I left the U.S. Attorney’s office in 1989, and during the following years I focused primarily on civil defense and plaintiff’s work. The primary focus of my practice includes personal injury litigation, trucking collisions, medical malpractice, appellate practice, class actions, wrongful death, product liability, burn injuries, automobile collisions, environmental torts, civil rights and insurance coverage issues. I have participated in numerous trials and settlements resulting in verdicts/recoveries of up to eight figure dollar awards.