26 years experience
John J. Beribak received his Juris Doctor in 1999 from The DePaul University College of Law. While in law school, he was a member of the DePaul Law Review and The DePaul Journal of Health Care Law. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1995 from Miami University.
Mr. Beribak is admitted to practice in the State of Illinois, before the United States District Courts for the Northern, Central and Southern Districts of Illinois, Northern District of Indiana, Eastern District of Wisconsin, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He has also been admitted pro hac in Massachusetts.
As a first chair trial attorney, Mr. Beribak handles a wide variety of litigation in both state and federal courts. His areas of practice include catastrophic personal injury defense, complex multi-party civil litigation, professional liability defense (including the defense of physicians in medical negligence matters), construction litigation, product liability, commercial litigation and civil rights. He also has significant experience defending class action lawsuits, employment discrimination claims, trademark infringement suits and consumer fraud actions. He has handled mediations and binding arbitrations before federal and state agencies. He is also retained by insurance carriers to serve as an arbitrator in claims filed with the American Arbitration Association.
In March of 2025, Mr. Beribak received a favorable defense verdict in a complex construction accident case where the plaintiff, a union ironworker, claimed catastrophic, career-ending injuries. With over $500,000 in medical bills, the plaintiff’s attorney requested $23 million in total damages at trial. After a finding of 50% comparative fault by the plaintiff, the jury assessed net damages against the defendant of only $187,500.
In August of 2023, Mr. Beribak received a defense verdict in favor of a general contractor. The plaintiffs alleged breach of contract and consumer fraud claims related to mitigation work performed after extensive fire damage to their property. The case was tried in state court in Chicago. The plaintiff requested over $1,000,000 in damages. The court found in favor of the defendant contractor on all counts raised by the plaintiffs.
Mr. Beribak received a jury verdict of no liability in defense of a physician in a Section1983 civil rights case. The case was tried before a jury in federal court in East St. Louis. The jury deliberated for less than two hours before returning a verdict in favor of Mr. Beribak’s client.
In another jury trial in state court in Chicago, Mr. Beribak successfully defended an Oklahoma bank in a property damage lawsuit involving government-secured property in Chicago. After the plaintiff rejected the bank’s final settlement offer, the matter proceeded to trial. The jury deliberated for 1 1/2 hours before returning a verdict in favor of the bank.
Along with Michael Charysh, Mr. Beribak secured a total recovery of over $2 million in a multi-party commercial litigation suit on behalf of a manufacturer of food processing equipment. In that case, the firm brought suit against thirteen of its client’s dealers across the United States for violating a written agreement and purchasing illicit counterfeit parts for its machines. The trial team received a verdict in favor of its client that included an award of attorney’s fees and costs.