Daniel Kolodziej

Daniel Kolodziej focuses his practice on helping individuals in a wide array of matters, including complaints with insurance carriers, criminal and quasi-criminal matters, automobile accidents, and bankruptcies. He represents clients in both state and federal courts throughout Illinois and has a wealth of experience representing individuals seeking to have their driving privileges reinstated by the Illinois Secretary of State.

A seasoned trial lawyer with deep and broad litigation experience, Dan has first chaired more than 30 jury trials and hundreds of bench trials and contested evidentiary hearings on civil and criminal matters. He has taken and defended numerous depositions, has substantial experience in propounding and responding to written discovery requests, and he has substantial experience in bringing and responding to dispositive motions. Dan has represented clients before courts and administrative bodies throughout Northeastern Illinois in both State and Federal court and has negotiated numerous settlements for hundreds of individuals in breach of contract matters, breach of warranty, consumer, commercial, criminal/DUI, declaratory judgement, foreclosure, property dispute, and tort matters. Additionally, Dan has prepared Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy petitions for scores of individuals, represented those individuals at court, and has guided them through the bankruptcy process. Representative cases include:

• Prosecuting tort actions on behalf of clients who had vehicles damaged in auto accidents that resulted in favorable verdicts and settlements;
• Prosecuting tort actions on behalf of clients who had their real estate damaged that resulted in favorable judgments and settlements, including obtaining a $25,000 settlement for a client whose home was damaged by a neighbor’s tree;
• Prosecuting actions on behalf of consumers against their auto, homeowner’s, and life insurance carriers that resulted in favorable settlements;
• Briefing and successfully defending a debtor on an appeal brought by a creditor after its motion to lift the automatic stay in the debtor’s bankruptcy was denied at the bankruptcy court level;
• Obtaining numerous not guilty verdicts on DUI and criminal matters at bench trials and jury trials; and
• Obtaining a not guilty verdict at a Class X Felony Armed Robbery jury trial.

Prior to joining Georges & Synowiecki, and from 2007 to 2019, Dan represented members of Locals 1 and 450 of UNITEHERE and Local 130 of the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Union. From 2005 to 2007, he was an Assistant Public Defender at the Will County Public Defender’s Office. While a law student and an undergraduate student, Dan interned for the Federal Highway Administration, then-Alderman Bernard Hansen, and then-Cook County Board Commissioner Mike Quigley.

Education

• University of Illinois College of Law
• DePaul University, with honors (B.A. Political Science)