James J. Morici, Jr.

Mr. Morici is a Chicago trial lawyer who began his legal career in 1980 with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office as an Assistant State’s Attorney. He eventually attained the position of First Chair Prosecutor at the Criminal Courts Building located at 26^th and California in Chicago. In 1987, he left the State’s Attorney’s Office and entered the private practice of law.

Mr. Morici is a founding partner in the Chicago firm of Morici, Longo & Associates and has been engaged in the representation of seriously injured plaintiffs in personal injury and wrongful death litigation, and worker’s compensation matters since 1987. Mr. Morici’s practice is substantially concentrated in cases brought under principles of construction negligence, premises and products liability. The firm is also among the leaders in representing injured workers before the Illinois Workers Compensation Commission.

Mr. Morici has represented many injured individuals in cases resulting in multimillion-dollar verdicts and/or settlements. These include a record verdict in 1993 for an ankle fracture in an injured construction worker which resulted in a jury verdict of $3.24 million and the largest Illinois settlement of 1997 of $24 million for 11 injured construction workers. He amassed a string of six, seven-figure verdicts within an 18-month period from 2003-2004, and in 2019 settlements of $15.9 million and $7.5 million on behalf of two injured construction workers. He is currently lead counsel representing two injured pipefitters in litigation arising out of the August 30, 2018 explosion at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.

Mr. Morici is a graduate of Lane Technical High School. He attended DePaul University and holds a B.A. in Political Science. He is a graduate of the ITT/Chicago-Kent College of Law where he completed his Juris Doctorate with highest honors. While there he served as the Treasurer of the Student Bar Association. In honor of his service to Chicago-Kent, he was awarded admission to the school’s Bar and Gavel Society. He currently serves on the school’s Alumni Board of Directors. In 2014, Chicago-Kent honored him and his achievements by commemorating the James J. Morici, Jr. “Corridor of Trial Excellence” which houses the law school’s achievements and awards in trial advocacy competitions.

Currently, he is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association where he served on the ISBA Board of Governors for six years, he is a member of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association where he serves on its Board of Managers. He is the founder of the Morici-LoBello Family Memorial Scholarship. He is an adjunct professor of Trial Advocacy at the Chicago-Kent College of Law and has served as an adjunct faculty professor at the John Marshall Law School, Loyola University School of Law, and Triton College.

Mr. Morici is a past-President of the Justinian Society of Lawyers, a group of 1,300 Italian-American lawyers and largest ethnic bar association in the State of Illinois, and the Past President of the Italian American Political Coalition. He has served as President of the Board of Directors of the Neighborhood Boys & Girls Club on Chicago’s Northwest side. Additionally, Mr. Morici has obtained a 10.0 Superb Avvo Rating, has been recognized as one of Illinois’ SuperLawyers and is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. He is the proud father of Olivia, Jimmy and Matt, and resides in Park Ridge.

Education

• College of Law, Chicago, IL
• Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago-Kent, IL