In the late 1950s, Thomas D. Nyhan joined the Chicago law firm Pope, Ballard, Shepard & Fowle to assist a veteran attorney in handling workers’ compensation claims for General Motors Corporation. What Tom originally intended as a short-term role turned into a 35-year journey transforming him into a leading Illinois workers’ compensation defense attorney.

After acquiring decades of experience at Pope, Ballard, Shepard & Fowle, Thomas left the firm and joined colleagues Gerry Bambrick, Hank Kinzie, Ed Pfister, Bill Lowry, and four other attorneys to create a new firm — Nyhan, Bambrick, Kinzie, & Lowry — in January 1992. Though Tom retired at the end of 1994, he continued to play an active role at Nyhan by consulting on important issues and shaping the overarching mission of the firm until his passing in 2014.

Nyhan Today

While Nyhan’s initial focus was on Workers’ Compensation defense, we have expanded our practices over the years in response to our client’s needs. Having grown to approximately 80 attorneys and administrative staff, our current practices include Employment, Medicare Secondary Payer Compliance, as well as Civil Litigation, and Employee Workers’ Compensation Fraud.

Just as the firm’s founders originally honed their skills while learning from a veteran workers’ compensation claims attorney, our nine shareholders and non-equity partners serve as key mentors to firm associates, passing on their knowledge and experience to build a strong future of continued excellence in client service.

Nyhan’s Management

Amy Bilton and Robert Harrington, Jr. currently serve as Co-Managing Shareholders of the firm, with the support of the Board of Directors, including Bill Lowry, Christopher Gibbons, and Christine Jagodzinski.