Peter Higgins Jr. (“Pete”) graduated from DePaul University College of Law in May 2021, passed the Illinois Bar Exam in July, and was sworn in as a lawyer in November 2021.

Pete received his Bachelor of the Arts degree from the University of Iowa in 2009. Between graduating from Iowa and passing the Bar, Pete has accumulated a wealth of real world experience. He spent four years teaching special education students in the Chicago Public Schools system, while working nights, weekends, and summers at the Wrigley Field Rooftops. He also wrote and performed comedy at the world famous Second City Comedy Club, where he honed his skills at thinking fast on his feet. In his spare time, Pete enjoys volunteering at the Misericordia Home, a residential community of care for over 600 children and adults with mild to profound developmental disabilities, many of whom are physically challenged.

Since becoming a lawyer in 2021, Pete has worked on several cases that have netted his clients millions of dollars. His specialty is in railroad litigation, where he has assisted both passengers injured aboard trains and railroad workers covered under the FELA – a special statute created by Congress over a century ago in recognition of the exceptional dangers railroad workers encounter every day. Pete learned the niches of FELA and began practicing law alongside his dad, Peter Sr., who has over 40 years of experience litigating against railroads.

In addition to his railroad work, Pete has helped clients recover from all sorts of injuries, from bicycle and car accidents to medical malpractice. Pete understands that all his clients come to him after suffering serious injury, during what is often the most difficult period of their life, and he takes great pride in helping them get through the tough times and recovering an award that helps get their lives back on track.

Notable verdicts and settlements:

• $19.2M verdict for a 37-year-old woman who died as a result of medical negligence;
• $7M settlement for a 67-year-old widower, military vet, whose wife was killed when a delivery driver ran a stop sign in central Illinois;
• $6.1M FELA verdict v. Amtrak for a worker who banged his head on the underside of a train car in a rail shop, resulting in permanent neck pain;
• $2.5M FELA verdict v. Metra for a coach cleaner who tripped on a rock on a railyard platform, then experienced complications treating her sprained ankle that led to a permanent pain condition called complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS);
• $1.25M settlement for a railroad contractor that suffered a traumatic brain injury when he fell five feet off a crane;
• $950k settlement for a woman who was the middle driver in a 3-car rear-end collision and suffered injuries to her neck and back;
• $750k settlement for a railroad worker that sustained serious back injuries after a gas tank exploded near his work site;
• $600k settlement for bicyclist that injured his back and neck when he collided with another rider after he had to swerve to avoid overgrown vegetation;
• $550k settlement for a construction worker that tripped on rocks at his worksite and tore a ligament in his knee;
• $300k settlement (policy limit) for a postal worker that injured her knee when she slipped on a ramp outside a home;