Founding Partner
Stephan D. Blandin is a founding partner in Romanucci & Blandin LLC, a Chicago-based personal injury firm. Since co-founding the firm in 1998, Mr. Blandin has focused his practice on catastrophic plaintiff’s personal injury and wrongful death cases arising from nursing home negligence, medical malpractice, construction and other workplace accidents, birth injuries, motor vehicle and airplane crashes, product liability and civil rights violations.
At Romanucci & Blandin, Mr. Blandin strives to serve clients with passion and preparedness. His intimate approach to the practice of law proves that a small firm can produce big results and have huge talent. This attitude and determination has resulted in obtaining over $500 million in verdicts and settlements for the firm – dozens in excess of $1 million, including: a $50 million settlement for the wife of a worker who died following a workplace injury in the Chicago area in 2016; a record breaking $44.7 million verdict on behalf of a young man left bound to a wheelchair and with permanent brain damage following a gunshot wound to the head; a $30 million settlement for a family after their son was left permanently disabled and brain injured as a result of 25 experimental surgeries; a $22.3 million award in a medical malpractice case which left a ten-year-old boy with disabilities; an unprecedented $17.6 million jury award in a police chase case where a bystander was left with quadriplegia; and a record breaking $12.35 million settlement on behalf of the family of a client whose doctors failed to diagnose her breast cancer in a timely manner, which ultimately led to her death at 37 years old.
Mr. Blandin was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2021 edition of The Best Lawyers in America© - a list he has now been included on for nearly ten years in a row. Mr. Blandin has also been named a ‘Top 100 Super Lawyer’ in Illinois for 2021 and has been a ‘Leading Lawyer’ since 2004. Additionally, Martindale-Hubbell has awarded Mr. Blandin with its AV-Preeminent* rating for his superb record and ethical standards.
Mr. Blandin is a member of many professional organizations, including the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, the American Association for Justice and the Illinois State Bar Association. Mr. Blandin also serves as an American Bar Foundation Fellow. Less than one percent of lawyers in each state are considered for the honor which consists of a review of their legal and civic contributions. From 2012 to 2019, he served on the Illinois Supreme Court Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) as a Hearing Board Commissioner. Mr. Blandin was one of more than 75 hearing board members who would make recommendations in disciplinary matters of lawyers in Illinois under the authority of the Supreme Court.
Heavily involved in the community, he has served as a board member of several nonprofit organizations, including the Knapp Burn Foundation, Salute Inc. and West Side Mentally Retarded Children’s Aid Inc. Mr. Blandin also volunteers his time working with Legal Prep Charter Academy – a high school on the West Side of Chicago where students use a unique law themed curriculum to prepare for the future. Most recently, Mr. Blandin spearheaded an on-going effort within the legal community to support the important work being done by Frontline Foods Chicago and World Central Kitchen as these organizations support restaurants and keep them working by making meals, which are given to healthcare workers and community members in need during the COVID-19 crisis.
After graduating from DePaul University with his Bachelor of Arts in political science, Mr. Blandin went on to earn his Juris Doctor in 1986 from DePaul University College of Law. He is admitted to practice in Illinois, Wisconsin and Arizona, as well as before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Experience
$50,000,000 Settlement – Workplace Wrongful Death
February 2021
$44,700,000 Verdict – Police Misconduct
November 2017
$30,000,000 Settlement – Medical Malpractice
February 2016
Practice Areas
Birth Injuries
Brain Injuries
Domestic Abuse
Environmental & Toxic Torts
Mass Torts & Class Actions
Medical Malpractice
Nursing Home Abuse
Premises Liability
Product Liability
Sexual Abuse & Hazing
Workplace Injury
Wrongful Death
Education & Certifications
J.D., DePaul University College of Law, 1986
B.A., Political Science, DePaul University, 1983
Awards & Recognition
America's Top 100 Medical Malpractice Litigators® (2021)
Named one of the The Best Lawyers in America© by U.S. News and World Report (2013-2021)
Recognized by Super Lawyers Magazine as an Illinois Super Lawyer (2005-2021)
Illinois ‘Top 100’ lawyer by Super Lawyers Magazine (2014, 2017-2021)
Illinois Leading Lawyer’s Network Top Lawyer (2003-2021)
AV Rated Attorney by Martindale-Hubbell™ (2005-2021)
Member, Esteemed Lawyers of America
Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice
Illinois, 1986
Northern District of Illinois, 1987
Arizona, 2012
Wisconsin, 2015
Legal Activities & Leadership
Founding Member, Illinois State Bar Association Law and Leadership Institute
Fellow, American Bar Foundation
Member, Illinois Supreme Court Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission Hearing Board (2012 - 2019)
Past Trial Advocacy Instructor at DePaul College of Law
American Association for Justice
Illinois State Bar Association
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
Public Justice
Society of Trial Lawyers
