Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Prominent attorney John J. Perconti was the guest of honor when the Justinian Society of Lawyers hosted its annual installation and awards dinner on Oct. 4 at the Palmer House Hilton.
The following officers were formally installed at the event: Michael F. Bonamarte (president), Vincent R. Vidmer (first vice president), Natalie M. Petric (second vice president), Judge Regina A. Scannicchio (third vice president), Dion U. Davi (treasurer) and Bruno R. Massaro (secretary.)
John J. Perconti — Award of Excellence
John J. Perconti is a highly-acclaimed Illinois attorney and co-founder of Levin & Perconti, and a lifelong member of the Justinian Society of Lawyers. For over 25 years, he has devoted his practice to advocating for people and families in personal injury, elder abuse, and wrongful death cases. In 1992, he merged his practice with Steven Levin. Now the firm employs over twenty lawyers and has obtained over $650 million in verdicts and settlements for their clients. John attended the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana for his undergraduate degree and The John Marshall Law School.
John obtained a $14 million record failure to diagnose cancer verdict in Illinois. He also obtained a $7.5 million record Illinois Jones Act settlement for a boat worker who was injured in a boat explosion in Alton, IL.
In a birth injury case, John reached a $6.5 million settlement for a young girl who suffers from cerebral palsy as a result of a physician’s failure to perform a timely C-section. John also achieved a $5.77 million Federal Tort Claims Act bench trial verdict against a Veteran’s Administration Hospital and a $5.35 million settlement against a Chicago hospital for the family of an 18-year-old woman who died when hospital staff failed to diagnose her with postpartum cardiomyopathy.
He achieved a $10 million settlement for a 5-year-old boy who lost his leg when he was run over by a fire truck. In 2010, John obtained a $6.5 million settlement for the family of a 32-year-old woman who was killed in a trucking accident. This settlement was a record-high settlement for a Kane County wrongful death claim. Additionally, John negotiated a $6 million settlement for two families who lost six children in an apartment fire. In October 2015, John secured a $4.29 million medical malpractice settlement for a 38-year-old woman who died as a result of failures to recognize and treat a pericardial effusion, causing cardiac tamponade.
John is an active member of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, American Association for Justice, Illinois State Bar Association, Chicago Bar Association, Society of Trial Lawyers, The Association of Plaintiff Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America and The Justinian Society of Lawyers. He is also a member of The National Trial Lawyers, an organization composed of The Top 100 Trial Lawyers from each state, and is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America.
John was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® from 2013 to now, in the field of Personal Injury Litigation-Plaintiffs. He has received an “AV” rating from the Martindale-Hubbell American Law Directory and has also been named one of Illinois’ top litigators by Leading Lawyers Network and achieved a Lead Counsel Rating in Elder Law.
From 2013 to now, John has been included in Chicago Magazine’s Illinois: The Top 100 list, a listing of lawyers who topped the Illinois Super Lawyers nomination. He has been named an Illinois Super Lawyer every year since 2005.
John’s law firm has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to causes dedicated to protecting the rights of victims of nursing home negligence and abuse and medical malpractice. John’s law firm also donated thousands of dollars to the Michael F. Bonamarte III Foundation, a charitable organization started by firm partner and Justinian Society President, Michael F. Bonamarte IV, in honor of Mike’s father who passed away in 2006. The proceeds from these contributions benefited the Northwestern Hospital Stroke Program.
John, Justinian President Michael Bonamarte, Past President Antonio Romanucci, and Past President Frank Sommario have also formed a scholarship award given annually to a law student in the amount of $4,000. The scholarship award is called the Civil Justice Preservation Scholarship.
John also makes contributions to The John Marshall Law School, Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity, University of Illinois Foundation and the Western Golf Evans Scholars as well as regular donations to his church, St. Isaac Jogues in Hinsdale. He is a Member of the Deo Gratias Society of the Catholic Ministries Annual Appeal.
John and his wife of 26 years, Toni, live in Burr Ridge. They have two wonderful daughters, Morgan, 24 years old, and Paige, 22 years old.
Michael F. Bonamarte IV — President
Michael F. Bonamarte IV was hired as an associate attorney in August 2005 after graduating from The John Marshall Law School, where he earned a place on the Dean’s List during his second and third years. Mike is well known and respected by his peers, clients and opposing lawyers for his diligent and passionate work on behalf of those who have been harmed as a result of wrongful conduct. Mike has achieved outstanding results in a number of high-profile nursing home, wrongful death, medical malpractice and personal injury lawsuits. In March 2014, he was named Partner at Levin & Perconti.
In his first jury trial, Mike, who sat second-chair to Steven Levin, achieved a $2.9 million verdict for the family of a deceased 57-year-old nursing home resident who suffocated due to the home’s negligent care of her tracheostomy tube. This was a record verdict in a Cook County nursing home case.
Mike also played a crucial role in a $7.5 million Illinois Record Jones Act Settlement recovered on behalf of a boat worker who was injured in an explosion. He has recovered a $4.75 million medical malpractice settlement, a $2.325 million settlement of a pressure ulcer case against a Chicago assisted-living facility, a $1.8 million medical malpractice verdict, a $1.4 million settlement in a nursing home pressure sore lawsuit and a $1.25 million medical malpractice settlement against a dialysis center for its staff’s failure to monitor a resident’s dialysis catheter.
In addition to these settlements, he achieved a record settlement of $700,000 in a case against a Coles County, IL nursing home. Mike has also recovered a jury verdict of $552,000 for his client for a fall and ankle fracture suffered during physical therapy at a nursing home.
Mike is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association, American Bar Association, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, and Secretary of the American Association for the Nursing Home Litigation Group. An active member of the Justinian Society of Lawyers, he writes the verdicts and settlements section for the organization’s newsletter. Additionally, Mike is a member of the ISBA’s Young Lawyers Division Council and also served on the board of directors for the River North Business Association.
In September 2010, Michael was honored as one of the “40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch,” and he has been named an Illinois Rising Star by Super Lawyers every year since 2011. Mike was named a 2017 Leading Lawyer by his peers in the legal community. He was also honored with an award for Trial Lawyer Excellence for the Highest Reported Illinois Verdict in a Nursing Home Malpractice Case.
Mike is president and founder of the Michael F. Bonamarte III Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness and funding research on the treatment and prevention of strokes. Mike founded the organization in memory of his late father, Michael F. Bonamarte III, who passed away in 2006. The Foundation has raised over $60,000 since its inception.
Vincent R. Vidmer — 1st Vice President
Vincent R. Vidmer practices in Chicago, handling various legal matters, including general civil litigation, real estate transactions, estate planning and general legal drafting. Vincent is the staff attorney with the Liquor and Allied Worker’s Union, assisting in collective bargaining, fringe benefits, pension and 401(K) plan administration, grievances and arbitrations and general administration. He has been recognized multiple times by Illinois Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star,” and voted as an Emerging Lawyer, a distinction earned by fewer than 2 percent of all Illinois attorneys. He is an active member of the ISBA, serving on its Real Estate Section Council, as well as the West Loop Community Organization and other groups.
Natalie M. Petric — 2nd Vice President
Natalie M. Petric serves as Manager, Enforcement Counsel in the Legal and Market Regulation Department of CME Group. She is responsible for litigating cases involving market participants before the exchange’s disciplinary committees. Prior to joining CME Group, Natalie worked as a civil defense trial attorney and prosecutor in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. Natalie graduated cum laude from Tufts University with a bachelor’s degree in international relations. She received her Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law. She is married, has three young daughters, and is the proud granddaughter of past Justinian President Anthony J. Fornelli.
Regina A. Scannicchio — 3rd Vice President
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Regina A. Scannicchio sits in the Domestic Relations Division. Prior to taking the bench in 2011, her practice focused on the area of family law. She is a graduate of The John Marshall Law School and DePaul University. Regina served as the President of The John Marshall Alumni Association in 2013-14 and received the Distinguished Service Award from The John Marshall Law School Alumni Association and the Spirit of John Marshall Award from The John Marshall Law School Board of Trustees. Regina is active outside of the legal community and currently serves on the Executive Council of The Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii and received the da Vinci Award for Community Service from the Order Sons of Italy in America.
Dion U. Davi — Treasurer
Dion U. Davi is the founding attorney of Davi Law Group, LLC, which concentrates in the areas of family law, criminal law, estate planning, and motorsports Law with offices in Wheaton, Joliet, Chicago, and Warrenville. Dion received his J.D. from The John Marshall Law School after attending DePaul University to receive his B.A. in psychology. He has served as an officer, including the President, of the DuPage Justinian Society of Lawyers. He has also served on the Board of Governors of the Illinois Statement Bar Association and the Board of Directors of the DuPage County Bar Association.
Bruno R. Marasso — Secretary
Bruno R. Marasso is an Associate Attorney at Romanucci & Blandin, LLC where he focuses his practice in the area of construction negligence, automobile collisions, wrongful death, premises liability, police misconduct, sexual abuse, and institutional misconduct. Bruno serves on the Assembly of the Illinois State Bar Association and is an active member of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Chicago Bar Association and American Association of Justice. He was named as an Emerging Lawyer by Law Bulletin Publishing Company for 2017. While a law student at Chicago-Kent, he was a four-time recipient of the CALI Excellence for the Future Award for receiving the highest grades in his classes and was frequently on the Dean’s List.
