Attorneys Kenneth Apicella and Peter Spingola

On an annual basis, the Law Bulletin, an Illinois lawyers’ publication, publishes a volume called, “Forty Under 40,” recognizing through a statewide nomination process outstanding attorneys under the age of forty in the State of Illinois to watch. The most recent publication identified two outstanding young professionals from our community, for this recognition, Kenneth C. Apicella and Peter M. Spingola. We introduce these two rising stars to our readers.

Kenneth C. Apicella attended DePaul University College of Law where he distinguished himself as a Dean’s List student. While there, he was elected to be an executive board member on the DePaul University College of Law Student Bar Association. He also served on the Illinois State Bar Association’s Law School Committee.

Ken started his legal career as a law clerk for one of Chicago’s pre-eminent plaintiff’s law firms. From there, he went to work for a boutique Chicago litigation firm, where he was elevated to partnership in 2006. Just two years later, he left to found Apicella & Malatesta LLC with Mike Malatesta.

Clients have relied on Ken’s expertise to represent them in significant cases throughout the country. Over the course of his career, he has handled scores of seven-figure cases and has been admitted to practice pro hac vice (“for this occasion”) before the courts of Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Iowa, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Florida, Washington and Hawaii.

Ken is a seasoned appellate advocate having handled cases in most of the appellate districts in the state of Illinois, the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th and 7th Circuits, as well as the United States Supreme Court. His legal experience includes cases in the areas of defective products liability, construction accidents, automobile and trucking accidents, employment and civil rights. He is active in the legal community and has written for the Trial Journal of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.

Ken has represented individuals, municipalities and corporations in a broad spectrum of civil matters. He has worked on a significant number of high-profile, complex and highly technical cases. His clients have included individuals and businesses harmed by the negligence of others; municipal entities in mass tort litigation; along with individuals, businesses and municipal entities in Section 1983 actions. As a trial lawyer, he has tried a variety of cases before courts throughout the country.

Ken’s great-great-grandfather, Alfonso Apicella, came through Ellis Island at the time of “the last great migration,” circa 1900, from Acerno, Italy.

Ken lives in Arlington Heights, Illinois with his wife and their four children — Angela, Joseph, Frank, and Maria.

Peter M. Spingola is recognized, notwithstanding his tender years, as a lawyer’s lawyer, concentrating his trial and appellate practice at Chapman & Spignola LLP on complex commercial intellectual property matters.

Peter has enjoyed major successes. He netted Swift Engineering more than $22 million from two Fortune 500 defense contractors for technology that launched the next generation of unmanned air vehicles. He defended a patent infringement matter for the leader in industrial storage equipment and, after five years of litigation, helped resolve the claim without an injunction or the payment of any money damages. He has also successfully litigated several multi-million-dollar legal malpractice claims involving allegedly mishandled patent infringement cases.

He has worked on matters involving unauthorized wire transfers and futures trading, a patented jewelry setting, trademark infringement, wind power technologies, secured transactions in the real estate brokerage field, and the defense of a subrogation claim brought on the heels of a medical malpractice settlement.

Peter has argued before the Illinois Appellate Court and has arbitrated claims before the American Arbitration Association, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the National Futures Association.

He is a member of both the Honorable Richard Linn American Inn of Court and the governing board of Boys Hope Girls Hope of Illinois. In 2006, he chaired the CBA’s committee on intellectual property.

Peter’s family traces its origins to San Donato, Calabria, Italy. His grandfather, Joseph Spingola, was one of the first Italian residents on the West Side.

Peter was educated at Dartmouth College and Chicago-Kent College of Law, his father’s alma mater. He is married to Maura Ann (Quinn) and together they have three children: James, 5, Eugene John “EJ,” 4, and Mary Clare, 3. The Spingola family resides in Park Ridge.