Eleanor Ashford
A nationally recognized trial lawyer who has tried more than 80 cases to verdict, Eleanor founded the firm on a simple principle: prepare every case as though it will be tried.
Background.
Eleanor Ashford has spent twenty-five years in front of juries. Before founding the firm in 1998, she was a partner at one of Chicago’s largest defense firms — experience that taught her exactly how insurers and corporations value, defend, and try cases. She now uses that knowledge for the people on the other side of the “v.”
She has tried more than eighty cases to verdict, including some of the largest personal-injury and medical-negligence results in Illinois. Her colleagues elected her to the Inner Circle of Advocates, an invitation-only group limited to 100 of the nation’s top plaintiff trial lawyers.
Outside the courtroom, Eleanor mentors young trial lawyers through the firm’s fellowship and lectures on advocacy at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.
Admissions & recognition.
Bar Admissions
- Illinois State Bar
- U.S. District Court, N.D. Illinois
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
Education
- J.D., cum laude — University of Chicago Law School (1995)
- B.A., Political Science — University of Michigan (1992)
Awards & Recognition
- Super Lawyers (2016–2025)
- Best Lawyers in America
- Inner Circle of Advocates
- Leading Lawyers Network — Top 10 Women
Professional Memberships
- American Association for Justice
- Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
- Chicago Bar Association
Select outcomes.
- $9.0M
Family of four struck by a fatigued long-haul driver running falsified logs
Verdict against a national carrier that refused policy limits; ELD data proved hours-of-service violations the company had ignored.
- $7.5M
Preventable delivery-room error left a newborn with lifelong disability
Confidential structured settlement funding a lifetime of care after the hospital ignored clear signs of fetal distress.
- $6.8M
Misread scan delayed a cancer diagnosis by fourteen months
Jury verdict after our experts established that a timely diagnosis would have changed the prognosis entirely.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and must be evaluated on its own facts.