W. Joseph Hetherington
Founding Partner, Of-Counsel
Joe Hetherington began practicing workers' compensation and personal injury law in June, 1977. His workers' compensation practice ran the gamut from minor injury claims to claims involving catastrophic injury or death and included many trials at the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission. His personal injury practice included construction accident, automobile, slip and fall, product liability and medical malpractice claims and extensive litigation, including jury trials, in the Circuit Court of Cook County.
Mr. Hetherington takes great pride in the monetary recoveries he has obtained for his clients, which often made the difference between financial uncertainty and financial security. He also takes great satisfaction from the relationships he formed with his clients and the help he is able to give them in obtaining first-rate medical care for their injuries.
Mr. Hetherington is a graduate of LaSalle University and Harvard Law School.
Alan Karpel
Founding Partner, Of-Counsel
For more than 30 years, Alan Karpel represented working men and women who have been injured on the job. He successfully litigated his clients’ cases before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission and the trial and appellate courts of the State of Illinois.
Although Mr. Karpel is a skillful trial lawyer, he knows that his clients were best served by avoiding the litigation process. Litigation is unpredictable and delays the payment of benefits. Unfortunately it is often the only remedy available when an employer or claims adjuster takes advantage of an unrepresented worker.
Mr. Karpel viewed his role first and foremost as a counselor to his clients. He communicated frequently and effectively so that they could have the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions about their cases. He ensured that his clients have access to high quality health care, and that they received the compensation that they are entitled to under the law. Knowledgeable clients who make good decisions leave no defenses that an employer or claims adjuster can exploit to deny the payment of benefits. This resulted in quicker and better outcomes for his clients.
Mr. Karpel is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago and Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Pete Bobber
Founding Partner
For over 20 years, Pete Bobber has represented injured workers in their workers' compensation claims and related civil lawsuits.
He has extensive arbitration and trial experience, and has handled many workers' compensation appeals at the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission, various circuit courts and appellate courts. Several of the favorable Appellate Court decisions he obtained for his clients are published and have significant precedential value. He also represents victims of automobile and general negligence, construction accidents and medical malpractice.
Mr. Bobber has served as a guest lecturer to the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission's arbitrators and commissioners at their judicial training and for the Illinois State Bar Association.
He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he earned degrees in Economics and Political Science. Thereafter, he graduated Cum Laude from the University of Illinois College of Law where he served as an Associate Editor of the Illinois Law Review.
Mr. Bobber takes pride not only in obtaining superior results for his clients, but also in being extremely sensitive to the reality that a work injury impacts a wage earner's entire family. As a married father of five, Mr. Bobber recognizes that it is imperative that cases be resolved as quickly as possible so that the injury's negative impact on the whole family is minimized.
Michael Teich
Partner
Michael Teich is an accomplished trial lawyer with twenty-five years of experience representing victims of personal injury and wrongful death. He has obtained multi-million dollar, record-breaking verdicts and settlements for clients in cases arising from aviation negligence, defective products and medical devices, semi-truck and motor vehicle accidents, workplace injuries, medical malpractice and construction accidents. He is recognized by his peers as an Illinois Super Lawyer and by the Leading Lawyers Network as one of its Top Lawyers in Illinois.
In the past two years alone he has obtained $10 million on behalf of an ironworker injured on a construction project, $4.5 million for a man who suffered kidney damage as a result of medical malpractice and $2.5 million for a woman who suffered a long-term infection due to the negligence of her doctor. Among his most notable achievements, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois selected and appointed him to be lead counsel for a nationwide group of victims of contaminated heparin-filled medical syringes, and he pursued those responsible for manufacturing and distributing the defective medical devices in multiple lawsuits in state and federal courts. These efforts led to payment of millions of dollars to victims of the defective devices around the country. His peers in the defense bar recognize him as a lawyer who takes cases to trial and wins.
Andrew Pippin
Partner
Andrew Pippin began working for the firm in the summer of 2013. Prior to joining HKBTP, he graduated from the University of Chicago and the University of Wisconsin Law School, magna cum laude. Throughout his legal education and career, he has been passionate about standing up for his clients, defending their rights and ensuring they are well-compensated for their injuries.
Having grown up in the City of Chicago, Mr. Pippin is particularly proud to have the opportunity to help those in his community who have been injured on the job or as the result of another’s negligence. In this practice, he understands that each client’s situation is unique and deserves a personal approach. As such, he is committed to providing personal attention to his clients and has developed a reputation for being responsive and accessible.
Edith Llanes
Associate Attorney
Edith Llanes joined the firm in 2004 shortly after completing an internship with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission and becoming certified as a paralegal. While working as a paralegal, she obtained her bachelor’s degree from DePaul University, where she received the Award of Excellence for an advanced project entitled “Empowering Latino Workers in Illinois – Workers’ Rights,” which addressed factors that contribute to occupational injuries and deaths among Latinos in Illinois, as well as factors that keep workers in the Latino community from exercising their rights under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act.
Ms. Llanes then went on to obtain her law degree from DePaul University College of Law. Having rejoined the firm as an attorney in 2015, she takes pride in working with her colleagues to help her clients understand and fight for their rights under the law. As a native Spanish speaker, she works closely with the firm’s Latino clients, from the initial client interview through trial.
Myles Maltz
Associate Attorney
Myles Maltz started working for the firm as a law clerk in the spring of 2019 while he finished his last semester of law school. Upon passing the Illinois Bar Exam in October, he began working for the firm as an attorney in November 2019. Prior to joining the firm, he attended Adrian College and the University of Illinois College of Law and graduated with honors from both institutions. During his time at the College of Law he served as an Admissions Editor for the Elder Law Journal and became a published author through his note, Caught In The Eye Of The Storm: The Disproportionate Impact of Natural Disasters On The Elderly Population In The United States.
Since starting law school, Mr. Maltz has wanted to represent those who have been injured on the job or simply during their everyday lives. HKBTP has provided him with the opportunity to fulfill this desire. He is committed to developing personal relationships with his clients and not only providing them with personally tailored services, but also impactful and efficient recoveries in their cases.