Floyd Mandell, national co-chair of the firm's Intellectual Property department, and Intellectual Property staff attorney Bari Nathan were the focus of a recent Spotlight on Success article published by the Settlement Assistance Program of the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights. This article discusses how Floyd and Bari joined forces to help low-income plaintiffs in two cases referred to the Settlement Assistance Program win just resolutions of claims brought against separate law enforcement agencies.

The first case was against a police department in south suburban Cook County and some of its officers in which the client alleged that when she approached three of its officers to find out what they were doing with her son, she was roughed up, handcuffed and thrown to the ground. She then sought compensation for the excessive force used against her resulting in physical injury and for the humiliation she suffered at the hands of the police officers. Floyd and Bari participated in a settlement conference with the magistrate judge and achieved a favorable settlement for their client. In the second case, the same team represented the pro bono plaintiff in a case against a county adult detention center south of Chicago. The client, a person recovering from hepatitis C with a weak immune system, alleged that the facility used excessive force, subjected him to unsanitary conditions of confinement, failed to adequately address his medical needs and  improperly denied his request for a Buddhist diet. Prior to the scheduled settlement conference with the magistrate judge, Floyd and Bari secured, through negotiation with the defendants' counsel, a settlement on very favorable terms.

Read "Katten Attorneys Provide Top Quality Service to Pro Se Plaintiffs in Federal Court Settlements," December 8, 2017)