Blake T. Hannafan Recognized as Illinois Super Lawyer for 2026

Blake T. Hannafan has been named an Illinois Super Lawyer for 2026, continuing a streak of peer recognition that spans more than a decade. This distinction reflects his sustained excellence in advocacy, judgment, and client service.

Blake is the principal of Hannafan & Hannafan, Ltd., a Chicago-based law firm known for its depth of litigation experience and practical, results-driven approach. His practice centers on business and commercial litigation, where he represents closely held businesses, executives, and professionals in complex disputes involving contracts, fiduciary duties, partnership conflicts, and employment-related claims.

In addition to his commercial work, Blake represents individuals in serious personal injury matters, as well as clients facing white-collar criminal investigations and prosecutions, including matters involving regulatory agencies and financial allegations. His experience on both the civil and criminal sides allows him to assess risk early and develop strategies that are both decisive and measured.

Blake is admitted to practice before the courts of Illinois and is widely respected for his strategic insight, courtroom skill, and unwavering commitment to protecting his clients’ interests.

Blake T. Hannafan Selected as Illinois Super Lawyer for 2025

Blake T. Hannafan has been selected as an Illinois Super Lawyer for 2025, an honor he has received annually since 2014. The Super Lawyers designation is based on peer nominations, independent research, and professional achievement within the legal community.

Blake represents clients throughout Illinois in a range of matters, with an emphasis on business litigation. He also handles general personal injury cases and white-collar criminal defense, bringing a disciplined and thoughtful approach to each engagement.

Blake earned his Juris Doctor from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1998. He is recognized by peers for his legal knowledge, professionalism, and dedication to effective advocacy on behalf of his clients.

Personal Injury Cases: What You Should Know

A substantial part of civil litigation cases is from personal injury cases. When someone suffers because of the carelessness of another person or party, it is their right to seek justice for their injuries. The U.S. Department of Justice has reported that there are over 400K personal injury claims every year.

Personal injury is the legal term for an injury to someone's body, mind, emotions, or reputation rather than harm to property. An accident claim should involve liability, fault, and damages, and these need to be proven to be linked, indicating that the defendant is responsible for the injuries incurred. These could have been caused by the defendant’s negligence, reckless conduct, or intentional misconduct.

Although filing a claim can be intimidating, working alongside a skilled personal injury lawyer can help make the complicated legal process less frightening. At Hannafan & Hannafan you will have a personal injury lawyer who is ready to fight for you and help obtain the settlement you deserve.

Tech in the Legal Field: Looking at CLM

2025 is around the corner in just three short years, and by this time, every organization will be able to rely on their contract lifecycle management (CLM) to be the central source for all contracts.

Today, many companies have already centralized multiple functions into one single system - finance, HR, customer relations, and sales. It is natural then for these organizations to centralize how they manage contracts — from negotiation through execution and after termination. Similar to the other functions, this will help firms reduce cost, manage risk and improve performance.

For example, when contracts are centrally available and their terms are properly tagged, it will be more efficient and accurate to update numerous contracts that require an alteration (e.g., due to a regulatory change).

At the Heart of Legal Delivery : Client Service

The Business to Consumer space (B2C) has set new standards with regard to a customer’s more personalized, user-centric experience for all forms of business interaction. Legal services are no exception.

Data will be the key to enabling law firms to become more customer-centric. Like many of the world’s most successful B2C businesses, legal teams will use detailed analytics to constantly refine their processes and improve their service delivery.

White Collar Crime on the Rise

White collar crime is steadily rising due, in large part, to our technologically advancing society. As everyone is relying on the increased use of cellular phone and computers, white collar criminals can more easily access personal and financial information.

Estimates have shown that 25% of households will be victimized by a white collar crime at least once in their lives. The average amount of money stolen in an armed robbery is just over $3,000; while an average white-collar crime can easily bring losses over $500,000.

Be aware! According to the FBI Uniform Crime Report, Property and Mortgage Fraud is the fastest growing white-collar crime. Depositories filed nearly 1.43 million suspicious activity reports last year, up almost 18% from 2020.

Will Video Hearings Continue After COVID Dissipates?

Using virtual technology for court procedures has been very successful and popular in Illinois so much so that judges are discussing continuing its use in some situations after the threat of COVID-19 lifts.

For example, the Hon. Judge Diann Marsalek, Acting Presiding Judge of the Traffic Division, plans to continue to use teleconferencing for minor traffic cases to save litigants from having to take time off work, spend money on transportation, and come to court to resolve cases that involve only fines.

“People like to move on with their lives,” said Judge Marsalek said of the division’s efforts to continue to resolve cases despite the pandemic. “They don’t like to be stuck in a holding pattern.”

A new approach may be here to stay — for appropriate cases.

SuperLawyer Once Again!

As 2022 opens, we are excited to announce that Blake Hannafan has once again been selected as an Illinois SuperLawyer.  This is Blake’s ninth straight year named as a SuperLawyer.

SuperLawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievements. Super Lawyers selects attorneys using a patented multiphase selection process. Peer nominations and evaluations are combined with independent research. Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Selections are made on an annual, state-by-state basis.