Sarah E. Ruberry

Sarah has extensive litigation experience and has conducted more than 100 arbitrations, negotiated numerous settlements, and has tried over 25 bench and jury trials to verdict.  Since joining RSG, Sarah has handled numerous direct defense actions involving personal injury and legal malpractice and has also defended insurance carriers in several multi-million dollar actions involving land use and zoning, civil rights violations, environmental issues and bad faith. 

Sarah has also represented carriers as plaintiffs in arbitration matters in many states and jurisdictions.  Sarah represented a national carrier against a large third party administrator at arbitration and successfully obtained an award for the full amount of damages in excess of $500,000 plus interest in favor of the carrier.

In addition, Sarah handled a two week trial involving an environmental policy issued by a national insurance carrier.  The trial was heard before Judge Ramos in the First Department of the New York Supreme Court, Wells Fargo v. Zurich.  At trial, the insured argued that it had incurred over $12 million in damages as a result of a loss in the fair market value of the property caused by environmental contamination.  The insured alternatively argued that its damages were $6.25 million for the amount of clean-up costs incurred.  After discrediting the plaintiff's experts and evidence, Sarah and her trial team established that the insured was entitled to zero dollars in damages.

Sarah also assisted in successfully obtaining a $6.2 million award following a lengthy three week arbitration in Tampa, Florida on behalf of an insurance carrier in a matter involving legal malpractice by the insured's retained counsel.

Sarah, along with her trial team, obtained a landmark ruling on behalf of a national carrier from Judge Karen Smith of the Supreme Court of New York in a case involving millions in damages as a result of the multiple deaths, personal injuries and property damage from a crane collapse in New York City.  In this case of first impression, Judge Smith extinguished the carrier's duty to defend its named insured and additional insureds despite the existence of other related unsettled and pending actions.

Practice Areas:

• Commercial Litigation
• Construction Defect
• Environmental
• General Litigation
• Insurance Defense and Litigation
• Insurance Coverage Litigation
• Insurance Coverage Analysis
• Professional Liability
• Toxic Tort

Admissions:

• Illinois State Bar
• Federal Court: Northern District of Illinois
• Federal Court: Central District of Illinois

Other Interests:

• Cook County Assistant State's Attorney's Office:  Civil Actions Bureau
• Federal Court Judicial Externships: Judge Blanche M. Manning, Northern District of Illinois, Judge George W. Lindberg, Northern District of Illinois
• Certified Cook County Arbitrator
• Chicago Bar Association

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Contact:

300 South Wacker Dr., Suite 3250

Chicago, Illinois 60606

Phone: 312-466-0022

Email: Sarah.Ruberry@ruberry-law.com

Education:

• Chicago-Kent College of Law, J.D., High Honors.
• Concordia University, M.A, High Honors.
• Concordia University, B.A, Cum Laude.

Awards/Presentations:

• Order of the Coif - a distinction earned for graduating law school in the top 10%; Chicago-Kent Merit Scholar
• CALI awards - a recognition given for receiving the highest grade in a given law school course.  Sarah earned three CALI awards: Commercial Law Payment Systems, Family Law, and Business Organizations
• Publications: "Avoiding Bad Faith Claims, Time-Sensitive & Multi-Claimant Demands" Presentation, London
• Leading Lawyer in the following areas: Commercial Litigation, Insurance, Insurance Coverage & Reinsurance, Personal Injury Defense: General 2015 - 2022
• Named in Chicago Lawyer magazine as a Top Civil Defense Lawyer as selected by their peers in October 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
• Recognized in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 as one of the Top Women Lawyers as recommended by her peers in Chicago Lawyer Magazine.
• "Carrier Conflicts: Protecting Your Client's Interests" Hub International Claim Conference, Chicago, IL 2021.
• "Avoiding Pitfalls: Guarding Against Liability Claims" Accedited Evolutions Symposium, Jackson, Fl, 2022.