Blake Vance
Coplan & Crane, Ltd.
Personal injury

Blake Vance hadn’t even hit his 35th birthday as of the writing of this profile. But that hasn’t kept this young attorney from building a thriving personal injury career or from earning the respect of his colleagues.

Vance has tried ten jury trials in Cook, Kane, and Winnebago Counties and obtained 17.5 million dollars in jury verdicts for the injured clients of Coplan & Crane in just five years. Vance’s commitment, dedication, and passion has resulted in over 8.2 million dollars in settlements in his five years in practice including 26 six-figure settlements, which include two recent settlements for $800,000 and $907,500.

Vance’s string of successful settlements and verdicts for his clients tell the story of just how talented this young attorney is. Consider a recent trial in which Vance served as second chair. This case ended in a jury verdict of $15 million for Vance’s client. A big part of the reason for this success? Vance’s hard work, legal skills and commitment to fighting for his client.

“Blake is unique in that he has so much litigation and trial experience at such a young age. He’s like a litigator with 20 years of experience,” said fellow Chicago attorney Mark Whiteside. “His ability to see how a case will progress and turn out at trial, and to strategize appropriately, even before filing the lawsuit, is unique.”

Even though Vance has had significant success with taking cases to trial, this doesn’t mean that he shies away from pursuing settlements when such a move is in the best interest of his clients. Yes, taking cases to trial can result in a homerun, such as that $15 million verdict. But there are other times when clients are best served by reaching a settlement as quickly as possible.

“There is a certain level of risk management that comes with being a personal injury lawyer to your clients,” Whiteside said. “Blake provides clear and excellent legal counsel to his clients about the risks and rewards at various stages of litigation so they are fully informed.”

Thanks to these talents, Vance has built a varied practice. He has been involved in matters ranging from car crashes, construction injuries, truck wrecks, bus crashes, and birth injuries to cases focusing on medical negligence, railroad injuries, and wrongful death.

An example of a case that Vance is working on now involves a catastrophic birth defect caused by mercury exposure to the pregnant mother.

When not fighting for his clients, Vance enjoys spending time with his wife, Jill, and two children, Nora and Luke, while getting ready to welcome their third child in October.