Attorney Profiles

Gregory F. Coplan is a principal in the law firm of Coplan & Crane. While he has practiced in all fields of personal injury litigation since 1992, Greg specializes in medical malpractice cases and other complex civil litigation.

After receiving his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) in 1988, Greg attended Northern Illinois University College of Law and was awarded his Juris Doctor in 1992.

Since receiving his license to practice law, Greg Coplan has successfully prosecuted cases on behalf of injured clients and their families throughout Illinois and in other states across the country, as well. In recognition of his accomplishments and success for his clients, Greg has been honored by induction into the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, a national group of trial lawyers who have achieved million, multi-million and billion dollar verdicts and settlements on behalf of their clients.

Greg is active professionally as a member of the American Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association, American Association for Justice and a Contributing Member of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. As an AAJ member, Greg belongs to the Professional Negligence Section and with ITLA, he is a member of the Medical Negligence and Civil Practice and Rules Committees and on the Board of Managers. Greg has also co-chaired the Seminar Planning Committee and has served on the Editorial Board for ITLA’s acclaimed periodical, the Trial Journal. Greg has received a rating from Martindale-Hubbell that indicates his peers consider him to have high to very high legal ability, has an exemplary reputation and has been recognized for the highest levels of integrity. He is also listed in Marquis Who’s Who in American Law.

In addition, Greg has been a frequent lecturer to bar association groups and was an invited panelist on a cable television program underwritten by the Illinois State Bar Association, “Mediation in Medical Malpractice Cases,” which aired in April 2002. From 1999 to the present, Mr. Coplan has also authored chapters included in the Medical Malpractice Trial Notebook, published by the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.

Mr. Coplan resides in River Forest, Illinois, with his wife and three children. Greg is admitted to practice before the state court in Illinois and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Benjamin A. Crane is a principal in the law firm of Coplan & Crane where he exclusively represents individuals and families victimized by wrongful conduct. Ben concentrates his practice in plaintiff's personal injury law including cases arising under the FELA, from medical negligence, construction negligence, transportation (automobile, truck and railroad) negligence, premises liability, and wrongful death litigation.

After earning his Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Norbert College (DePere, Wisconsin) in 1997, Ben attended The John Marshall Law School (Chicago, Illinois) and was awarded a Juris Doctorate in 2000. During law school, Ben clerked for the Presiding Judge of the Law Division, the Honorable Judith Cohen, and at a large loop law firm. Upon receiving his license to practice law, Ben went to work for a large defense firm, representing doctors and hospitals in medical malpractice cases and insurance companies in a variety of personal injury matters.

Ben soon found his passions, ideologies and talents would be better suited by representing personal injury plaintiffs. The time he spent on the defense side, however, provided Ben with a keen insight into how insurance companies and defense attorneys analyze cases, which is a tremendous advantage to his clients.

Immediately upon becoming “a plaintiffs’ attorney,” Ben knew it would be his life’s work. Ben has successfully handled the most complex cases, including several medical malpractice cases involving infants catastrophically injured during labor and delivery, and the most straightforward automobile cases, which can become quite complex in their own right. Ben has developed a passion for representing union railroad workers in FELA litigation against carriers. Ben’s clients have all, in some way, had the quality of their lives depleted, and he finds that the best way to achieve success on behalf of his clients is to immerse himself in the personal heartache and misery of his clients, while laboring to somehow improve the quality of their lives.

Ben is a very active member of the legal community. He is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, where he served as chair of the Tort Litigation Committee in 2005-2006. Ben is also a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, the Catholic Lawyers Guild of Chicago, Public Justice, and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, where he has served on the New Lawyers Division Board of Governors. In 2006-07 Ben served as the co-chair of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Products Liability Committee.

Benjamin A. Crane

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Before joining Coplan & Crane, Jerry was an associate at the Whiting Law Group where he obtained more than $1 million in settlements, arbitration awards and jury verdicts in just over one year.

Prior to the Whiting Law Group, Jerry worked at a prominent Chicago insurance defense firm where he defended civil litigation cases.

Jerry graduated from Chicago-Kent College of Law in the spring of 2007. He was editor in chief of the Journal of International and Comparative Law and was named to the Dean’s List two years in a row while focusing his studies on civil litigation and trial practice. Prior to law school, Jerry graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

In addition to fighting for his clients in the courtroom, Jerry is involved in giving back to the community as a volunteer with various Chicago area non-profit legal services.