BCM Law, P.C.

Focus and practice areas

The firm represents employers and insurers. Its work centers on defense across several fields. The core areas are workers' compensation defense, civil litigation defense, and insurance law and litigation.

Defense work of this kind has a familiar shape. A claim comes in, the lawyers review the facts, and they weigh the client's exposure. Some matters settle after that review. Others go to a hearing or a trial, and the firm handles them there.

The firm offers two more services next to the litigation work. It handles employment law matters, and it prepares Medicare and Medicaid set-asides. A Medicare Set-Aside is a sum carved out of a workers' compensation or liability settlement to cover future medical costs that Medicare would otherwise pay. In my opinion, keeping that service in-house is useful for a firm that already defends the underlying claims.

The civil litigation side

Civil litigation defense covers a spread of matter types. The firm lists business litigation, motor vehicle defense, premises liability defense, and products liability defense. It also takes professional liability and third-party defense claims.

Each label points to a different kind of dispute. Premises liability defense involves injuries that happen on a client's property. Products liability defense answers claims that a product caused harm. Professional liability work defends people accused of errors in their professional duties. The common thread is the defense posture: the firm answers a claim on behalf of the client.

The workers' compensation practice

Workers' compensation defense is the firm's founding area, and it remains a core part of the work. In these cases the firm speaks for the employer or the insurer after a worker files a claim. The lawyers read the medical records, the job facts, and the reported injury.

Illinois workers' compensation covers set categories of benefits. These include medical treatment, wage replacement while a worker recovers, and awards for lasting impairment. A defense team tests whether a claim fits those categories and what the exposure should be. The firm carries this work before the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission.

How the firm grew

The firm opened in May 1997 as Brady, Connolly and Masuda, P.C. Three lawyers founded it: Francis M. Brady, John P. Connolly, and Beverly N. Masuda. In 2023 the firm adopted its current name, BCM Law, P.C. The initials carry the founders' names forward.

The size of the firm changed a great deal over that span. It began with three founding members and now counts nearly 40 attorneys. The partner group now numbers twenty. It started with the three founders. As a reviewer, I read those figures as a record of steady growth across more than 25 years.

Where the firm works

BCM Law runs three offices across two states. The first is in Chicago, where the firm began. A Bloomington-Normal office opened in December 2000. A St. Louis office in Missouri followed in June 2020.

The firm's client base reaches past those three cities. It represents clients in Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, and across the country. The offices in Illinois and Missouri cover two of those states directly, and the nationwide work extends the reach further.

How the team is built

The People directory sorts attorneys into two ranks, director and partner. John P. Connolly, one of the three founders, appears as a director. Other directors include William D. Brewster, Andrew R. Makauskas, and Peter J. Stavropoulos.

Ivan Nieves carries two titles, managing partner and director. The managing partner role usually covers day-to-day leadership of the firm. The partner group named on the site includes Andrea M. Carlson, Micaela M. Cassidy, Jeffrey F. Clement, and Jeffrey R. Gibellina. It also lists Yeganeh Gibson, Surbhi Saraswat Goyal, and Farrah L. Hagan.

The firm counts nearly 40 attorneys in total, so the directory names a portion of the full roster. The directors and partners on it give a client the senior points of contact. The titles show who holds ownership and leadership within the firm.

Where matters are heard

The firm's attorneys appear in a range of forums. These include trial and appellate courts, state and federal courts, administrative agencies, and the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission. That spread matches the mix of workers' compensation and civil cases the firm handles.

Workers' compensation claims in Illinois follow a defined route. A disputed claim goes before an arbitrator at the Commission. Either side can ask a panel of commissioners to review the arbitrator's decision. From there, an appeal can move into the circuit court and higher. This is general context, and it shows the path a defense team of this kind works through.

Insurance and civil litigation add courtroom work on top of the Commission caseload. The firm handles these disputes in state and federal courts. The firm also does appellate work in these areas, and it lists appellate courts among the forums where its lawyers appear.