Howard Ankin has spent decades building a personal injury practice around a straightforward principle: the law should serve people, not turn them into numbers. As the founder of Ankin Law in Chicago, Illinois, he has developed a firm that brings together multiple areas of legal experience to help injured clients navigate complex claims. In his appearance on The Attorney Post, Ankin reflected on his family's legal legacy, the evolution of his practice, the importance of client-centered representation, and how artificial intelligence is changing the work attorneys do.
Ankin's journey into law began long before he attended law school. A third-generation attorney, he grew up surrounded by the profession, accompanying his father to court during school breaks and observing how he worked with clients. His grandfather and father were both lawyers, making the legal profession a familiar part of his upbringing. Rather than discovering law through a single defining experience, Ankin described it as something he had always expected to pursue.
Although he inherited an appreciation for personal service from his father, Ankin developed a more specialized focus. His father practiced as a general attorney, helping families with a variety of legal needs and referring particularly complex matters to specialists. Ankin wanted to become the attorney other lawyers turned to when an injury case required deeper experience and focused attention. That philosophy continues to influence his professional relationships and his approach to representing injured people.
Founded in 1997, Ankin Law grew from a smaller practice into a substantial personal injury firm serving clients primarily throughout Illinois, with additional work in nearby areas such as northwest Indiana and southeast Wisconsin. The firm handles matters involving auto and trucking accidents, workers' compensation, medical malpractice, product liability, wrongful death, mass torts, and other injury-related claims.
One of Ankin's central points was the value of handling connected legal issues within the same firm. An accident can trigger several problems at once. Someone injured in a truck collision while working, for example, might have a workers' compensation claim, a separate claim against the trucking company, and potentially a medical malpractice issue if something goes wrong during treatment. A serious injury could also leave the person unable to return to work, creating a need to explore Social Security disability benefits.
Ankin explained that having attorneys with different areas of expertise under one roof allows his team to coordinate these matters rather than treating each claim as an isolated problem. By bringing the relevant lawyers together, the firm can evaluate how the different parts of a client's situation fit together and pursue an approach aimed at maximizing the client's overall recovery.
That commitment to client service also shapes Ankin's views on the business of law. He has watched private equity become increasingly interested in acquiring and consolidating professional practices, including law firms. While he recognizes the commercial appeal of scale, he worries that treating legal services like standardized consumer products can undermine the personal relationships that make effective representation possible.
For Ankin, being a lawyer means more than managing a large organization. Even as his firm has expanded, he has continued to prioritize direct conversations with clients and the work of evaluating their cases. He described client counseling as one of the most meaningful uses of his legal training. His guiding philosophy is that financial success should follow from serving clients well, rather than becoming the primary objective.
His experience during the COVID-19 pandemic reinforced the unpredictability of running a law firm. When Chicago prepared to shut down in March 2020, Ankin recalled gathering his approximately 85 employees and considering how the firm would keep operating. He worried about maintaining payroll, keeping the business afloat, and dealing with insurance companies during an unprecedented disruption.
The outcome differed from what he initially feared. Ankin explained that insurers settled a significant number of existing cases during the period, while the firm used the time to develop its larger cases more thoroughly. He also observed that jurors appeared to bring a different understanding of suffering and financial hardship to cases after the pandemic. In his view, the shared experience of uncertainty helped some people better appreciate what injured individuals and their families endure.
Ankin also offered a candid reflection on professional setbacks. Rather than identifying one catastrophic case, he discussed times when his own reluctance to adapt slowed the firm's growth. Initially hesitant about advertising because it differed from the traditional word-of-mouth model he had observed growing up, he eventually recognized that the legal marketplace had changed. His experience underscored the importance of respecting tradition without allowing it to prevent necessary adaptation.
Technology is another area in which Ankin sees major change. He described how AI can rapidly organize medical records, create treatment timelines, and help attorneys identify potential strengths and weaknesses in a case. Tasks that once required hours of manually reviewing documents can now be completed much faster. Still, he values the deeper understanding that comes from personally studying a case, and he views AI as a tool that can accelerate legal work rather than replace professional judgment.
Ankin also emphasized the importance of preserving evidence quickly after an accident. Surveillance recordings, doorbell footage, and rideshare vehicle videos may be overwritten or deleted within a relatively short period. Obtaining that evidence early can be critical when parties disagree about how an accident occurred.
Ultimately, Howard Ankin's perspective connects the future of personal injury law with its most enduring responsibility: helping people obtain justice when an injury disrupts their lives. His discussion on The Attorney Post highlights a career shaped by specialization, adaptability, and the belief that effective legal representation begins with understanding the person behind the case.
Ankin Law
10 N Dearborn St #500
Chicago, IL 60602
(312) 600-0000
