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Personal Injury
Car and truck accidents, motorcycle collisions, slip-and-falls, and injuries caused by another party’s negligence. We handle these cases on contingency — you owe nothing unless we recover for you.
Learn About Personal InjuryChicago, Illinois · Est. 2008
When everything feels uncertain, your legal strategy shouldn’t be.
Harbor & Cole Law represents individuals, families, and small businesses across Chicago in personal injury, employment, business litigation, and family law matters — with the courtroom experience and local court knowledge to back it up.
- 35+ years combined trial experience
- No fee unless we win your injury case
- Direct access to your attorney — not a case manager
Case No. Pending · Confidential Intake
Request a Case Evaluation
Tell us briefly what happened. A member of our team will respond within one business day — sooner for urgent matters.
Case Type Intake
You don’t need to know the law. You need to know you’re not alone in it.
Most people who call us have never spoken with a litigation attorney before. Here are a few of the situations that bring Chicagoans to our office every week.
“I was in an accident and the insurance adjuster keeps calling.”
“I was fired right after I complained about my manager.”
“My business partner is refusing to honor our agreement.”
“My divorce is turning into a fight over custody.”
Areas of Practice
Focused representation, not a general practice
We limit our caseload to four areas of law so that every attorney at this firm is genuinely expert in the courtrooms and statutes that govern your case.
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Employment Disputes
Wrongful termination, unpaid wages and overtime, workplace discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. We take on employers who think their employees won’t push back.
Learn About Employment Disputes03
Business Litigation
Contract disputes, partnership and shareholder breakdowns, vendor and supplier conflicts, and commercial claims for Chicago-area business owners who need a firm that litigates like it’s their own business.
Learn About Business Litigation04
Family Law
Divorce, child custody and support, parenting-time modifications, and asset division — handled with discretion and a clear strategy, not courtroom theatrics.
Learn About Family Law
Our Office
200 S. Wacker Drive, Chicago Loop
Why Harbor & Cole
A firm built to be your advocate, not your file number
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Decades of combined trial experience
Our attorneys have collectively spent more than 35 years litigating personal injury, employment, business, and family law matters in Cook County and across Illinois.
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Deep knowledge of Chicago’s courts
We know the judges, the clerks, and the tendencies of the Daley Center and the Cook County Circuit Court — knowledge that only comes from appearing there, week after week, for years.
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Personalized representation
You will work directly with your attorney — not get routed through a call center or handed off to a rotating cast of case managers who don’t know your name.
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Transparent contingency fees
For personal injury cases, our fee structure is explained plainly before you sign anything. If we don’t recover for you, you don’t owe us a legal fee.
Track Record
Representative Case Results
These summaries illustrate the types of matters and outcomes we pursue for clients. They are provided for illustrative purposes — not as a guarantee, promise, or prediction of the outcome in your case.
35+
Years combined trial experience
500+
Clients represented since 2008
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Focused practice areas
0 up front
Fees for personal injury cases
Personal Injury
Multi-vehicle collision, multiple fractures
Client was rear-ended on the Kennedy Expressway and faced a lowball initial offer from the at-fault driver’s insurer. We built a full damages case and negotiated a six-figure settlement without going to trial.
Outcome: Six-figure settlement, resolved pre-trial
Employment
Wrongful termination after medical leave
Client was terminated within days of returning from FMLA leave. We identified a pattern of retaliation, filed suit, and secured a confidential settlement before deposition.
Outcome: Confidential settlement
Business Litigation
Partnership dissolution dispute
A minority partner in a Chicago logistics company was frozen out of decision-making. We pursued a breach-of-fiduciary-duty claim through arbitration and secured a favorable award for our client.
Outcome: Favorable arbitration award
Family Law
Contested custody modification
Client’s ex-spouse petitioned to relocate with their children out of state. We built a case around the children’s established ties to Chicago and the client retained primary custody.
Outcome: Client retained primary custody
Case summaries are illustrative and do not reflect the details of any specific real client. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes; every case is different and is evaluated on its own facts.
Counsel
The attorneys who will handle your case
No associate mills, no bait-and-switch. The attorney you meet at your evaluation is the attorney who works your case.
Daniel R. Harbor
Founding Partner — Personal Injury & Business Litigation
J.D., Northwestern Pritzker School of Law · Illinois State Bar · 22 years trial experience
Daniel has spent more than two decades in Cook County courtrooms representing injury victims and business owners. He founded Harbor & Cole on a simple premise: clients deserve a lawyer who actually picks up the phone.
Renee A. Cole
Founding Partner — Employment & Family Law
J.D., University of Chicago Law School · Illinois State Bar · 18 years trial experience
Renee built her career representing employees against employers with far more resources, and families navigating some of the hardest decisions they’ll ever make. She left a large downtown firm to give clients more direct access to their counsel.
Local Counsel
Chicago-based. Chicago-focused.
We don’t practice in fifty states or advertise on national television. We practice here — in the Daley Center, the Cook County Circuit Court, and the federal courthouse on Dearborn — because that’s where our clients live and work.
What Happens Next
From your first call to a resolved case
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Free case evaluation
Call or submit our case evaluation form. We listen to what happened and tell you honestly whether we believe you have a case.
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We investigate
We gather medical records, police reports, contracts, and witness statements to build a complete, evidence-backed picture of your case.
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We build your strategy
Your attorney develops a legal strategy specific to your situation, your goals, and the realities of Chicago’s courts.
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We negotiate or litigate
We pursue the strongest realistic resolution — whether that means a negotiated settlement or taking your case to trial.
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You get a resolution
You get a clear outcome and can move forward. Contingency clients owe no attorney’s fee unless we recover for you.
Client Accounts
What clients say after their case is resolved
Common Questions
Before you call, you probably want to know
Nothing. Every case evaluation at Harbor & Cole Law is free and confidential, with no obligation to hire us afterward. We’d rather give you an honest read on your situation than pressure you into a decision.
For personal injury cases, we work on contingency — our fee is a percentage of what we recover for you, and if we don’t win, you owe us no attorney’s fee. We’ll walk through the exact fee structure and any case costs in plain language before you sign anything.
It depends on the type of case, its complexity, and whether it settles or goes to trial. Some matters resolve in a few months; contested litigation can take longer. During your evaluation, we’ll give you a realistic timeline based on similar cases we’ve handled.
Bring whatever documentation you have — police or incident reports, medical records, employment paperwork, correspondence, or contracts. If you don’t have anything yet, that’s fine too. We can tell you what to gather next.
That’s common, and it’s rarely too late to bring in an attorney. Avoid signing any settlement or recorded statement going forward, and let us review what’s been discussed so far before you say anything else.
Our practice is centered on Chicago and Cook County, and we also represent clients throughout the greater Chicago metropolitan area and elsewhere in Illinois, depending on the matter.
Statutes of Limitations Are Real Deadlines
Don’t wait to protect your rights.
Every day you wait is a day the other side has to prepare. Evidence disappears, memories fade, and legal deadlines don’t pause for anyone. Talk to us before you decide anything.