Biography

Jonah Orlofsky, Esq.

BIOGRAPHY

Jonah Orlofsky is a 1980 graduate of the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, serving as Articles Editor of the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, and winning the Adlai Stevenson Award for the best written brief in the annual moot court competition. Upon graduation, Jonah spent two years clerking for Judge Milton I. Shadur on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

After his clerkship, Jonah joined the boutique litigation firm Plotkin & Jacobs, Ltd., later named Plotkin, Jacobs & Orlofsky, Ltd. There, Jonah litigated complex civil cases, conducting trials and arguing appeals in over a dozen states. In 2000, Jonah formed his own law firm, the Law Offices of Jonah Orlofsky, to continue his practice.

Around 2010, Jonah began wrapping up his litigation practice to devote himself full time to alternative dispute resolution. Since that time, Jonah Orlofsky has mediated and arbitrated over 1,000 cases in a broad spectrum of areas, including consumer cases, insurance coverage disputes, class actions,

breach of contract, ERISA, securities fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, real estate disputes, employment matters, attorney-client disputes, family law matters, and intra-organizational conflicts.

Jonah serves on mediation panels for the following organizations: Resolute Systems, Ltd., American Arbitration Association, FINRA, Center for Conflict Resolution, Kane County Child Protection Program, Cook, Kane and Lake county courtrooms, and Lawyers for the Creative Arts. He has also lectured and written extensively on topics relating to mediation.

Jonah serves on the arbitration panels for the following organizations: American Arbitration Association, FINRA, the Circuit Court of Cook County, and the Better Business Bureau.

Mediation Training

American Institute of Mediation, Impasse Is A Fallacy: A 2-Day Advanced Mediator’s Forum
Illinois State Bar Association, 40-hour Mediator Training
Center for Conflict Resolution, Foreclosure Mediation Training
Center for Conflict Resolution, Mediation Mentorship Program
Circuit Court of Cook County, Securities Arbitration and Mediation Seminar
DePaul Center for Dispute Resolution, Mediation Training
Association of Attorney Mediators, Advanced Mediation Training
Center for Conflict Resolution, Parenting Agreement Dispute training
Kane County Child Protection Program training

Arbitration Training

American Arbitration Association two-day training
FINRA arbitration training
Circuit Court of Cook County commercial arbitration training

Mediation Publications

What To Do When Parties Attribute Bad Faith Motives To Each Other, www. mediate.com, November 2020.
Unsettled Settlements: Understanding Mediation Agreements, Illinois State Bar Journal, August 2013
Making Sure a Mediated Settlement Is Binding, Chicago Bar Association, CBA Record, July/August 2014
What law governs the mediation privilege in federal cases?, Illinois State Bar Association, In the Alternative, May 2014

Volunteer Organizations

Lawyers for the Creative Arts, volunteer mediator
Center for Conflict Resolution, volunteer mediator

Speaking, Teaching and Awards

Association for Conflict Resolution, Recent Case Law on Mediation Update (2019)
Association of Attorney Mediators, What to Do When A Party Lacks the Capacity to Mediate (2018)
Center for Conflict Resolution: Mediation by Videoconference (2018)
Circuit Court of Cook County Alternative Dispute Resolution Seminar, “Pre-Mediation Agreements,” November 8, 2012
Chicago Bar Association, Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, “Should Your Firm’s Engagement Letter Contain an ADR Clause? – Use of Arbitration and Mediation for Legal Services Disputes,” May 3, 2012
Association of Attorney Mediators, “Mediation Contracts,” September 11, 2011
Frequent guest lecturer, John Marshall Law School
Center for Conflict Resolution: Mediation coach
Center for Conflict Resolution: Mediation Mentorship program
Northwestern University School of Professional Training: Mediation coach
Center for Conflict Resolution: Peacemaker of the Year (2019)
Center for Conflict Resolution: Trainer of the Year (2019)
Developed and taught full-day training program for mediating mortgage foreclosure cases (2022).

Hobbies

Avid jazz pianist