Press Releases

Federal Judge in Criminal Case Against Boeing Hears Arguments on October 11, 2024, in Texas Court; Crash Victims’ Families from Several Countries Attend Morning-Long Hearing The lawyer for the families who lost loved ones in two Boeing crashes of 737 MAX jets argued on October 11, 2024, that the plea deal between the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Boeing should not be accepted by the federal district court judge in Texas who is overseeing…

Newly Released Documents Show that Boeing Hid 737 MAX Safety Problems from Ethiopian Pilots Asking for Answers Prior to Second Crash; Federal Judge Sets Hearing Friday to Consider Families’ Objections to DOJ “Sweetheart” Plea Deal with Boeing U.S. Federal District Court Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, has set a hearing for Friday, October 11, at 9:00 a.m. in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas – Fort Worth Division to…

Clifford Law Offices filed a lawsuit on September 18, 2024, against Union Pacific Railroad Company, Metra Railroad, and the Village of Barrington in the death of a 17-year-old girl who was struck and killed by a train at a Barrington, Illinois railroad crossing without pedestrian gates. James Pullos, Kristofer Riddle, and Joseph Murphy, partners at Clifford Law Offices, filed the case on behalf of the family of Marin Lacson in the January 25, 2024, death…

Families of the victims of two Boeing 737 MAX8 crashes filed a brief today, Friday, August 23, 2024, asking a federal court judge to reject a proposed plea agreement presented by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Boeing to resolve the pending criminal case. The judge has previously ruled that Boeing’s crime caused the deaths of 346 victims in the two deadly crashes. The families argue that the agreement improperly conceals the deadly consequences of…

CHICAGO, IL (August 2024) – Twenty lawyers at Clifford Law Offices are recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2025 edition. Clifford Law Offices’ reputation of success is led by founder and senior partner, Robert A. Clifford, who has been listed by Best Lawyers for more than thirty years. He is joined by partners Richard F. Burke, Kevin P. Durkin, Keith A. Hebeisen, and Shannon M. McNulty, who have all been recognized by The Best…

CHICAGO, IL (August 2024) – Kevin P. Durkin, partner at Clifford Law Offices, has been recognized by Best Lawyers® as the 2025 “Lawyer of the Year” for Aviation Law and the 2025 “Lawyer of the Year” for Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs in Chicago. He has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® since 2011 and this is his eighth recognition as “Lawyer of the Year.” Since it was first published in 1983, Best…

Families of crash victims of two Boeing 737 MAX aircraft crashes filed today a 48-page motion in Texas federal court, asking the judge to reject the plea agreement the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed last week. Today’s motion asks the court to reject the plea agreement with Boeing on nine grounds including that it is too lenient given the criminal sentencing guidelines and that “it surreptitiously exonerates Boeing’s then-senior leadership.” The Justice Department announced…

The Justice Department announced in a court filing that Boeing will plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the FAA about the safety of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft late Sunday (July 7, 2024). The Justice Department announced the agreement in a filing with federal district court Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth, Texas. Families who lost loved ones in two Boeing 737 MAX crashes quickly filed in that same court an objection to the deal….

Attorneys and families reacted vehemently during a near two-hour meeting Sunday (June 30, 2024) with the head of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Fraud Division and other DOJ lawyers regarding the next steps it intends to take regarding Boeing following two crashes and other safety concerns at the aircraft manufacturer. The DOJ presented what families and lawyers termed a “sweetheart deal” that will be asking Boeing to accept several terms that they disagreed with and…