4/30/2026 - WCLA Noon CLE Seminar

No stranger to hard work, Zibi attended law school part-time in the evenings.  During the day, he worked full-time as a clerk in a workers’ compensation law firm.  Over the course of his 5 years as a clerk, he participated in all aspects of the litigation process of both workers’ compensation and civil matters.  Zibi was admitted to practice law in the State of Illinois in 2013.  After becoming licensed, Zibi was able to take advantage of his extensive experience with workers’ compensation and personal injury claims and hit the ground running.  In his first two years of practice prior to joining Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates, Zibi obtained over $2.5 million in settlements and awards for his clients.  Zibi has tried several workers’ compensation cases in many venues throughout the state.  He has argued before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, the Circuit Courts on Administrative Review and the Illinois Appellate Court.  Zibi has also lectured before countless labor unions on workers’ compensation and injury law and how employees can best protect themselves in the unlucky event of a work-related injury.

Zibi is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, the Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Association, and the Advocates Society, the Association of Polish-American Attorneys.  Zibi is also an active member of Local 46 of the Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America.

Zibi speaks fluent Polish and Spanish, and has extensive experience with the unique challenges that non-English speaking clients encounter.  Zibi has represented non-English speaking clients for his entire career and is happy to provide a level of service that can only be achieved when a client can communicate with an attorney in the language of his or her choice.

Lindsey Strom received her Bachelor’s Degree in Speech Communications from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in 2004. In 2008, Lindsey graduated from DePaul University School of Law, and was admitted to the Illinois bar. During law school, Lindsey worked at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in the Juvenile Justice Bureau. She obtained her 711 license and successfully prosecuted juveniles in narcotics and domestic violence cases. Before working at Strom & Associates, Ltd., Lindsey practiced workers’ compensation as an insurance defense attorney. Her experience in working for the insurance companies has provided a wealth of knowledge and has made her better equipped to help those injured workers’ in need.

In 2013, Lindsey was selected by Super Lawyers & Chicago Magazine to the prestigious Rising Stars List as one of the top up and coming attorneys in Illinois. This is an honor received by only 2.5 percent of attorneys in Illinois each year. Lindsey was recognized by Leading Lawyers as an Emerging Lawyer since 2015, which are comprised of the top 2% of lawyers under 40 years old or practicing for less than 10 years, and as a Leading Lawyer since 2019, as one of the nation’s top lawyers based upon a survey of her peers.

David B Menchetti’s a shareholder in Cullen, Haskins, Nicholson & Menchetti, P.C. in Chicago and concentrates his practice in the representation of injured workers throughout Illinois before the Workers’ Compensation Commission, the Circuit Courts and the Illinois Appellate and Supreme Courts. He graduated from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law (JD) and attained an undergraduate degree (BA) with distinction from Stanford University. Mr. Menchetti is a former staff counsel to Illinois State Senate President Philip J. Rock and concentrated in legislation dealing with insurance, pensions and licensed activities. He has served as counsel to Illinois State Senate President Emil Jones, Jr. and advised about and drafted reforms to the Workers’ Compensation Act in 1989 and 1991.

He is a member of: the Illinois State Bar Association (Workers’ Compensation Law Section Council Chair and Legislation Committee member); the Chicago Bar Association (Industrial Commission Committee Chair ); the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (Workers’ Compensation Committee Chair); the Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Association (President); the American Association for Justice (Workplace Injury Section); the Workplace Injury Litigation Group; and the Board of the Chicago Area Committee on Occupational Health and Safety.

He has authored the chapter on “Penalties” in the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association Workers’ Compensation Notebook and has lectured on workers’ compensation issues for: the Illinois State Bar Association; the Chicago Bar Association; the National Business Institute: the Council on Education in Management; the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education; the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Claims Association; the judicial training program for the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission; the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission; the United Food and Commercial Workers Union; the Laborers International Union; Combined Orthopedic Specialists; the Illinois Bones Association; Kankakee Community College; the University of Chicago Hospitals.

He serves as an advisor to the Illinois AFL-CIO on workers’ compensation matters and participated in the negotiations and drafted the amendments contained in the historic 2005 and 2012 Workers’ Compensation reform legislation. He is listed in the Who’s Who in American Law, has been designated as one of the Best Lawyers in America and has been selected by his peers as a Leading Lawyer and a Super Lawyer. The Illinois Trial Lawyers Association has presented him the President’s Award. He has been selected as Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in America.

Austin protects, defends, and litigates on behalf of insurance companies and employers in workplace accident claims including workers' compensation and related civil litigation claims.

He is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Association, for which he serves as a member of the organization’s board of directors. Austin has presented on various workers’ compensation topics at seminars, and he has authored case law summaries for the Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Association’s membership.

He graduated from Ripon College with a bachelor’s degree in Politics and Government and was also a four-year letter winner in football. After graduation, he moved to Washington, D.C. and worked on Capitol Hill for two different members of Congress. During his time on the Hill, he handled many different issues and areas of legislation, including those impacting small businesses, veterans, trade, appropriations, and defense matters.

Seeking a new challenge, Austin attended UIC John Marshall Law School, where he was a regional finalist in the ABA Negotiation Competition, served as a teaching assistant, and was a member of the Veterans Law moot court competition team. Since passing the bar, Austin has dedicated his career to workers’ compensation defense and related civil ligation claims.

Austin is an avid sports fan, enjoys golfing as much as possible and most of all loves spending time with his wife and three sons whether at the lake, traveling or just trying to keep them safe.