Marshall P. Whalley
Member
Practice Areas
- Personal Injury
- Medical Malpractice
- Wrongful Death
- Products Liability
- Asbestos
- Mesothelioma
- Registered Mediator
Biography
Attorney Whalley is an experienced Trial Lawyer, Author, Lecturer and former Judge Pro Tempore. The secret to success for Marshall P. Whalley has been his widely varied interests and seemingly boundless energy to pursue them. Having immersed himself in such fields as physics, psychology, engineering, consumer protection and medicine, Mr. Whalley has acquired a wealth of knowledge directly applicable to the investigation and litigation of complex personal injury cases. He has over 40 years of experience successfully handling multi-million dollar litigation in several states.
Mr. Whalley’s father attended M.I.T., earning two engineering degrees and going on to design tanks for the government. His mother was a nurse educator with a Bachelor of Science, a Master’s degree and applied to Law School at 78! Growing up near the Motor City, Mr. Whalley spent long hours designing, building and racing cars and boats, and working on his grandfather’s farm in North Dakota.
Mr. Whalley attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor where he studied physics and psychology, earning his B.S. in 1980. His graduate work there in psycho-physics at the Kresge Medical Hearing Research Institute involved training rare monitor lizards to respond to acoustic stimuli. His other pursuits included designing and implementing pilot programs at the Milan Federal Correctional Institute allowing inmates to obtain GED certificates and at the Maxey Boys Correctional Institute for troubled youth.
During college, Mr. Whalley also worked in the Consumer Protection Division of the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s office, where he mediated consumer complaints, securing the largest consumer settlement to date in the Division’s history. At the same time, he worked for a Tenant’s rights group helping educate renters regarding their rights vis a vis large corporate landlords. During the summer months, Mr. Whalley continued to attend class at the University of Michigan while working 40 to 50 hours per week on the assembly line in Detroit building cars for Chrysler and General Motors. On the line, he ran presses, welded wheels, performed manual assembly, body work, and painted cars.
Thereafter, Mr. Whalley received a scholarship to Valparaiso University School of Law. He continued to work on cars and drag raced to help pay college expenses. He then took a job clerking for a well-respected personal injury firm doing medical research, legal writing and investigation. He became a lawyer at the firm, then partner. As an Associate, he used his background in physics and medicine in his first year to facilitate settlements of the two largest brain-damaged baby cases in Florida’s history. Mr. Whalley’s background in physics allowed him to employ a waveform analysis of fetal monitor strips to prove when a critical tocolytic drug had been stopped.
Over the past 30 some years, Mr. Whalley’s myriad interests have helped him be an effective advocate for his clients. Designing, building, racing and repairing all types of vehicles, Mr. Whalley developed insight into crash dynamics that few lawyers have. His training in physics, medical research and litigation has provided a unique perspective on the causes of complicated crashes and their medical consequences. Marshall P. Whalley has used this unique background to prove-up millions of dollars in valid claims that might otherwise have been lost.
Admissions
- Supreme Court of Indiana
- Supreme Court of Illinois
- Supreme Court of Michigan
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court, North Dakota
Associations
- Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
- Indiana Trial Lawyers Association
- Michigan Association for Justice
- American Bar Association
- Association of Trial Lawyers of America
- Indiana Continuing Legal Education Foundation, Faculty Member
- Lake County Bar Association
- American Association for Justice
Education
- J.D., Valparaiso University, 1983
- B.S., University of Michigan, 1980
Marshall and his lovely wife, Lynette, have two grown daughters., two dogs, a cantankerous cat and they LOVE them all!
