Melanie K. Fairman

Melanie K. Fairman is a partner at Seidman, Margulis & Fairman, LLP in Chicago who represents plaintiffs in personal injury and wrongful death matters. Her practice includes medical malpractice, nursing home negligence, vehicular collisions, premises liability, product liability, construction accidents, and uninsured or underinsured motorist claims. She has represented injured clients since 1994 and handles cases through investigation, negotiation, trial preparation, settlement, and courtroom litigation.

Melanie earned a J.D. cum laude from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and a B.A. cum laude in Accounting from The George Washington University. In law school, she participated on national mock trial and moot court teams and received advocacy, appellate advocacy, moot court, legal clinic, leadership, and service honors. Her accounting background and trial-focused education support detailed review of damages, records, expert issues, and complex personal injury claims.

Melanie has handled significant medical negligence, nursing home, collision, premises liability, and sexual-abuse matters. Her representative work includes a $3.8 million verdict against JW Marriott involving Legionella exposure that caused permanent neurocognitive injuries. She has pursued recoveries in sexual-abuse cases from employers of abusers. Her approach emphasizes detailed investigation, careful preparation, prompt communication, and attention to possible sources of recovery while managing litigation risk.

Melanie K. Fairman is admitted in Illinois and several federal courts, including the Northern District of Illinois Trial Bar and the Seventh Circuit. She has been selected to Illinois Super Lawyers from 2020 through 2026 and received an Illinois Jury Verdict Reporter award for the highest reported verdict or settlement involving Legionnaire’s disease. She participates in trial-lawyer and bar organizations and has coached Loyola’s National Mock Trial Team.

Law Office Affiliations

• Partner, Seidman, Margulis & Fairman, LLP
• Member Since, Illinois State Bar Association (1994)
• Member Since, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (1994)
• Member Since, The Chicago Bar Association (1994)
• Member, NorthShore Law
• Member, Chicago Inn of Court
• Member, The Decalogue Society of Lawyers

Licensed State

• Illinois

Education

• Loyola University Chicago School of Law
  Juris Doctor (JD) (Cum Laude)
• The George Washington University
  Bachelor of Arts (BA) (Cum Laude)

Awards & Badges