Neal J. Taslitz, Esq.
Mr. Taslitz, has been practicing law for 34 years. His practice was initially based in Chicago, until he relocated to Palm Beach County,
Florida in 2001.
For the past 20 years Mr. Taslitz has concentrated his practice in matters pertaining to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), although his practice has involved other areas of civil law that often have involved areas of public interest and government policy, particularly matters involving health and safety issues and OSHA.
Mr. Taslitz is a graduate of Indiana University, where he graduated with honors, with a Bachelor's Degree in Public Policy and Business Economics in 1972, completing his graduate requirements a semester prior to his graduation. Mr. Taslitz received his law degree from DePaul University, in August of 1975. He published a Case Note (Rosario v. Rockefeller and Kusper v. Pontikes--Voters and Other Strangers) while on the staff of the DePaul Law Review in 1974, which has been cited numerous times in various legal articles over the past 37 years. He also co-authored an article (Abandonment of Residential Property in an Urban Context) for the Depaul Law Review in 1974. Mr. Taslitz also studied law at Hebrew University, in Jerusalem, Israel and at New York University during 1974 and 1975.
In 1980, while practicing law in Chicago, Mr. Taslitz was the trial lawyer for the plaintiff in Jude v. Morrisey, a matter which was appealed after being dismissed for being filed after the statute of limitations had run. The appeal resulted in overturning the Illinois 2 year statute of limitations, and replacing it with a statute allowing a claim against a putative father until the child reached the age of 20. The case allowed the State of Illinois to collect unpaid child support in thousands of cases that previously would have not been allowed. In the mid-1980's Mr. Taslitz represented the plaintiff with co-counsel, in a federal case (Matanky v. WestAmerica Mortgage) involving bank fraud and breach of contract on mortgages. The jury in the Matanky matter awarded a sum that was in excess of the amount that was asked for by the plaintiffs.
In the mid-1990's, Mr. Taslitz, along with co-counsel represented a disabled physician in a federal ADA complaint (Feliberty v. Kemper). The case was appealed after initially being dismissed at the trial court level. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the trial court setting a precedent that has been the subject of several legal articles and cited numerous times in other cases as well as being discussed in at least one law school labor law text book.
In April, 2000, Mr. Taslitz testified at an OSHA hearing on ergonomic standards in Chicago regarding his experience and knowledge of disabled workers and accommodations that would improve the safety of workers. His work regarding ergonomics and the law in the 1990's was recognized by President Clinton, and resulted in President Clinton allowing Mr. Taslitz's suggestions to become part of the ergonomic standards, which the Republican Senate revoked after President Clinton left office.
Mr. Taslitz has lectured at various professional and university seminars involving the ADA, reasonable accommodations, and ergonomics. He also has published numerous articles in legal and professional publications and newsletters involving the ADA, reasonable accommodations, and ergonomics.
In the 1990's Mr. Taslitz was the co-founder, and Executive Director of the National Repetitive Strain Association which gained a substantial amount of national recognition and was the subject of numerous articles in the New York Times, The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune and other well known newspapers and magazines.
In 2004, Mr. Taslitz served as chairman of the committee for disabled voters for presidential candidate John Kerry's legal team in Florida. He also was a member of the Florida legal team for presidential candidate Barack Obama, in 2008, regarding ADA accommodations for disabled voters.
In March 2012, Mr. Taslitz was appointed to the American Bar Association Advisory Panel for the second time within the past five years.
