Margaret Battersby Black

Managing Partner

Chicago, IL

Bar admissions

Illinois

Education

Juris Doctor (with honors); BBA (with University Honors): Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology2008
Undergraduate: University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of Business2002

Awards and recognition

01Illinois Super Lawyers Top 10 (2026)
02Crain's Chicago Business Notable Litigators & Trial Attorneys (2025)
03Illinois Super Lawyers Top 100 (2024-2025)
04Illinois Super Lawyers Top 50 Women (2024-2025)
05Carole K. Bellows Women of Influence (2023)
06The Best Lawyers in America - Personal Injury Litigation: Plaintiffs (2019-2024)
07Leading Lawyers Top 10 Nursing Home Negligence (2022)
08Chicago Daily Law Bulletin 40 Under 40 (2011)
09Chicago-Kent Outstanding Young Alumna of the Year (2015)

Memberships

Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (3rd Vice President 2025-2026)
Women's Bar Association of Illinois
American Constitution Society - Chicago Chapter
American Association for Justice
Illinois State Bar Association
Chicago Bar Association
National Association of Elder Law Attorneys
International Society of Barristers

Publications

Attorney's Fees and Costs Under the Nursing Home Care Act after Grauer vs. Clare Oaks, ITLA Trial Journal (Winter 2020)
Two Partners Talk About Going from Student to Teacher, Chicago Daily Law Bulletin (August 2019)
Why it is Smart Business for Law Firms to Attract and Retain More Women Lawyers, Daily Herald (2023)

Background

Margaret P. Battersby Black is a Managing Partner at Levin & Perconti, where she focuses on nursing home abuse, medical malpractice, birth injury, and sexual assault litigation. She joined the firm as a law clerk in 2006, became an associate in 2008, and was named Partner in 2014. In October 2021 she became co-managing partner with Michael Bonamarte. Before law school she worked as a financial analyst at JP Morgan Chase. In 2026, she became the first attorney in Levin & Perconti's history to earn a spot on the Super Lawyers Top 10 list.

Notable cases

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$29M birth injury settlement (brain damage from delayed cesarean section at UIC Medical Center)
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$27M birth injury recovery (HIE and asphyxia injuries with permanent cognitive impairments)
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$18M birth injury settlement (HIE and cerebral palsy)
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$6M nursing home negligence settlement (record-setting $4.1M verdict plus fees for medication mismanagement)
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$5.45M medical malpractice settlement (wrongful death from sepsis after ER negligence)

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