George L. Acosta is managing and founding partner of the law firm of Acosta & Skawski, P.C. located in Wheaton, IL. He concentrates his practice in civil litigation, with trial experience in the areas of wrongful death, products liability, medical malpractice, premises liability and commercial litigation.

Mr. Acosta received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1986 from the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana and his Juris Doctorate in 1988 from Loyola University Law School in Chicago. He was awarded the American Jurisprudence Award for Excellence in Contracts, received honors for Leadership and service and served as an officer in the Hispanic Law Student Association.

Mr. Acosta has served as General Counsel to mid-sized Chicago-based construction and chemical companies. He is a past director on the boards of Court-Appointed Specials Advocates (CASA) of DuPage County and The Fox Valley Lutheran Academy. He is also General Counsel to a Chicago-based charitable not-for-profit "Mary's Kids," which serves urban youth. He serves as a director and corporate Secretary for the Cuban Lutheran Fellowship, a not-for-profit religious organization. He is co-author of an Illinois Bar Journal article on the subject of Medicare liens (Spring 1991).

Mr. Acosta is licensed in the states of Illinois and Minnesota (currently inactive). He is admitted to the trial bar in the Northern and Central Federal District Courts of Illinois and has successfully represented clients before Illinois' First and Second District Appellate Courts.

Mr. Acosta is a member of the DuPage County Bar Association. He has previously served as a chair-qualified arbitrator in both the Cook and DuPage County Mandatory Arbitration Programs. He practices law primarily in Cook, DuPage and Kane counties but has practiced in most of the circuit courts of northern Illinois.

Mr. Acosta is married and has (6) children with his wife, LeeAnn. They currently reside in St. Charles, IL. Mr. Acosta is fluent in Spanish.

John J. Skawski is a partner with the law firm of Acosta & Skawski, P.C. His practice focuses upon civil litigation, with specialties in transportation, construction, and commercial matters. He serves as General Counsel for several companies in the Chicagoland area.

Mr. Skawski received his Bachelor's in Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame in 1985. While attending the University of Notre Dame, he received various academic awards and merit scholarships. He also served in the South Bend, Indiana Big Brother Tutor Program.

In 1989, Mr. Skawski received his Juris Doctorate from Loyola University of Chicago Law School. He received honors in leadership, service and academic recognition on the Deans List. Mr. Skawski is licensed in Illinois and admitted to the trial bar in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He has successfully represented clients before the First District Appellate Court. He has given various lectures and presentations to insurance representatives and construction trade owners and professionals.

Mr. Skawski has represented Fortune 500 companies including General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler Motor Company, General Mills, McDonald's Corporation, Motorola, and other successful corporations. He has also provided Risk Management training for Chicagoland construction companies.

Mr. Skawski is a member of the Illinois Association of Defense Counsel, the Defense Research Institute, and is a Chair Qualified Arbitrator in both Cook and DuPage County.

Mr. Skawski has served as a Youth Sports Coach since 1995. He has also been privileged to serve in various capacities within churches in Dupage County. Mr. Skawski and his wife Sandi have 3 sons and reside in a western suburb of Chicago.

Christian Ryba's professional experience includes more than ten years of domestic and international business. He has advised clients on various matters including documentary transactions, establishing overseas distributorships and supply contracts, navigating EU Competition and Privacy Directives and commercial litigation. Mr. Ryba has consulted for several large companies, including Paramount Studios, Accenture, McDonalds Corporation and United Distillers & Vintners.

While in law school at Loyola Universi! ty, Chi cago, Mr. Ryba was awarded best regional orator at the Phillip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition. He was also awarded Loyola's Leadership & Service Award. Mr. Ryba studied EU Commercial Law at Hertford College, Oxford University.

Mr. Ryba is a member of the Illinois Bar and is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Illinois Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association and the DuPage County Bar Association.

Mr. Ryba lives in Chicago with his wife, Joy and their daughter Evelyn.