Sexual Abuse: Giving Voice To The Voiceless

At Goldberg & Goldberg, LLC, we are proud of our track record representing the victims of abuse. People who are marginalized by society often times are victimized by predators who seek to take advantage of the powerless. It is our purpose to give a voice to these powerless people and do our part to help heal the world from these atrocities that are often times the result of institutional failures.

We have represented the victims of serial predators, including celebrities, powerful members of the clergy, business leaders and others who are in positions to exert their will over those that are less fortunate. Goldberg & Goldberg, LLC has been a voice for victims, in all arenas, for over sixty years. We have recovered millions of dollars on behalf of the victims of abuse and neglect, and at the appropriate times, have volunteered our services pro bono on behalf of our victim clients.

Our efforts have been documented in national publications including the New Yorker, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune and on Lifetime Television’s Docu-Series, Surviving R. Kelly II, The Reckoning.

What is Sexual Abuse?

Abuse, particularly sexual abuse, can take many forms. Victims can be children left with an adult who is in a position of trust, like teachers, day care workers, priests and clergy, after school officials, foster parents and family members. Other potential victims are elderly or sick adults left in the care of doctors, hospitals or nursing homes. The damages related to sexual abuse are both physical and psychological. At Goldberg & Goldberg, LLC, we have vast experience working with the victims of all kinds of abuse, including sexual abuse.

Ian Alexander’s Role in Helping Victims of Sexual Abuse Starting With the First R. Kelly Case

Ian R. Alexander is a Chicago-based trial lawyer known nationally for representing victims of sexual abuse and assault across Illinois and nationwide. He is the managing partner of Goldberg & Goldberg, LLC. He has focused much of his career on serious personal injury and catastrophic cases, including sexual abuse, medical malpractice, and complex litigation. Alexander has represented victims of sexual predators for more than 30 years and has worked on high-profile cases involving celebrity defendants and institutions.

Early Involvement in the R. Kelly Litigation

One of the earliest significant sexual abuse matters in Alexander’s career was his involvement in the first civil lawsuit against R. Kelly in Chicago. In the mid-1990s, a young attorney named Ian Alexander conducted the initial intake interview for a woman who alleged sexual abuse by R. Kelly when she was a minor. Alexander encouraged the firm he was with at the time to take the case and then pursued legal avenues on her behalf. The New Yorker+1

Alexander contacted the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office on her behalf seeking criminal charges after her allegations were shared, but the office elected not to pursue prosecution at that time. When criminal charges were not filed, he helped his client file a civil lawsuit against Kelly and affiliated entities alleging sexual abuse and seeking significant damages. The New Yorker In interviews and later recountings, Alexander explained that pursuing a civil claim was one of the only legal avenues available to challenge predatory conduct legally at the time. Oxygen

Reflections on the First R. Kelly Lawsuit

In retrospective interviews and writings about that early legal matter, Alexander has acknowledged the limitations of what could be achieved through civil litigation alone. In Surviving R. Kelly: The Reckoning, he noted that pursuing money damages through a lawsuit was an imperfect but necessary option when criminal prosecution did not occur. Oxygen

Though that initial case ultimately settled, like many early R. Kelly civil actions did, it helped lay the groundwork for later awareness, litigation, and public scrutiny of sexual abuse allegations against the singer decades before criminal charges were brought. The New Yorker

Longstanding Commitment to Sexual Abuse Victims

Beyond the R. Kelly matters, Ian Alexander has continued to represent victims of sexual abuse in other contexts, including institutional abuse and predatory misconduct. The firm has filed multiple lawsuits on behalf of sexual abuse survivors and has been involved in advocacy and litigation against schools and other entities accused of failing to protect vulnerable individuals.

Alexander describes his dedication to helping people who have suffered abuse or catastrophic injury. He has said he is “proudest of my work representing … the victims of sexual abuse,” and emphasizes his courtroom experience and personal commitment to pursuing justice for those harmed.

While comments about early litigation strategies have been nuanced, including his own reflections on the limitations of non-disclosure agreements and settlement pressures in the 1990s, Alexander’s involvement in those early civil suits is documented as part of his long career in complex personal injury and sexual abuse litigation. The New Yorker

Why Choose Goldberg & Goldberg, LLC?

In addition to our core values that include empathy for victims of all kinds, we have vast actual experience representing the victims of all kinds of abuse at the hands of all manner of predators. At Goldberg & Goldberg, LLC we are trial lawyers. That means that we handle every case from intake to resolution, including settlement or trial. The results listed on our website are the actual results of cases that we have settled or tried to verdict. We would implore you to question any potential lawyer that you might employ about their actual trial experience. Why does trial experience matter? Because, there are lots of lawyers on the internet that claim to have a certain kind of experience, but very few that actually have trial experience. Other lawyers, for over sixty years, have referred cases to Goldberg & Goldberg, LLC for trial because we have a skill set that they do not have and cannot acquire—trial experience.

How can we Help With the Healing Process?

Making the powerless powerful is a small but vital step in our mission to help heal our client’s worlds. The legal system is imperfect, but it is the best system that we have. Making institutions accountable for the evil behavior of the past is one step we can take to help hold predators accountable to victims. Goldberg & Goldberg, LLC works with an incredible array of medical and psychological experts that have pioneered the fields of grieving and recovery from trauma including the types of loss associated with sexual abuse. Our clients come through the process stronger and more powerful, and we stand by them every step of the way.