Since joining TorHoerman Law in 2009, Jacob Plattenberger has taken hundreds of depositions, argued in countless hearings, and tried over thirty-five (35) cases to a jury. His experience in and out of the courtroom has made him a passionate advocate for those injured due to the negligence of others. Jake started his career trying cases at one of the busiest civil courthouses in the country – the Richard J. Daley Center in downtown Chicago. He started out doing insurance defense because he knew that afforded him the best opportunity to get courtroom experience. This type of real trial experience is exceedingly rare in complex civil litigation and having seen it from the defense side gives Jake an added advantage.

Eric W. Cracken joined TorHoerman Law in 2019, to work in our Chicago office. At TorHoerman Law, Eric works in our Chicago office as a member of our trial team that focuses in nationwide, complex litigations representing clients who have been injured by the actions of large corporations and organizations.

Nicolette Van Dielen has been practicing law since 2009. She began as a prosecutor in Tucson, Arizona. In her first year, she successfully tried seventeen DUI jury cases. The following year, she obtained favorable outcomes in ten felony DUI jury cases and was named Pima County Attorney’s Office MADD Felony Prosecutor of 2011. From 2011 through 2018, Nicolette prosecuted criminal appeals for the Pima County Attorney’s Office, arguing two cases to the Arizona Supreme Court and seven cases to the Arizona Court of Appeals. During her last year in Tucson, Nicolette prosecuted special victim cases. At the time of her departure, she was awarded for outstanding service by the Pima County Attorney’s Office and the Pima County Animal Cruelty Taskforce. In 2019, Nicolette moved to San Antonio, Texas and served as a staff attorney at the Fourth Court of Appeals. As a staff attorney, Nicolette drafted numerous court opinions, including two dissenting opinions that both led to reversals in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. In 2024, Nicolette moved to be closer to family in Chicago and began her transition to plaintiff representation in civil law. Joining Kaveny Sarmas has provided her with a new platform to advocate for the right of those injured to seek accountability for their loss.

Rachel Rojas is an attorney at TorHoerman Law who specializes in product liability and pharmaceutical litigation. A Corpus Christi, TX native, Rachal moved cross-country to attend Columbia University in New York City and completed a bachelor’s degree in political science. Before law school and after graduating from Columbia, she worked on both sides of civil litigation as a paralegal for a plaintiff’s asbestos law firm and a corporate defense firm.