LAWYER PROFILE
Joseph F Madonia

Joseph F Madonia

USA 2026

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Ranked in 1 practice area

About

Provided by Barnes & Thornburg LLP

Practice Areas

Brownfields and Environmental Transactional Diligence, Commercial Litigation, Consumer Class Action Defense, Environmental, Environmental Litigation, Litigation

Career

Joe Madonia resolves significant toxic tort and environmental matters across the nation. He brings a rare scientific depth to environmental litigation, drawing upon technical expertise in chemistry, toxicology, and hydrogeology when resolving disputes.

Joe serves as national trial counsel in complex litigation for international chemical companies and defends large environmental class action suits involving groundwater, air, and soil contamination. His practice also includes governmental enforcement actions, citizen suits and private party cost recovery litigation.

With over 25 years of experience, clients frequently ask Joe to consult on major site remediation projects. His work spans remediating manufactured gas plant (MGP) sites, Superfund sites, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) facilities, and underground storage tank sites, as well as voluntary remediation under various state programs. Joe also prosecutes and defends high-profile criminal environmental cases before both grand juries and at trial.

Joe’s private practice builds upon his work serving as the former deputy chief of the Illinois Attorney General’s Environmental Enforcement Division. In this role, he tried and supervised civil and criminal proceedings in federal and state courts and before a variety of regulatory agencies. This first-hand experience is foundational to developing unique perspectives in defending cases against the government.

Education

Southern Methodist University

J.D.

University of Notre Dame

B.A.

Chambers Review

Provided by Chambers

Chambers Guide to the USA

Environment: Litigation - Illinois

Band 2
Band 2

Individual Editorial
Joseph Madonia is well regarded in the market for his litigation expertise. He has significant experience in acting for global chemical companies and is adept at handling large class actions involving soil and groundwater contamination issues.

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