About Michael T.
Michael T. Gill trained in Ohio and Illinois. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Miami University of Ohio in 1990. He then went to Loyola University Chicago School of Law, beginning studies in 1994 and completing his J.D. in 1997.
After law school he clerked at Hofeld & Schaffner in 1995. He joined Bruce R. Pfaff & Associates, Ltd. as a lawyer in 1997. Over the next two decades the firm evolved through partnerships and name changes. In 2003 he became a shareholder at Pfaff & Gill, Ltd. That partnership later became Pfaff, Gill & Ports, Ltd., where he served as a shareholder beginning in 2013. In 2024 the firm restructured as Gill Ports, Ltd., and he continues there as a shareholder.
Gill’s career tracks a steady progression from clerk to firm leader. He has remained in Illinois throughout his professional life. His résumé shows long-term ties to the same group of colleagues, which produced several firm iterations rather than frequent moves between unrelated firms. Colleagues and opposing counsel would recognize him as an experienced trial lawyer by tenure and association memberships.
Those associations form a consistent throughline. He is a member of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and the Chicago Bar Association since 1997. He holds membership in the Illinois State Bar Association and the American Association for Justice. In 2009 he joined the American Board of Trial Advocates, a group that highlights courtroom practice among its members, and he remains connected to it.
The steady involvement in trial-focused organizations suggests an emphasis on courtroom practice and civil litigation. His roles as shareholder at successive firms point to responsibilities that include case strategy, client counseling and firm governance. He has handled litigation matters from early staff attorney roles through firm leadership.
Those who work with him will find a lawyer whose career has been shaped by practice in Illinois courts and by long-term collaboration with the same core team of attorneys. He is based at Gill Ports, Ltd., where his practice continues to center on trial work and civil litigation matters.
