Meet Valerie

Valerie A. Letko, Esq. | Senior Attorney

Valerie is a Senior Attorney who represents survivors of sexual abuse in civil litigation against the institutions that failed to protect them. She has represented survivors in cases involving churches and religious organizations, schools, youth and community programs, hospitals, hotels, and some of the nation’s largest youth-serving organizations, including the Boy Scouts of America.

Valerie has helped secure significant recoveries for survivors, including a record $21.3 million settlement on behalf of a survivor who was sexually abused at an Ohio hotel. The settlement was the largest reported sexual abuse settlement in Ohio for an individual survivor and among the largest individual-survivor sexual abuse settlements in the country. Valerie later presented the strategy behind the case at a national conference hosted by the National Center for Victims of Crime, discussing how the legal team used experts and scientific evidence to overcome statutory damage caps.

Valerie began her career as a private investigator before attending law school and becoming a prosecutor. As an Assistant Solicitor with South Carolina’s Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office, she investigated and tried criminal cases and worked closely with law enforcement, victims, witnesses, and their families.

Valerie now brings that investigative and prosecutorial experience to her work on behalf of survivors. She looks beyond the immediate act of abuse to understand how it was allowed to happen, who had the opportunity to prevent it, and what evidence can show where an institution failed. Her experience working with victims in the criminal justice system also shaped the way she works with clients today. Valerie understands that the legal process itself can be difficult for survivors and believes they should understand what is happening in their case, why it is happening, and what comes next.

Valerie previously served on the Board of Directors of Greenlight Family Services, which provides free, confidential counseling and other services to survivors of sexual harm. She has been recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America for Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs and as an Emerging Lawyer in Personal Injury by Law Bulletin Media.

Valerie earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from Chicago-Kent College of Law and her B.A. in Political Science, summa cum laude, from the University of South Carolina, with a minor in Criminal Justice. She is licensed to practice law in Illinois and South Carolina.