|
|
| Practice: | Commercial Litigation, Antitrust and Competition Law, and Dealer/Distributor Litigation |
| | Experience: | Jim counsels and litigates for clients in a wide variety of complex commercial litigation matters from unfair competition and distribution disputes to partnership and employment cases, trade secret and restrictive covenant matters, and securities claims. He regularly provides compliance advice and training to corporate clients and their personnel. Unlike most lawyers, Jim represents both plaintiffs and defendants in litigated disputes.
Jim has served as counsel to opt-out plaintiffs in a number of significant antitrust cases and helps clients identify and take advantage of revenue-enhancing, litigation opportunities. |
| | Representative Matters: | Jim’s current clients include Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., USG Corp., Lloyd’s of London, TTX Co., and U.S. Silica Company. Jim has represented clients in numerous significant cases during his career including achieving successful results in:- AIG v. ACE, et al. (N.D. Ill.): serve as lead counsel in case involving allegations of decades-long fraud on workers compensation residual markets by leading insurer.
- Lloyd’s of London v. Abbott (Ill.): represent insurer in pharmaceutical recall claim involving fraud on insurer in application process.
- Park Forest Family Practice v. Steele (Ill.): successfully represent medical practice in enforcement of restrictive covenant against departing physician.
- P.H. Int’l v. Christia Confezioni (N.D. Ill.): successfully defend luxury goods manufacturer in dealer termination litigation involving claims of breach of contract, tortious interference and conspiracy.
- In re Linerboard Antitrust Litigation (E.D. PA): represent corrugated purchaser in opt-out case challenging coordinated restrictions on linerboard supply.
- Last Atlantis v. CBOT (N.D. Ill.): defend market maker in case alleging antitrust conspiracy and securities violations in options market.
- In re Vitamins Antitrust Litigation (D.D.C.): represent pet food company in recovery of damages in international price-fixing case.
- Treadco v. Bandag(American Arbitration Association): represent franchisee in bet-the-company case against franchisor.
- Bank One Dealer Litigation(American Arbitration Association): represented franchisee in price discrimination, breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, and tortious interference claim brought against its supplier.
- Venzor v. Don King Productions (N.D. Ill.): represent promoter in RICO and consumer fraud case relating to boxing match.
- In re Fruit of the Loom (D.N.J.): prosecute adversary proceeding on behalf of debtor against former executive.
- Liggett Tobacco Litigation (N.D. Ill.): represent manufacturer in RICO conspiracy and consumer fraud cases.
- Antler v. Brookdale (Ill.): represent life care facility in class action for consumer fraud and violation of the Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance.
- State of Illinois v. Nicor et al (Ill.): represent contractor in all aspects of civil litigation involving indemnity obligations, violations of the environmental protection act and common law nuisance.
- Harter v. Auto Europe (Ill.): represent car rental provider in class action alleging deceptive advertising and violations of consumer fraud act.
|
| | Bar Admissions: | Jim is a trial attorney admitted to practice in Illinois, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and several other federal district and appellate courts. He regularly litigates in state and federal courts outside the State of Illinois and serves as outside counsel to several Fortune 500 companies, trade groups, and small businesses. Jim frequently resolves cases through mediation and/or arbitration. |
| | Memberships: | Chicago Bar Association
American Bar Association, Antitrust Section
Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies, Advisory Council
Fellow, American Bar Foundation |
| | Community Involvement: | Jim is the firm’s Pro Bono Director and has leadership roles in numerous pro bono and charitable organizations including Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth, National Immigration Justice Center, Pro Bono Initiative and the Chicago Bar Foundation. |
| | Articles: | A Needle in the Eye of a Joint Venture of the NFL, Corporate Counsel, September 2010
Antitrust Comes Calling on the Insurance Industry, Corporate Counsel, November 2009
Antitrust and the Bowl Championship Series, Corporate Counsel, March 2009
The Viability of the Deepening Insolvency Theory of Liability in Failed Insurer Proceedings, Mealey’s Litigation Report: Insurance Insolvency, Vol. 20, No. 6, October 2008
Avoiding the Harmonization Trap: Making Sure Your Antitrust Compliance Program is Truly Global in Scope, Corporate Counsel, May 2008
Turning Your Legal Department Into a Profit Center: Opting Out of Class Action Litigation, The Antitrust Counselor, Corporate Counseling Committee, Section of Antitrust Law, American Bar Association, Vol. 3.4, October 2007
Setting Resale Prices Following Leegin, Corporate Counsel, September 2007
New First Year Salaries Mean More Alternative Fee Arrangements, Corporate Counsel, July 2007
Examining Dr. Miles’ Proscription on Retail Price Maintenance, Corporate Counsel, June 2007
Refining the Masushita Standard and the Role Economics Can Play, with James Langenfeld, Loyola University Chicago Law Journal, pp. 507-512, Vol. 38, No. 3 (Spring 2007)
It’s 2007, Do You Know Where Your Electronic Data Is?, Corporate Counsel, March 2007
Promoting the Language of Fair Competition, Corporate Counsel, December 2006
Avoiding the Harmonization Trap: Focus on US/EU Vertical Regulation and Implications for Antitrust Analysis and Compliance, Antitrust Compliance Bulletin, Compliance and Ethics Committee, Section of Antitrust Law, American Bar Association, November 2006
The Supreme Court Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of Matsushita By Agreeing to Hear a Case that May Supplant It, Corporate Counsel, September 2006
Supreme Court Clarifies that a Patent Does Not Automatically Confer an Antitrust Monopoly, Corporate Counsel, July 2006
Class Action Recovery Firms: A Note of Caution, Corporate Counsel, June 2006
Thinking Like Plaintiffs About Revenue-Enhancing Litigation, Corporate Counsel, December 2005
State Action Doctrine Protects Wisconsin Tavern Owners’ Agreement to Cut Back on Drink Specials, Corporate Counsel, July 2005
Maximizing Your Results in Settlement: Use it But Don't Be a Victim of the Numbers Game, Corporate Counsel, March 2005
Offering Price Support to Your Distributors: Some Do's and Don't's, Corporate Counsel, November 2004
Information Surveys and Exchanges Among Competitors: A Few Simple Rules, Corporate Counsel, August 2004
Classing Up Class Action Litigation: How the Reforms Pending in Congress May Affect the Defense of Class Actions, Corporate Counsel, May 2004
Don't Throw Away That Class Action Notice: Opting Out of Antitrust Class Litigation, Corporate Counsel, December 2003
Effective Use of Mediation to Avoid Settlements on the Courthouse Steps, Corporate Counsel, August 2003
The Law Against Resale Price Maintenance: Alive and Well and Not Afraid to Take on the Former Champ’s Signature Product, Corporate Counsel, May 2003
“We’re Safe as Long as We Meet Outside the U.S.” and Other Fairy Tales About the Scope of the U.S. Antitrust Laws, Corporate Counsel, December 2002
| | Speeches: | The Law Firm Insiders' View of Giving to Legal Aid, Management Information Exchange, July 2009
Immigration for the Non-Immigrant Lawyer: Asylum, Chicago Bar Association, October 2006
Proof of Conspiracy and Summary Judgment, Loyola Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies Program on Matsushita at 20: Proof of Conspiracy, Summary Judgment, and the Role of the Economist, September 2006
Initiating Revenue Producing Litigation in Your Role as a Corporate Steward, ALM's Corporate Counsel Forum, May 2006
Minimizing and Controlling Litigation Costs, Chicago Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel, April 2006
Expense & Time – It’s All About the Money, ALM's T3 Trial Tactics & Technology Seminar, December 2005
Creative Ways to Incorporate Pro Bono Work into Your Practice, Rhode Island Bar Association, June 2005
Complex Case Juries - Antitrust and other Federal Litigation Matters, Seventh Circuit Bar Association Program (in conjunction with the Chicago Bar Association/Illinois State Bar Association), February 2005
The Clients Speak – Best Practices in Litigation, American Lawyer Media's Litigators and Leaders Summit, October 2004
Opt-Out Antitrust Litigation, Chicago Bar Association/Illinois State Bar Association, Joint Antitrust Section Meeting, October 2003 |
| | Education: | J.D., Northwestern University School of Law, 1992- Book Review Editor, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 1991-1992
B.A. (Government and Modern Languages), cum laude, University of Notre Dame, 1987 |
| | Personal: | Jim and his wife Maggie, Senior Counsel at NiSource, Inc., live in Chicago with their two children. Before law school, Jim worked in Washington, DC at the Refugee Policy Group and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. |
|
|     |
| |