We bring several decades of aggressive and creative dispute resolution experience to the practice of civil litigation and appeals.  Our attorneys have the necessary insight and experience to manage complex litigation with precision to efficiently resolve our clients' business disputes in the federal and state trial and appeals courts, arbitration and mediation venues, and across the negotiation table.  The dispute resolution process begins and ends with the client's objectives.

• Contract Breaches and Commercial Disputes
• Enforcement of Commercial Loan and Related Agreements and Foreclosure of Security Agreements
  
• Creditors' Rights and Bankruptcy Litigation
• Reorganization and Workout Proceedings
• Foreclosure Actions
• Chancery and Special Remedies
• Securities Litigation and Arbitration
• Real Estate Disputes
• Corporate, Shareholder, and Partnership Matters
• Trade Secrets and Unfair and Illegal Competition
• Wrongful Termination
• Retaliatory Discharge
• Discrimination
• Harassment
• Non-Compete Agreements and Restraints
• Probate, Estate and Trust Litigation
  
• Tax Controversies
• Warranty Disputes

We work closely with our clients to select the strategies and tactics that will allow clients to achieve their objectives in the most cost-effective manner. From pre-trial discovery through verdict and, if necessary, appeal, we conduct litigation as efficiently as possible, making sure that we keep our clients informed as to the status of their matters and stay within budgets.

As true business counselors, we evaluate every dispute to determine whether a trial is the best path to resolution, or whether some form of negotiated settlement might be a more efficient route to our clients' objective. We are experienced in applying the latest alternative dispute resolution techniques, including arbitration, mediation, mini-trials, and other alternatives to litigation.

Representative Cases

• Harris Bank Hinsdale v. Caliendo.  We successfully represented a bank in a $5.5 million commercial loan default that resulted in the foreclosure and the selling off of several properties on behalf of the bank.  Our work included securing a dismissal of the debtor's bankruptcy case; completing foreclosures in state court; securing a dismissal of an 8-count lender liability claim; then prevailing in the appeal of the Circuit Court's decision.  Our bank client recovered all sums due it.
  
• Bruce Barron v. Wachovia Securities, LLC.     We won an arbitration award for a stockbroker in the sum of $865,000 in compensatory damages resulting from wrongful termination and Form U-5 defamation.  Additionally, Wachovia was ordered to remove the defamatory language from our client's publicly-available employment record.
• Swenson v. Oxford Bank & Trust.     We won a jury verdict of more than $300,000 (representing all damages requested) for our client Swenson for Oxford Bank's breach of fiduciary duty in managing his retirement portfolio.
• Torrence v. Edward D. Jones & Co.     We won an NASD arbitration award and judgment of more than $2.6 million in favor of our clients against Edward D. Jones and Co. for its negligent advice and management of our client's investments.
• Allied Van Lines v. Aaron Transfer & Storage.     We obtained a $200,000 judgment, including reimbursement of attorney's fees, against a corporation and several personal guarantors who refused to pay its outstanding account balance.
• Pate's Bakery LLC v. The Delicious DFC Company.     We obtained a $700,000 settlement for our manufacturer client against a distributor for breach and wrongful termination of an output contract.
• Petersen v. Wallach.     Petersen, a beneficiary, obtained malpractice compensation caused by unnecessary estate/death taxes of $240,000. The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that beneficiaries financially harmed by estate planning attorney's negligence have the ability to sue, overturning the lower court's ruling that automatically barred such negligent claims six years from the date of the negligent advice.
• Roman, Inc. v. Bethlehem Lights, Inc.     We obtained a $1,000,000 settlement for our distributor client against their manufacturer for wrongful termination of a distribution agreement.

Read our articles and view our webinars on relevant topics from a litigator's perspective, such as managing risks in employment terminations, recovering your losses, and protecting yourself from personal liability in becoming the trustee of a family trust, or why home contractors should fear the Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act.  Please contact us for more information.

Contact:
Jack L. Haan
Henry N. Novoselsky
Steven C. Filipowski
James J. Eccleston