Notable Cases

United States v. Will

This was a groundbreaking U.S. Supreme Court case involving a novel constitutional question under the Constitution’s Diminution Clause. We represented the class of all federal judges in this class action brought to challenge the constitutionality of certain Acts of Congress that withheld cost-of-living salary adjustments due to the judiciary. We briefed and argued the case in the lower courts and in the U.S. Supreme Court.  In addition to substantial salary increases, this case produced back-pay awards totaling $10 million for federal judges.

Jorgensen v. Blagojevich

This was a groundbreaking U.S. Supreme Court case involving a novel constitutional question under the Constitution’s Diminution Clause. We represented the class of all federal judges in this class action brought to challenge the constitutionality of certain Acts of Congress that withheld cost-of-living salary adjustments due to the judiciary. We briefed and argued the case in the lower courts and in the U.S. Supreme Court.  In addition to substantial salary increases, this case produced back-pay awards totaling $10 million for federal judges.

Hertz Corp. v. City of Chicago

We represented Enterprise Rent-a-Car in this constitutional challenge to the City of Chicago’s “Extraterritorial Car Rental Tax.”  We successfully obtained review, and won, in the Supreme Court of Illinois.  The Court found the tax unconstitutional.

Rahm Emanuel Residency Litigation

We were trial and appellate counsel for then-candidate Rahm Emanuel in the litigation challenging his qualifications to run for Mayor of Chicago.  The Supreme Court of Illinois unanimously reversed the Appellate Court and affirmed the Hearing Officer’s recommendation that Mr. Emanuel was qualified to run for Mayor.

City of Chicago FOIA Litigation

We were Mayor Emanuel’s personal counsel in two lawsuits in which various organizations sued under FOIA to obtain access to Mayor Emanuel’s personal emails and text messages.  The judge required Mayor Emanuel to produce only a small fraction of his emails but largely upheld our objections to producing anything more.

Price v. Philip Morris

We acted as co-counsel in a successful appeal to the Supreme Court of Illinois, obtaining a reversal of a $12 billion judgment that had been entered by a downstate Illinois court against Philip Morris.

Chicago Board of Trade Demutualization Litigation

We successfully represented the Chicago Board of Trade and its Directors in litigation in the federal, Illinois, and Delaware courts over the CBOT’s demutualization.

CME Group, Inc., et al. v. Chicago Board Options Exchange, Inc. et al.

We represented the class of CBOT members in this lawsuit that arose when the CBOE attempted to terminate the CBOT members’ ownership and trading rights on the CBOE.  The litigation involved proceedings in the Delaware Court of Chancery and before the SEC.  We obtained a settlement for our clients of cash and stock worth $1 billion.

LAMPERS v. CBOT Holdings, et al.

We represented the CBOT and its Directors in this shareholder lawsuit litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery resulting from the CBOT’s Board approval of the merger with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and rejection of a competing proposal.  The case settled, the merger closed, and the merger created the largest futures exchange in the world and one of the largest companies in Chicago.

Guvenoz v. Target Corporation and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.

We successfully represented the plaintiff in this appeal involving a products liability lawsuit brought against a generic drug manufacturer and distributor that asserted federal conflict preemption defenses. The case was one of the first in the United States in which a court rejected a federal preemption defense raised by a generic drug manufacturer.

Ammons v. Canadian National Railway

We successfully represented CN in this appeal to the Supreme Court of Illinois.  The Court reversed the Appellate Court and upheld the right of the railroad to assert a counterclaim for property damage in a FELA case.

Wexford Property Consultants v. Martin, et al.

We represented a company owned by prominent real estate developer Sean Conlon in this dispute with a joint venture partner in the Cook County Circuit Court.  We obtained a default judgment against the lead defendant, and severe sanctions against his co-defendants, when we uncovered a series of years-long discovery violations.

Frost v. DMMD II LLC, et al.

We represented the real estate developer defendant in this trial in the Circuit Court involving claims of breach of contract, negligence, and nuisance.  We obtained a judgment in favor of our client on all counts.

Bates v. LP Manager, et al.

We represent the investors in this lawsuit against the management companies for the Maple & Ash family of restaurants.

Boeing v. Ten Oaks Management, et al.

We represented this very successful family office in a lawsuit that Boeing filed in the Western District of North Carolina. After protracted motion practice and discovery, Boeing settled the case.

RMG Sports Group v. Merrill Lynch, et al.

This was a business tort case brought by a prominent sports agent against Merrill Lynch and one of its former employees.  Merrill Lynch hired us to represent its former employee.  The plaintiff settled on the eve of trial.

Leading Global Law Firm

False Claims Act Case

We were co-counsel for one of the world’s largest law firms in a series of related cases filed in the Cook County Circuit Court.  We obtained summary judgment for our client in one, and the others settled promptly.

City of Chicago v. DoorDash

We are co-counsel for DoorDash in this regulatory enforcement case filed by the City of Chicago, currently pending in the Northern District of Illinois.

HP-A Berkeley v. DevorahCo, et al.

We represented the plaintiff joint venture (co-owned by Apollo Global Management) in this $20 million post-closing dispute over a large industrial real estate transaction.  After we prevailed on a string of important motions, the defendants settled.

We were co-counsel with a global law firm in defending a huge False Claims Act case against an international private equity firm.  The case settled just before trial

Roundup Litigation

We were co-counsel with two global law firms in a Roundup case in Cook County Circuit Court with very significant damages claims.  The case settled on the eve of trial.