Margaret ElleryTrials & Disputes
Seven partners,one floor of 224 S. LaSalle
Our trial team has taken 34 cases to verdict. Most of our cases still settle, and opposing counsel knows why.
Business lawyers on LaSalle Street since 2011. Our deal lawyers and trial lawyers draft every contract together, as if it will one day be argued.
Ellery Kowal has 41 lawyers, six practices and one floor on LaSalle Street. Our deal lawyers and trial lawyers work side by side, so every agreement we draft has already survived a cross-examination.
Margaret Ellery left the U.S. Attorney’s office and Tomasz Kowal left a 1,200-lawyer firm in 2011 with one idea: the people who write your contracts should sit down the hall from the people who would defend them.
Fifteen years later we act for founder-owned companies, family businesses and the general counsel of public ones, almost all of them introduced by another client.
- 41Lawyers on one floor
- 34Cases tried to verdict
- 15Years on LaSalle Street
- 92%Matters resolved within budget
Six practices, one floor.
Each practice is led by a partner who picks up the phone, with the fee model stated up front.
01From $650/hrTrials & DisputesCommercial litigation and arbitration, from the demand letter through trial and appeal.
02From $3,500Corporate & M&ACompany sales and acquisitions, investments, governance and succession for private businesses.
03From $1,800EmploymentExecutive agreements, restrictive covenants, investigations and workplace disputes.
04From $25,000 retainerInvestigationsGrand jury subpoenas, SEC and DOJ inquiries, and independent board reviews.
05From $4,500Real EstateAcquisitions, leasing, financing and development across Chicagoland.
06From $2,400IP & TechnologySoftware and data agreements, licensing, trade secrets and biometric privacy.
Know the cost, the partner and the next step.
The work
- Company formation and operating agreement
- Executive employment agreement review
- Commercial lease review, up to 10,000 sq ft
- SaaS customer agreement template
- Biometric privacy (BIPA) compliance review
$3,500flat fee, delivered in 5 business days
- Illinois LLC or corporation filing
- Operating agreement or bylaws
- Founder equity and vesting
- One revision round
Dear Ms. Alvarez,
Discovery closes next month and the other side’s documents are in. We have used $148,200 of the $240,000 budget we agreed in March, which is where we expected to be.
- Deposed the distributor’s CFO
- Agreed protective order entered
- Second document request served
Next: expert reports. I will call you the week before.
Owen
Owen Pryce, Partner · Trials & Disputes
Master Services AgreementDraft 4 · reviewed
Article 12. Liability
12.2Except for a party’s indemnification obligations, in no event shall either party’s aggregate liability arising out of or related to arising out of1 this Agreement exceed the fees paid paid or payable2 in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim the first written notice of the claim3.
Drafted by people who try cases.
Most contract fights turn on a sentence nobody argued about at signing. Every major agreement we draft is read by a trial lawyer before you sign it.
Owen PryceTrial lawyer · note 1“Related to” is read broadly. As drafted, this cap could also limit fraud and tort claims against the other side. Decide whether that is what you want.
Tomasz KowalDeal lawyer · note 2“Paid” versus “payable”. If the customer stops paying, the cap shrinks toward zero exactly when you need it.
Margaret ElleryTrial lawyer · note 3Which date is “the claim”? Notice, demand and filing can be a year apart. Pin it to the first written notice.
Prepared for trial. That’s why most settle.
A few recent results, without the client names.
ResultMatterForumYear
$18.4MJury verdict for a regional freight carrierBreach of a five-year logistics agreement by a cold-storage operator. Nine-day trial.N.D. Ill.2025
$212MSale of a third-generation food manufacturerSale to a private-equity-backed platform, with a rollover stake for the family.Corporate2025
36hrsRestraining order for a chemicals distributorDeparting sales team took customer files. TRO, then a preliminary injunction.Cook County2024
NochargesDOJ inquiry into a device distributor closedRepresented two executives through a fourteen-month grand jury investigation.Investigations2024
DismissedBiometric privacy class actionBIPA claims against a 60-location fitness chain dismissed with prejudice.Cook County2023
$47MHeadquarters acquisition in Fulton MarketPurchase, financing and a 140,000 sq ft build-to-suit lease for a software company.Real Estate2024
$0awardedExecutive severance arbitrationDefended a manufacturer against a former CEO’s $6.2M claim. Award for our client on every count.AAA2023
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Client names withheld for confidentiality.
All representative mattersThe partner you hire is the one you get.
A partner leads every matter and takes your calls. Associates do the work that should cost less, under that partner’s supervision.
Margaret Ellery
Founding Partner · Trials & Disputes
Tried 34 cases to verdict, first as a federal prosecutor in Chicago and then for companies on both sides of the v.
- In practice
- 24 years
- Admitted
- Illinois · N.D. Ill. · 7th Cir.
What clients tell us.
Shared with permission. Names withheld at clients’ request.
They read our supply contract the way the other side’s trial lawyer eventually did. The difference is they did it two years earlier.
We sold the company our grandfather started. Tomasz made a private equity process feel like a family decision, and the price held to closing.
Our sales director left on a Friday with the customer list. We had a restraining order by Sunday afternoon.
Every month I know what we have spent, what is next and why. I have never had that from a law firm before.
Questions, answered.
Still unsure? Call (312) 555-0147 and a lawyer will talk it through.
Nothing. After the conflict check, the partner who would lead your matter spends up to 30 minutes with you on the phone or in person. If we can help, you get a written engagement letter with scope and a fee estimate before any billable work starts.
Illinois ethics rules forbid us from acting against a current client, or learning your confidential information if we can’t act for you. The check takes hours, not days, and protects you as much as us.
It depends on the work. Formations, standard agreements and most leases are fixed fees. Deals get a capped estimate. Litigation is hourly with a budget for each phase, and for strong plaintiff claims over $2 million we offer hybrid contingency arrangements.
A partner leads every matter and is your first call. Associates do the work that should cost less, under that partner’s supervision, and you will know who they are from the first week.
Yes. Our after-hours line reaches a trial partner, and we have filed for temporary restraining orders in Cook County and the Northern District of Illinois within 36 hours of the first call.
Start with a conflict check.
Before we hear the details, we confirm we can act for you. Tell us who is involved. Nothing confidential yet.
- Same business dayConflict checkWe confirm we can act for you before we hear anything confidential.
- Within two daysStrategy callThirty minutes with the partner who would lead the matter. No charge.
- Before any workEngagement letterScope, staffing and a written fee estimate, signed before anything is billed.
- Every monthStatus reportBudget against estimate, next deadlines and a plain-English summary.
Ellery Kowal LLP
224 S. LaSalle Street, 31st Floor
Chicago, IL 60604
(312) 555-0147
intake@ellerykowal.com
Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Central. After hours, for restraining orders: (312) 555-0163
Thank you.
Our intake team will confirm the conflict check by phone or email, usually the same business day. If anything changes before then, call (312) 555-0147.
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