Results, without the names.

16 matters from 2023 to 2026, across all six practices. We don’t name clients. Ask the partner who led any of them and they will tell you what they can.

A lawyer addressing the bench in a bright, wood-panelled federal courtroom

34Cases tried to verdict

92%Matters resolved within budget

$483MValue of the transactions listed below

36 hrsFrom first call to a signed restraining order

The ledger, 2023 to 2026.

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Client names are withheld; open any matter for what happened and who led it.

ResultMatterForumYear

$86MSale of a Midwest HVAC services companySale to a strategic acquirer with a two-year earn-out and a retention plan for 40 technicians.The founder wanted his technicians looked after. We tied part of the earn-out to retention rather than revenue, which the buyer preferred too, and closed eleven weeks after signing the letter of intent.

Led by Tomasz Kowal
Corporate & M&APrivate sale2026

4monthsIndependent investigation for a family boardAllegations of misconduct against the chief executive of a family-owned manufacturer.Forty-one interviews and 180,000 documents. The board received a written report and recommendations in four months, and made its decision on the CEO the following week.

Led by Marcus Leland
InvestigationsBoard review2026

$18.4MJury verdict for a regional freight carrierBreach of a five-year logistics agreement by a cold-storage operator. Nine-day trial.The cold-storage operator walked away from the contract in year three, claiming the carrier had missed temperature specifications. We showed the specifications had been changed by email and never agreed. The jury awarded lost profits for the remaining term.

Led by Margaret Ellery
Trials & DisputesN.D. Ill.2025

$212MSale of a third-generation food manufacturerSale to a private-equity-backed platform, with a rollover stake for the family.An auction with four private equity bidders. We negotiated a 30 percent rollover for the family, kept the plant manager’s team on retention agreements and capped the indemnity at ten percent of the price.

Led by Tomasz Kowal
Corporate & M&APrivate sale2025

$9.6MArbitration award for a packaging supplierPrice-escalation dispute with a national beverage bottler under a five-year supply agreement.The bottler refused resin-cost increases the contract allowed after the 2022 price spike. The award covered the unpaid increases, interest and our client’s legal fees.

Led by Owen Pryce
Trials & DisputesJAMS2025

$120MWarehouse portfolio in the I-55 corridorAcquisition and financing of three Class A distribution centers for a regional logistics owner.Three sellers, two lenders and one closing date. Title and survey review turned up an unrecorded access easement on one site, which we resolved with the neighboring owner before closing.

Led by Helen Brandt
Real EstateAcquisition2025

$18MSeries B for a Chicago health-data companyCompany counsel on the round, including a data-licensing review before the investors’ diligence.Before the round opened we re-papered the company’s hospital data licenses so diligence found no surprises. The term sheet closed without a price adjustment.

Led by Tomasz Kowal
Corporate & M&AVenture round2025

ClosedSEC inquiry into revenue recognitionCounsel to the audit committee of a Nasdaq-listed industrial supplier. Closed without enforcement.The staff questioned bill-and-hold sales at quarter end. We ran the committee’s review, produced documents on a rolling basis and presented findings in person. The staff closed the inquiry with no recommendation of action.

Led by Marcus Leland
InvestigationsSEC2025

36hrsRestraining order for a chemicals distributorDeparting sales team took customer files. TRO, then a preliminary injunction.Three sales managers resigned on a Friday and opened accounts for a competitor on Monday. We had forensic images of their laptops by Saturday, a TRO by Sunday afternoon and a preliminary injunction five weeks later.

Led by Danielle Okafor
EmploymentCook County2024

NochargesDOJ inquiry into a device distributor closedRepresented two executives through a fourteen-month grand jury investigation.The government was examining rebates paid to hospital buyers. We made two presentations to the U.S. Attorney’s office on the rebate program’s legal review. Neither executive was charged and the company paid no penalty.

Led by Marcus Leland
InvestigationsDOJ2024

$47MHeadquarters acquisition in Fulton MarketPurchase, financing and a 140,000 sq ft build-to-suit lease for a software company.A four-party transaction: land purchase from a family trust, construction financing, a developer agreement and the company’s fifteen-year lease. Zoning was approved before closing, so the company carried no entitlement risk.

Led by Helen Brandt
Real EstateAcquisition2024

AffirmedDefense verdict upheld on appealWarranty and fraud claims against an industrial controls maker. Verdict for our client, affirmed by the Seventh Circuit.A food processor blamed our client’s controls for a $14M line shutdown. After a seven-day trial the jury found for our client on every claim, and the Seventh Circuit affirmed in a published opinion.

Led by Margaret Ellery
Trials & Disputes7th Cir.2024

DismissedEarn-out suit against a software buyerFormer owners claimed $22M in earn-out payments after a 2021 sale. Dismissed at the pleadings stage.The sellers argued the buyer had steered revenue away from the acquired product. The purchase agreement gave the buyer sole discretion over operations, and the Court of Chancery held the claims were barred by it.

Led by Margaret Ellery
Trials & DisputesDel. Ch.2024

DismissedBiometric privacy class actionBIPA claims against a 60-location fitness chain dismissed with prejudice.The plaintiffs claimed members’ fingerprints were collected without written consent. We showed the chain had used a written release since 2016 and that the vendor never stored the templates. The court dismissed the case with prejudice.

Led by Arjun Sethi
IP & TechnologyCook County2023

$0awardedExecutive severance arbitrationDefended a manufacturer against a former CEO’s $6.2M claim. Award for our client on every count.The former chief executive argued he had been terminated without cause. We showed board minutes and his own emails establishing the cause provisions had been met. The arbitrator also awarded our client its fees.

Led by Danielle Okafor
EmploymentAAA2023

$31MBuyout for frozen-out minority ownersShareholder oppression claims by two siblings in a family distribution business. Settled the week before trial.Our clients held 40 percent of the company and had received no distributions for six years. The valuation expert’s report and a trial date did the rest: a buyout at full value, paid over three years with security.

Led by Owen Pryce
Trials & DisputesCook County2023

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Client names withheld for confidentiality. Figures are verdicts, awards or transaction values as reported at closing.

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