Litigation

Gould & Ratner's litigation practice is national in scope and includes complex commercial matters for public companies, including those that comprise the Fortune 500, as well as complicated business matters for the firm's traditional client base of closely held and family businesses. Our Litigation Group attorneys are highly skilled and experienced trial lawyers, practical and bottom-line oriented, yet as tough as a client wants them to be, whether in state or federal court or before an administrative agency. Our experience extends beyond the trial level, as is evidenced by the group's extensive record of appellate advocacy. The firm's litigation partners are sought out to handle difficult appeals and have argued cases before a number of appellate forums, including the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Illinois Appellate and Supreme Courts. For clients seeking other dispute resolution alternatives, our litigation attorneys represent clients before court-appointed and privately selected arbitrators and mediators.

Our commercial litigation experience includes representing clients in a wide variety of matters, with significant focus on:

• Corporate, Partnership, Closely Held Business and Securities Litigation
• Real Estate Litigation
• Construction Law
• Product Distribution Litigation
• Employment Litigation
• Intellectual Property, Technology and E-Commerce Litigation
• Mining and Minerals Litigation
• Creditors' Rights and Bankruptcy Litigation

Clients ask us to appear in the boardroom as well as in the courtroom.

At Gould & Ratner, our trial lawyers are also business lawyers - professionals who understand that litigation can be an important tool for achieving a client's business goals, but is not an end that is always desired. The firm's litigation team does not just find a solution for a particular problem and then disappear once the matter has been resolved. Clients seek out our litigation group attorneys to represent their ongoing business legal needs, such as adjusting certain business practices after a dispute has been settled or advising on preventative measures that can avoid litigation. Our clients look to us to provide recommendations on how various dispute resolution alternatives can be used effectively and economically.

Gould & Ratner – a sound choice.

In addition to our experience, business acumen and tenacity, our clients retain us because they want to deal directly with partners, and not experience the "associate shuffle." At Gould & Ratner, clients benefit from large firm sophistication and resources, combined with small firm economies, service and attention.

Sub-services

• Construction Law
• Corporate, Partnership, Closely Held Business and Securities Litigation
• Real Estate Litigation
• Product Distribution Litigation
• Employment Litigation
• Intellectual Property, Technology and E-Commerce Litigation
• Mining and Minerals Litigation
• Creditors' Rights and Bankruptcy Litigation

News

• Gould & Ratner's Daniel McCabe Named Among Law Bulletin's "40 Under 40" for 2008
• Multi-Million Dollar Arbitration Victory for a Pharmaceutical Company

Articles

• How Not to Purchase an Outparcel, November 2007
• Subcontractor's Lien: Its Nature and Enforcement, 2007
• Sarbanes--Oxley and the Closely Held Business: Criminalizing Retaliation Against Whistleblowers
• The Importance of Corporate Formalities in Protecting Officers and Shareholders from Personal Liability
• Update: Supreme Court to Hear Wetlands Cases
• Construction Damages, 2004
• Illinois Legal Ethics, March 2001
• Survey of Hawai`i Employment Privacy Law, 1999
• Formation of Contracts and Creation of Contractual and Quasi-Contractual Relationships, 1997
• Judicial Review of International Arbitral Awards: Preserving Independence in International Commercial Arbitration, Winter 1997
• Trial Practice: Breach and Damages, 1994
• Trial Practice: Proof of Selected Issues, 1994
• Increased Press Access to Government Information: Limiting the Range of Government Classification, 1992
• Final Preparations for Trial
• Mediation or Lessons I Learned from the "Untouchables"

Publications

• The Top Six Things One Should Know About The New Bankruptcy Reform Legislation, March 15, 2007