Doug has first chaired myriad trials and arbitrations, arising from a practice where he represents plaintiffs and defendants in commercial disputes throughout the country.
A significant portion of his practice is the prosecution and defense of trade secret and restrictive covenant cases, where he helps employers and employees alike, often in conjunction where a new job opportunity is at hand, navigate the myriad jurisdictional, legal and strategic issues that these cases present. With sound advice and counseling, the overwhelming majority of these cases are resolved before litigation, or shortly thereafter. When such is not possible, Doug has tried these cases, including contested hearings short of trials with fact and expert witness examinations, including direct and cross-examination courtroom experience with computer forensic experts regarding data theft claims. Doug has handled these cases in both the employment and sale-of-business contexts, in industries including accounting, software, healthcare, shipping logistics, natural resources, food, manufacturing, biotechnology, service contracts, and many others, and in numerous jurisdictions including California, Colorado, New York, Arizona, Oregon, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, New Jersey and Florida.
The other portion of Doug’s practice is focused on commercial litigation and arbitration, where he often represents plaintiffs and has recovered more than $50 million for such clients through settlements and trial verdicts. This commercial practice recently has concerned LLC ownership interests, efforts to forfeit executive compensation and equity grants, real-estate acquisition disputes, consumer class actions challenging service contracts, eminent domain, investor and securities litigation, contract and UCC law, trademarks, and personal reputation torts including defamation where Doug and Pete Hawkins just prevailed at the Illinois Supreme Court on behalf of the plaintiff in a precedent-setting defamation publication case entitled project44 Inc. v. FourKites, Inc., Docket No. 129227, opinion filed on March 21, 2024. A copy of the opinion may be found HERE
Doug and his team recently have won several other intermediate appellate victories affirming a four-day bench trial win for more than ten defendants in a tortious interference, non-compete and trade secrets case, affirming a summary judgment win for the defendant in a tax deed case, and affirming a jury verdict for the commercial land owner in an eminent domain case.
In his spare time, Doug is a Cubs season ticket holder and avid live music fan ever hopeful that he will see just one more live R.E.M. show.
Education
J.D., University of Illinois College of Law, 1995, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif
B.S., Illinois State University, 1992, cum laude
Admissions
Illinois
Courts
U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois
U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois - Trial Bar
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
