Editorial: Arbitration in Illinois

01 October 2006

Among the former judges are the three representatives of JAMS Resolution Centre in Chicago. The “single most prominent arbitrator in the group” is Abner Mikva, who sat as chief judge of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1994. Respondents were effusive in their praise for the former White House counsel to President Clinton; referring to Mikva’s “razorsharp mind” and “practical, effective approach”. Equally well-known for his work as a mediator, he was seen as being capable across a range of disputes from commercial contract work and securities to toxic tort and employment related matters. Alongside him in the following pages is Richard Neville, a “terrific arbitrator” who is “well-respected in the community”. Our sources commented on the “seemingly endless” depth of his knowledge, and said he is especially recognised for his work as sole arbitrator in several multimillion dollar cases, including a US$30 million product liability dispute in the automobile industry and a US$60 million dollar international antitrust dispute. Also from JAMS is Stephen Schiller, an “uncommonly good neutral” and “someone I would trust to do a fine job on the largest disputes”.

Another figure with experience of the bench and now in private practice is Brian Crowe at Shefsky & Froelich. A former judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, he is said to be “at the top of the game as both arbitrator and counsel” and is “very much in demand” for domestic matters in particular. Respondents also mentioned his reputation as a “terrific mediator”.

No institution or firm dominates the research. Practitioners from international law firms, niche firms and sole practitioners – such as independent arbitrator and mediator William Jentes – all feature in the following pages. A litigation partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP for nearly 40 years, the “informative, reliable and effective” Jentes now focuses on mediation and arbitration and is a member of the American Arbitration Association’s commercial roster and its International Centre for Dispute Resolution roster, the CPR international construction, oil and gas, and technology arbitration and mediation panels, and the rosters of the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration, the London Court of International Arbitration, the NASD and the Chicago International Dispute Resolution Association.

Balancing his practice between domestic and overseas matters, he has an “enviable international profile” and has worked with parties from Europe, South America and Asia and across industries including the banking, construction and manufacturing industries. Based in Evanston, John Morrison is, in common with Jentes, a former partner at Kirkland & Ellis and a member of the Chicago International Dispute Resolution Association (CIDRA). A “reliable, conscientious and effective” arbitrator, Morrison has conducted proceedings under the rules of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution and AAA and is a member of the London Court of International Arbitration.

Another “shining light” in this field is former dean of Chicago’s John Marshall Law School Leonard Jay Schrager. Interviewees commented that Schrager is “so good he’s got a prize named after him” – the Chicago Bar Association’s Leonard Jay Schrager Award for Excellence – and he was described as an “exceptionally fine arbitrator” with a “truly excellent reputation”. The comments made about him are best summed up by one interviewee’s contention that “he would be at the top of anyone’s list”. Before his work at John Marshall, Schrager served as named partner of the firm now known as Sachnoff & Weaver. His former colleague and founding partner Lowell Sachnoff also appears at the head of the research. A “very impressive operator who always does his homework”, Sachnoff was recommended for both his international and domestic arbitration work, and is “one of the best in town for intellectual property related disputes”.

Another individual to make an impact in the higher reaches of the research is Gerald Saltarelli, founding partner of Butler Rubin Saltarelli & Boyd LLP. The firm is “one of the best litigation shops in town”, and Saltarelli marries a “first-rate” litigation practice with his “smart and pragmatic” arbitration work. Well-known for his work in the AAA’s commercial and large, complex case panels, he was said to be “one of the giants in the field” and a “calm, rigorous and effective operator”. Peter Baugher at Schopf & Weiss LLP is another lawyer with a strong litigation practice. His firm is “one of the local leaders for business litigation”, and Baugher’s “stellar reputation” in the Chicago legal community is partly based on his court experience representing high-profile clients in commercial banking, breach of contract and fraud-related matters. Baugher is best known, however, for his role as president of the CIDRA, and as the principal drafter of Illinois’s 1998 International Commercial Arbitration Act. Particularly recommended for his international practice, he is also recognised for his work as an independent arbitrator and as an arbitrator for the AAA and NASD.

Kent Lawrence of Lawrence Kamin Saunders & Uhlenhop LLC has a “fine reputation, and deservedly so because he is a realistic, effective arbitrator”, and is well known for his work through CIDRA, where he is an approved neutral arbitrator and mediator. A veteran of over 75 cases as arbitrator under the auspices of the AAA, NASD, NFA and CCR among others (over 50 of which resulted in the rendering of awards), he also taught a class in commercial arbitration at Northwestern University School of Law as an adjunct professor for 11 years.

There is also arbitration expertise to be found in the Chicago offices of international firms. Alexander Vesselinovitch at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP was singled out as a “very fine practitioner”. Interviewees acknowledged his quality in domestic contractual and licensing disputes, but it was for his international work that he stood out: “He knows more about Russia and Eastern Europe than any other US based lawyer I’ve met,” said one interviewee. An approved neutral at the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution in New York, he is also known for his activities as vice chair of the international commercial dispute resolution committee of the ABA Section of International Law.

At McDermott Will & Emery LLP, Robert Bouma is “one of the smartest guys around” with an “in-depth understanding of business issues” gleaned from in-house roles including associate general counsel of Monsanto, senior vice president and GC of Household International and senior group counsel of Xerox Corporation. “Well known in the industry” for both his arbitration and mediation abilities, he is a member of the Chicago alternative dispute resolution panel of the Center for Public Resources and recently concluded a major arbitration in New York relating to insurance coverage growing out of a major power shortage and shutdown in that city, involving the HSB Group in Hartford and American Protection.

Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw LLP has a presence in this chapter through the inclusion of Javier Rubinstein. Praised for his “worldwide practice” in the field, he was singled out for his Latin American expertise in particular, and is known for his representation of the Argentine Republic in multiple arbitral proceedings pending before ICSID tribunals as well as in ad hoc proceedings governed by the UNCITRAL rules, among others. He has a “thorough and practical working knowledge across a range of institutions and types of dispute”, including joint ventures, contractual, arbitrability and investor-state matters.

Several of the arbitration specialists we feature were recognised elsewhere in the publication for their skills in other areas. Two such polymaths are Stanley Sklar at Bell Boyd & Lloyd LLC and Paul Lurie at Schiff Hardin LLP. Both feature among the leading construction lawyers in the state, and unsurprisingly their arbitration expertise is predominantly in this area. Sklar is rated as “one of the leaders in the field” and is an elected fellow in the College of Commercial Arbitrators. In addition to being designated panel chair for many disputes, he has mediated and arbitrated claims in excess of US$5 million. These include claims relating to design defects, change order disputes, contract interpretation and delay claims across a range of projects, such as underground tunnelling, parking structures and processing plants, as well as multi-party disputes involving insurance claims, commercial and industrial building construction and commercial lease disputes. Lurie was similarly well regarded in the research, with comments such as “one of the deans of Chicago ADR” typifying the response we received. A member of the AAA’s Master Panel for large and complex cases, he has recently arbitrated multimilliondollar cases involving the design and construction of metal processing plants, stadiums, airports and museums, and can claim never to have had an award overturned on appeal. In addition, he is a member the National Construction Disputes Resolution Committee, the body responsible for writing the industry-standard AAA arbitration rules.

As mentioned, arbitration expertise in Chicago often goes hand in-hand with a strong litigation practice. Kimball Anderson of Winston & Strawn LLP is an “outstanding” example, “undeniably impressive both in the courtroom and in arbitration proceedings”. In the past year he sat as an arbitrator in the Nokia v Interdigital Communications arbitration administered by the ICC International Court of Arbitration, which involved a licensing dispute covering a multitude of telecommunications patents with hundreds of millions of dollars at issue. At Jenner & Block LLP, Robert Byman is one of two partners to appear in more than one chapter. As well as receiving sufficient votes to be included among the top commercial litigators in Illinois, he is also a member of the AAA’s commercial panel of arbitrators and was praised both for his work as arbitrator – particularly in complex patent matters – and for his representation of clients in arbitration proceedings. His colleague in the Chicago office Thomas Sullivan can also claim representation in multiple chapters, and combines a “first-rate” arbitration and mediation practice with his highly rated business crime defence work. Mentioned for his work successfully representing Ortho Biotech in arbitration proceedings against Amgen, “He would be on everyone’s list of the finest dispute resolution specialists,” according to one interviewee.

Gardner Carton & Douglas LLP is home to a couple of the area’s top figures. Gordon Nash has heard cases administered by the AAA and JAMS Endispute, and is seen as “independent, very knowledgeable and very highly regarded” by his peers. His colleague David Kay is chairman of the corporate department and of the operating committee of the firm and is “extremely well-known, he clearly belongs on a list of the best”. Our sources were particularly impressed by his international work (“few other Illinois lawyers are as well known abroad”); he is a member of the London Court of International Arbitration and sits as arbitrator for the AAA and ICC.

Wildman Harrold Allen & Dixon LLP’s representation on our list includes former chairman of the management committee Jerald Esrick. An “excellent practitioner”, he serves on the AAA’s national panel of commercial arbitrators and was singled out for his work in healthcare-related disputes, as well as contract and high-tech disputes. His colleague Roderic Heard has acted as arbitrator for AAA and CPR, (where he is a ‘distinguished neutral’), in commercial, securities and financial arbitrations, and also frequently acts as advocate in domestic and international arbitrations. In addition, he is a member of CIDRA and teaches a course in commercial arbitration at DePaul’s Law School.

The final firm with two partners in our list is Miller Shakman & Beem LLP. Named partner Michael Shakman is perhaps best known locally for the federal court ‘Shakman Decrees’, the 1983 court order and consenting judgments which enjoined patronage hiring and firing of public employees in Chicago and Illinois. According to his peers, “few other lawyers have made such an impact on the local legal market”, and he is also said to be a “first-rate arbitrator of the very highest integrity”. His colleague, the “terrific” Stuart Widman, has acted as the arbitrator or mediator in claims totalling over US$225 million, and is also a “top-tier” counsel in ADR proceedings. An arbitrator for the AAA, NASD, National Futures Association and Chicago Mercantile Exchange business conduct committee with experience of teaching at DePaul University College of Law, he was also singled out for his “meticulous and often brilliant” work in drafting arbitration clauses.

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