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Attorneys

Richard N. Kessler

Chicago Managing Member

Practice Focus

Professional Experience

Richard concentrates his practice exclusively in litigation. A former prosecutor with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s office, Richard brings extensive trial experience to bear in a variety of complex commercial disputes. Representing public and private companies, as well as individuals, Richard’s formidable trial experience includes shareholder rights, business divorces, employment disputes, actions for emergency injunctive relief, claims involving construction defects, land use, zoning and commercial real estate disputes, Richard has prosecuted and defended commercial cases in various state and federal courts throughout the United States.

Richard has extensive experience as an arbitrator, arbitrator chairperson and as counsel in alternative dispute resolution cases involving shareholder disputes, injunctive relief, commercial contracts and real estate and construction matters.

Richard has authored numerous articles and frequently lectures in the areas of employment agreements and the enforceability of covenants restricting competition, shareholders’ statutory rights and civil and criminal contempt.

Education

  • Illinois Institute of Technology - Chicago-Kent College of Law, J.D. (1982)
  • University of Illinois, B.A. (1979)

State Admissions

  • Illinois

Court Admissions

  • 7th Circuit Federal Trial Bar
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois

Professional Associations

  • Illinois State Bar Association
  • Lake County Bar Association - Chair of Civil Trial and Appeals Committee
  • Jefferson Inns of Court

Publications

  • E-discovery Preparation: The Rule 26(f) Conference – Knowledge is Half the Battle,  The Journal, Fall 2008
  • Non-Reliance Clauses as a Bar to Fraud Claims – How to Reduce Your Risk of Liability in a Transaction, Lake County Docket, July 2007
  • The Harsh Reality of Illinois Supreme Court Rule 216 and Federal Rule 36 – Requests for Admission of Fact or of Genuineness of Documents – The Movement to Increase Flexibility in its Application, Lake County Docket, June 2006
  • Shareholder’s Right to Inspect Books and Records under the Illinois Business Corporation Act – Lake County Docket, June 2004
  • Anatomy of a Covenant – A Look at Restrictive Covenants in Illinois, Lake County Docket, June 2003

Presentations

  • Anatomy of a Covenant – Employment Law Committee and the Civil Trial and Appeals Committee of the Lake County Bar Association, November 2012
  • Direct Examination, Young Lawyers Division of the Lake County Bar Association, October 2012
  • Prosecuting a Successful TRO – Employment Agreement Restrictive Covenants, Lake County Bar Association Spring Seminar, May 2012
  • Electronic Discovery – A Brave New World, Lake County Bar Association Spring Seminar, Lake Geneva, WI, May 2007
  • How to Protect Your Business and Employees from Walking Out The Door Through Effective Employment Agreements, University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana, February 2007
  • Illinois Supreme Court Rule 216, Requests for Admissions of Fact, Lake County Bar Association Spring Seminar, Lake Geneva, WI, May 2006
  • Shareholders' Rights Under Illinois BCA Sec 7.75, Lake County Bar Association Spring Seminar, Lake Geneva, WI, May 2004

Awards and Honors

  • Recipient of the Distinguished Member Award from the Lake County Bar Association (2012)
  • Selected for inclusion in Illinois Super Lawyers (2010-2013)
  • AV Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
  • Voted Volunteer “Lawyer of the Year” by the Lake County Volunteer Lawyer Program (1992)
  • Honored as a Jaycee Outstanding Young Man of the Year (1984)
Phone
312-642-2210
FAX
312-280-8232
Locations
  • 300 N. LaSalle Street
    Suite 2100
    Chicago, IL 60654