Joel G. Chefitz is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP. He is an accomplished trial and antitrust lawyer and heads the Chicago Securities Litigation Practice Group. In over 30 years of practice, Joel has achieved a record of consistent success in complex business litigation, including antitrust, securities, mergers and acquisitions, class action defense, professional responsibility, sports and constitutional litigation.
Joel has taken the lead at trial and on appeal for clients as diverse as the Chicago Bulls, Wyeth and the State of Illinois. According to Chambers USA, which grants him its highest ranking, “the ‘quite brilliant’ Joel Chefitz is recognised as one of the leading litigators in the city. Lauded by clients for his ability ‘to quickly identify the key issues in a case,’ he is also respected by peers for his ‘controlled aggression and his focus on getting the best for his clients.’” As in Chambers, Joel is recognized in the dual fields of business trials and antitrust law in The Best Lawyers in America, The Leading American Attorneys, Illinois Super Lawyers, Who’s Who Legal, Global Competition Review’s “International Who’s Who of Competition Lawyers,” PLC’s “Which lawyer?” and United States Lawyer Rankings’ “Nation’s Top 10 Antitrust Lawyers.”
Prior to joining McDermott, Joel was a partner in the Chicago office of Howrey, where he served as managing partner. He began his career as a trial partner at Kirkland & Ellis. Joel served as judicial clerk to Judge Walter Jay Skinner, United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. While in law school, he was Note and Case Editor of the Boston University Law Review. He was awarded the faculty prize as the graduate demonstrating the greatest legal scholarship.
Representative Client Accomplishments
A detailed summary of representative client accomplishments is available; highlights include:
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Wyeth. Won trial and appeal for Wyeth in defense of nationwide consumer fraud class action by purchasers of prescription drugs. In Gredell v Wyeth Laboratories, Inc. and American Home Products Corp., trial court entered final judgment for defendants on grounds of statute of limitations, federal preemption and failure to prove elements of consumer fraud. Affirmed on appeal.
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TWA. Served as lead antitrust counsel for Trans World Airlines, Inc., in its sale to American Airlines for $4.2 billion. Persuaded the U.S. Department of Justice to accept the rare “Failing Firm” defense, terminate an extensive premerger investigation and approve the merger expeditiously and without any divestiture. In a multi-front defense of the transaction, also presented witnesses to the U.S. Senate and responded to inquiries from state attorneys general and foreign antitrust authorities.
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State of Illinois. As Special Assistant Attorney General defending the State of Illinois against an ACLU class action suit challenging the constitutionality of the state's entire mental health system, persuaded the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to disqualify the presiding federal district judge and his court-appointed panel of experts for bias, In re Edgar (7th Cir.); upon remand to a new district judge, won a dismissal on the merits of all claims involving the statewide community mental health system and a voluntary dismissal of the remainder of the ACLU's suit. K.L. v. Edgar (N.D. Ill.).
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Chicago Bulls. Lead trial and appellate counsel for the Chicago Bulls in Chicago Professional Sports Ltd. Partnership v. National Basketball Ass'n (N.D. Ill., 7th Cir., U.S. S. Ct.), the Bulls' successful antitrust suit against the NBA over the team's right to telecast its games on superstation WGN.
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UAL Bankruptcy. Won appeal before U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, defeating antitrust claim brought by United Airlines and Unsecured Creditors Committee in the UAL bankruptcy. Was retained by a principal aircraft lender to help redirect defense of antitrust complaint, after bankruptcy court had found that lenders, through their trustees, had engaged in a group boycott and illegal price fixing.
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Pechiney, SA. Tried and won international arbitration of merger & acquisition dispute as lead counsel for Pechiney. Dispute arose from corporate spin-off, public offering and subsequent cash tender.
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WCI Steel, Inc. On behalf of WCI Steel and its board of directors, defeated suit in Delaware Chancery Court challenging merger of WCI and OAO Severstal. Following expedited discovery and preliminary injunction hearing, Court denied relief, dismissed case and permitted merger to close.
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Safelite Glass Corp. Argued and won summary judgment on behalf of all defendants in federal court in Beaumont, Texas, and then won affirmance by U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, defeating all claims in Stewart Glass & Mirror, Inc. v. USA GLAS Corp., a suit by Texas plaintiffs against national corporate competitors asserting conspiracy and monopolization in violation of federal antitrust laws and Texas law on tortious interference.
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Pro Bono. Argued and won appeal before the full U. S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in a First Amendment case pitting the guarantees of free speech and free exercise of religion against the separation of church and state. In Doe v. Small—the first en banc Circuit decision on the issue in the nation—represented a group of private citizens who sought to display religious paintings in a public park and thus appealed an injunction obtained by the ACLU against the city banning the display.
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American Medical Security, Inc. Argued and won appeal before the Ohio Court of Appeals affirming summary judgment on behalf of all defendants in The Insurance Outlet Agency, Inc. v. American Medical Security, Inc., having previously persuaded the trial court of Licking County, Ohio, to dismiss a suit by Ohio insurance brokerage firms alleging a horizontal group boycott by out-of-state insurance companies in violation of Ohio's antitrust laws.
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marchFIRST, Inc. Successfully defended former directors and officers in shareholder securities class actions, fiduciary duty suits in bankruptcy and SEC investigation arising from alleged financial and business misrepresentations concerning the merger of Whittman-Hart and USWeb/CKS to form marchFIRST. Defeated one fiduciary duty suit with prejudice and negotiated resolution of all remaining actions. Clients paid nothing.
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divine, inc. Successfully defended shareholder securities class actions and fiduciary duty suits in bankruptcy against former directors and officers, along with related SEC and DOJ investigations. Clients paid nothing.
Boards and Memberships
Joel is a member of the bars of the U.S. Supreme Court; the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, District of Columbia and Federal Circuits; the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and its Trial Bar and several other Districts nationwide; the Illinois Supreme Court and the American and Seventh Circuit Bar Associations. Other boards and memberships include the following:
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Fellow, American Bar Foundation
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Board of Visitors, Boston University School of Law
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Board of Directors, Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago
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Board of Directors, Gastro-Intestinal Research Foundation
Education
- Boston University School of Law, J.D. (magna cum laude), 1976
- Boston University, A.B. (with honors), 1972
