Overview
William (Bill) P. Schuman focuses his practice on securities and complex commercial litigation, class actions, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) defense litigation, internal investigations and dealer/distributor litigation. Bill also has broad experience representing nonprofits, officers and directors, and attorneys and other professionals in fiduciary duty litigation.
Bill has extensive experience in the field of legal ethics and professional responsibility. He has chaired the Firm’s Professional Responsibility Committee since 1994 and is an adjunct professor in Legal Ethics at Northwestern University Law School.
Bill also has extensive experience in constitutional law. In 1985, he won an Illinois Supreme Court decision in Sanelli v. Glenview State Bank, regarded as seminal in the area of separation of powers doctrine. In 1993, he won an important decision in the Illinois Appellate Court, on due process grounds, in ChemRex, Inc. v. Illinois Pollution Control Board.
Bill has represented clients in admiralty litigation as well. He was one of the lead counsel representing the ship owner in Grubart v. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock, where admiralty jurisdiction was upheld in the US Supreme Court in 1995.
Bill has handled litigation in the federal and state courts in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, DC and Wisconsin.
Results
- Represent investment bank in SEC investigation concerning Puerto Rico bond offering
- Represent Hertz in investigation of shareholder derivative demands
- Represent KPMG Germany in FCPA investigation of client company
- Represent 14 directors in defense of securities fraud class actions arising out of merger
- Represent former CFO of Diebold, Inc. in defense of securities fraud action
- Represent CEO of broker-dealer in investigation
- Represented a former CFO of a publicly owned company in the defense of a purported securities fraud class action, a derivative action and a SEC action
- Represented targets in an SEC investigation of potential insider trading; SEC declined to prosecute
- Represented through trial a multinational manufacturer of spirits and wines in dealer termination litigation
- Represented through trial a major nonprofit in a dispute over ownership of charitable assets
- Represented professional sports leagues in concussion-related litigation
- Represented NCAA in concussion-related litigation
Recognitions
- Super Lawyer 2004 to 2018
- Benchmark Litigation 2016 to 2020
- The Legal 500 United States 2018
- Seventh Circuit Bar Association’s 2014 Pro Bono & Public Service Award
Community
Credentials
Education
Harvard Law School, JD, 1979
University of Michigan, BBA, graduated first in class in business administration, 1975
Admissions
Illinois
Courts / Agencies
Supreme Court of the United States
US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
US District Court for the Central District of Illinois
US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (trial bar)
Illinois Supreme Court
