Daniel has vast state court litigation experience, including drafting and filing substantive briefs and arguing key motions, such as motions for summary judgment and motions for temporary restraining orders and trying evidentiary issues. Additionally, Daniel has worked on aviation product liability, bankruptcy, and trust and estate litigation in addition to his work in the class action space. Daniel advises clients on compliance with the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, and represents clients in defense of actions brought under that Act. He serves on the Firm’s Technology Committee and helped to develop a Firmwide program covering deposition preparation and evidentiary issues.

While in law school, Daniel served as associate editor of The Elder Law Journal and as a Moot Court executive editor. He also won various American Bar Association (ABA) client-counseling competitions. In addition, Daniel served as a legal clerk for the Missouri Attorney General’s Office and as lead counsel/advanced clinic student for the University of Illinois College of Law Federal Civil Rights Clinic. In this role, he won a case on a civil constitutional claim after a three-day jury trial in a federal court, as well as obtained a favorable settlement and substantial fee awards in two other cases. Daniel completed a total of four cases and two jury trials in federal court while attending law school.

Daniel has authored a comprehensive guide for clinic students at the University of Illinois College of Law for the Federal Civil Rights Clinic. Daniel also leads a boot camp seminar on impeachment and refreshing recollection, as well as acting as a guest lecturer for the trial advocacy program on the “Use of Technology in the Courtroom” and as part of the Fundamental of Law Practice course at the University of Illinois College of Law.

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• Co-chaired 2-week bench trial involving a dispute over an agreement related to a healthcare transaction
• Defeated motion for class certification, obtained disqualification of plaintiffs’ retained expert witness and obtained summary judgment for James Hardie Building Products Inc. on claims brought by 13 plaintiffs alleging that fiber-cement home-siding product possessed an alleged defect that led to premature deterioration of the siding
• Co-chaired, and prevailed in, evidentiary hearing on motion for preliminary injunction in trade secrets case alleging theft of software and source code trade secrets where plaintiff alleged more than $120 million in damages – cross examined plaintiff CEO and directed key expert witness at hearing in obtaining favorable result
• Represented a pharmaceutical and therapy services client in case involving alleged theft of trade secrets and breach of confidentiality agreements
• Advised a major healthcare company on a biometric information collection public policy and related consent
• Advised a major technology company on trade secret licensing and ownership issues relating to employees with prior inventions of software/source code
• Defeated motion for class certification, and prevailed on summary judgment for large eyeglasses manufacturer and retailer in class action relating to the use of buy one get one free promotions in Florida
• Obtained dismissal with prejudice, and Seventh Circuit affirmance of claims brought against large health care client by payment vendors of nursing homes in Illinois
• Obtained favorable settlement for art gallery in Chicago relating to the alleged copyright infringement of works from a deceased photographer
• Obtain favorable settlement on behalf of an individual client sued for copyright infringement relating to an allegedly illegal download of a movie on a home computer
• Obtained favorable class-wide settlement after long-term MDL for a manufacturer of asphalt roofing shingles in a multidistrict litigation proceeding where plaintiffs have asserted claims for breach of warranty and consumer fraud under the laws of seven states
• Advised major hospital clients on litigation risk associated with the acquisition of a hospital group
• Successfully defended a third-party subpoena served on a hedge fund client and advised on litigation involving former employees and client’s competitors
• Successfully compelled arbitration and enforced class action waiver for a manufacturer of asphalt roofing shingles in a case filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania where plaintiffs asserted class claims for breach of warranty and consumer fraud
• Obtained a complete dismissal of breach of fiduciary duty and class claims brought against the directors of a major travel company in a shareholder derivative and class action case
• Obtained a temporary restraining order for a client that was purportedly fired from association where that client was about to be acquired by a competitor of the association – successfully argued that the termination was improper and premature until the acquisition of the client by the association’s competitor was complete
• Won case at Illinois Supreme Court for My Pillow after successfully arguing that a self-represent relator in a False Claims Act case could not recover attorneys’ fees for work performed by the relator-law firm’s own attorneys. This case represented a matter of first impression in Illinois and is now the law of the state prohibiting self-represented relator-law firms from collecting attorneys’ fees for the work of its own attorneys in Illinois False Claims Act cases
• Obtained favorable settlement for oil and gas client in a Clean Air Act case alleging violations regulations relating to the production and sale of biodiesel fuel
• Obtained favorable settlement for a law firm client in a case alleging legal malpractice
• Obtained favorable settlement through mediation on behalf of a major pharmaceutical company in a case over disputes relating to royalties and licensing of certain patent technology
• Obtained favorable settlement on behalf of a large oil and gas company in a case relating to a train derailment
• Obtained summary judgment and complete dismissals of four separate airplane crash product liability collective actions on behalf of major aviation and aerospace defense client based on the product line exception of successor liability
• Obtained summary judgment and damages of nearly $25 million for a client in a guaranty enforcement action
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a trust client in Delaware Chancery Court that was later affirmed by the Delaware Supreme Court
• Secured favorable settlement for multiple pro bono clients in Section 1983 cases
• Obtained favorable settlement for a resin manufacturer during arbitration relating to a breach of contract

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• McDermott Will & Emery, Outstanding achievement and Commitment to Pro Bono and Service in the Community Award, 2017
• University of Illinois College of Law, Rickert Award for excellence in trial advocacy

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