Overview
Michael W. Weaver serves as the Firm’s Pro Bono Litigation Partner. In this role, Michael is responsible for cultivating and enhancing the pro bono litigation opportunities available to the Firm’s attorneys. He works closely with the Firm’s Pro Bono and Community Service Partner, senior management, and other stakeholders to identify and develop pro bono litigation projects in a wide array of substantive areas that impact the communities in which we work and live.
In addition, Michael continues to represent and counsel clients in complex litigation matters with a focus on product liability litigation, product recalls, and compliance with the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) standards and labeling requirements. Previously, Michael served as a law clerk for Chief Justice F. Michael Kruse and Associate Justice Lyle L. Richmond of the High Court of American Samoa. Michael maintains his license to practice in American Samoa and continues to represent various clients in the US Territory.
While in law school, Michael was the executive editor for student articles for the Loyola Law Journal and a Philip H. Corboy Fellow in Trial Advocacy.
Results
- Serves as regional coordinator on a national counsel team representing a Fortune 100 company in its mass tort litigation; oversees and manages a significant docket of claims, which regularly includes significant complex medical and scientific issues, and handles all aspects of the overall defense strategy, including several appellate successes:
- Schwartz v. Honeywell International Inc., 2018-Ohio-474, in which the Ohio Supreme Court reversed a multi-million dollar jury verdict by rejecting the application of the “cumulative exposure” theory to establish causation
- Watkins v. Affinia Group., 2016-Ohio-2830, 54 N.E.3d 174 (8th Dist.), in which the Ohio Appellate Court reversed the jury verdict based on the improper admission of expert testimony
- Gillenwater v. Honeywell International Inc., 2013 IL App (4th) 120929, 996 N.E.2d 1179 (4th Dist. 2013) further review denied at 3 N.E.3d 795 (Ill. 2014), in which the Illinois Appellate Court affirmed the trial court’s reversal of a multimillion-dollar jury verdict that was based on plaintiff’s allegation that certain companies conspired to suppress health and safety information concerning asbestos
- Menssen v. Pneumo Abex Corp., 2012 IL App (4th) 100904, 975 N.E.2d 345 (4th Dist. 2012) in which the Illinois Appellate Court overturned a multimillion-dollar jury verdict that was based on plaintiff’s allegation that certain companies conspired to suppress health and safety information concerning asbestos
- In re Estate of Hoogerwerf, 2012 IL App (4th) 110329, in which the Illinois Appellate Court vacated a default judgment based on the trial court’s improper application of Illinois Supreme Court Rule 237
- Rodarmel v. Pneumo Abex, LLC, 2011 IL App (4th) 100463, 957 N.E.2d 107 (4th Dist. 2011), in which the Illinois Appellate Court overturned a multimillion-dollar jury verdict that was based on plaintiff’s allegation that certain companies conspired to suppress health and safety information concerning asbestos
- Estate of Holmes v. Pneumo Abex, LLC, 2011 IL App (4th) 100462, 955 N.E.2d 1173 (4th Dist. 2011), in which the Illinois Appellate Court overturned a multimillion-dollar jury verdict finding there is no duty owed to plaintiff in a household or “take-home” asbestos exposure case
- Represents a Fortune 100 company in a multimillion-dollar tax assessment case pending in American Samoa based on claims that the company is conducting a trade or business in the territory
- Represents Spanish-based telecommunications company in high-profile breach of contract claim pending in American Samoa
- Secured multiple summary judgments for aerospace company in lawsuits arising from fatal airplane accidents in which plaintiffs’ theory of liability was based on the product line exception of successor liability
- Represented a major online travel company in numerous large and complex lawsuits throughout the country from inception through trial, with highlights including obtaining dismissal or summary judgment in numerous actions pending against client for claims relating to whether the company owed certain hotel occupancy taxes based on its online reservation model
- Prevailed in a federal jury trial and appeal, Leprino Foods Co. v. Factory Mut. Ins. Co., 653 F.3d 1121 (10th Cir. 2011), on behalf of a major food producer, in a $24 million insurance coverage dispute involving an “all risk” policy and a contamination exclusion
- Representing, pro bono, a young mother wrongly accused of child neglect, resulting in an Illinois Appellate Court published opinion (Slater v. Dep’t of Children and Family Services, 2011 IL App (1st) 102914, 953 N.E.2d 44 (1st Dist. 2011)
Recognitions
- Named to the inaugural list of Crain’s Chicago Business Notable LGBTQ Executives (2018)
- Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service from United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 2016
- Super Lawyers 2011 to 2016, Rising Star
- Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) 2015, Rising Star
- McDermott Will & Emery’s Outstanding Achievement and Commitment to Pro Bono and Service to Community Award, 2010
Community
- American Samoa Bar Association, representative to the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates
- Family Defense Center, president, board of directors
Credentials
Education
Loyola University of Chicago School of Law, JD, cum laude, 2006
George Washington University, MA, 2001
George Washington University, BA, 1997
Admissions
American Samoa
Illinois
Courts / Agencies
US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (trial bar)
US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
US District Court for the District of Colorado
