Mitchell L. Marinello

BIOGRAPHY

A former managing partner of the firm, Mitchell L. Marinello is a veteran litigator who has aided clients in a wide range of circumstances. In addition to the areas of concentration listed above, Mitch is experienced in arbitration, class actions, construction disputes, director and officer liability, partnership disputes and real estate.

Whether a case is ripe for a settlement or demands to be tried, Mitch approaches every matter with a clear focus on the client's strategic goals. Often those goals can be reached through negotiation and settlement. Even then, the best results usually require that a strong case be presented and the likelihood for success at trial be made clear. For example, a private equity firm had reneged on an oral promise to pay a fee to a client of Mitch's, a consulting firm that had assisted the private equity firm in its efforts to acquire a failing industrial company. The oral nature of the agreement and the transaction's bankruptcy-related surroundings were daunting factors, but Mitch filed suit on behalf of the client and laid out a case with a strong legal and factual foundation. The result: a favorable settlement well in advance of trial.

On the other hand, settlement isn't always the answer. For instance, Mitch had a client who had entered into a contract to sell a Florida warehouse to a potential buyer. The deal was in place and our client repeatedly tried to get the other party to close it, but the buyer kept procrastinating. After the buyer passed on its last chance, our client terminated the contract. Then a hurricane struck. The former would-be buyer now had a severely damaged warehouse of its own on its hands and was faced with limited options in a post-hurricane real estate market. Suddenly they were interested in Mitch's client's property again. They sued for specific performance of the contract and offered to go away only for a large settlement. Mitch, collaborating with a Florida firm, tried the case and won.

Mitch also has litigated class actions, such as the one he handled for the American Automobile Association ("AAA"). He succeeded in getting a claim brought by advertisers, charging that AAA had misrepresented the quality and quantity of its magazine's circulation, dismissed with prejudice. In another class action, this time with 1,500 plaintiffs bringing claims of product liability, personal injuries and toxic torts from a fire and explosion at a chemical plant owned by Mitch's client ANGUS Chemical Co., Mitch was able to get several hundred of the claims dismissed with prejudice, after which the remainder of the claims settled well within insurance limits.

Mitch frequently serves as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and serves on the Complex Commercial Dispute Panel. He is also a member of the National Association of Securities Dealers. He has handled arbitration matters before those bodies, as well as the CBOE, and has been involved with mediations before JAMS and others.

Mitch is a member of the Federal Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association, and is a past Chair of its Civil Practice Committee. He also belongs to the international attorneys and accountants organization known as the Integrated Advisory Group.

Mitch and his wife, Nancy Young, a pediatric surgeon at Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital, live with their three children in Wilmette.

EDUCATION

• Wesleyan University (B.A. 1976), with Honors, Magna Cum Laude
• The Thomas J. Watson Foundation (Fellow, 1976-1977)
• New York University Law School (J.D. 1980), Senior Writing Editor for the Moot Court Board

BAR ADMISSIONS

• Illinois
• New York
• Trial Bar of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

SPEECHES AND PUBLICATIONS

• Co-author, Smart Evidence: Commercial Litigation, Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education, 2006  
• “Contracts for the Benefit of a Third Person,” Chapter 10, Illinois Law of Contracts, Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education, April 2006  
• “Playing Nice: Noncompete Terms in Physician Employment Agreements,”Medical Group Management Association Connexion, February 2005  
• “Does A Stranger To A Contract Acquire Any Rights Under It? A Primer on Third-Party Beneficiary Law,” Litigation Review, 2005  
• “Obtaining TROs and Preliminary Injunctions,” Litigation Review, 2004  
• “Disputes About Common Area Maintenance Charges," Litigation Review, 2001  
• “Recent Supreme Court Rulings on the Americans with Disabilities Act,” The Trial Lawyer’s Guide, Vol. 43, No. 2, 1999  
• “Expanding Illinois’ Service of Process on Individuals," CBA Record, July/August, 1991  

REPRESENTATIVE CASES

• Tunnell Consulting, Inc. v. KPS Special Situations Fund II LP, Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Law Division, No. 05 L 12960 (2006)
• Jerry Summers, et al. v. State Street Bank & Trust Company, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, No. 05-4317
• GG/DH LP, Inc. vs. Tires, Ltd., No. 04-15571 (FL. Circuit Court 2006)
• C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. v. Command Transportation, LLC, et al., United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, No. 05 CV 3401 (2006)
• Allscripts, LLC v. Manhattan Management Services, Inc., et al., United States District Court for the Northern District of Illnois, No. 05 C 3442 (2006)
• Recognition Communications, Inc. vs. American Automobile Association, Inc., No. 03 CH 12733 (IL Chancery Div. 2005)
• Foot Locker vs. Travelers Insurance Company (NY 2005)
• James J. Christie v. McDermott Will & Emery, et al., Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, No. 03 L 01328 (2004)
• Michigan Energy Exchange, L.L.C. v. TransCanada Gas Services, Inc., No. 03 CV 0027 (USDC W.D. MI 2003)
• Suburban Heights Medical Center v. Karen Will, No. 03 CH 01903 (IL Chancery Div. 2003)
• RSM McGladrey, Inc. vs. John Doe, et al., (JAMS) (Mediation relating to agreements prohibiting the solicitation of employees)
• First Merit Realty Services vs. Amberly Square Apartments, et al. (AAA Arbitration) (Action to enforce agreement relating to the sale and management of ten apartment complexes)

MEDIA COVERAGE

• Novack and Macey to host the IAG International Conference October 2-4, 2008
• Oaks Improvements LLC Development vs. Lucky Fella, LLC
• Elgin Improvements LLC vs. Ray Remzi-Useimi
• Copyright Trial Leads to Favorable Settlement
• 9 out of 10 Novack and Macey Partners Named “Leading Lawyers”
• Novack and Macey Joins International Organization
• Is Liability Lurking in Your Safety Rules?