John Shonkwiler

BIOGRAPHY

John F. Shonkwiler concentrates his practice in complex commercial litigation matters, principally those involving contract actions, business torts, partnership disputes and intellectual property issues.

John has represented leaders in the real estate development business, including the Trump Organization and Toll Brothers, in various lawsuits concerning large residential developments.  John also has represented clients in the entertainment business.  He recently prosecuted high-stakes lawsuits for an international music distributor and a group of local restaurateurs.  John and fellow partner Steve Novack obtained a significant victory for Chicago's Millenium Park Grill, persuading the Cook County Circuit Court to strike down a property tax levied by the Cook County Assessor on the grounds that the County had exceeded its taxing authority.

In December 2008, John was second chair attorney for a seven-day bench trial in the Northern District of Illinois in which the firm obtained a $70 million judgment for Pentech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. against Par Pharmaceutical, Inc.  The case arose out of a contract between Pentech and Par concerning a generic alternative to the GlaxoSmithKline blockbuster antidepressant drug "Paxil."  Par brought a generic alternative to the market as a result of a settlement agreement resolving patent infringement litigation between GSK and Pentech.  The dispute concerned how the contract between Pentech and Par applied to Par's revenues from the generic Paxil sales.  Par, a publicly traded company, was represented in the case by the New York office of Cravath, Swaine and Moore.  After more than four grueling years of pre-trial litigation, the case was brought to trial in December of 2008.  Less than two months later, judgment was entered for Pentech in the amount of $69,955,476 plus the costs, and the matter settled before either party filed an appellate brief.

John was a member of the team that successfully represented Night Vision Corporation (“NVC”), inventors of a “Panoramic Night Vision Goggle” that the U. S. Air Force hailed as a revolutionary piece of military equipment.   The goggles provided pilots with more than double the field of vision of the old systems, while also enhancing safety.  According to NVC's suit, the Air Force was on the verge of awarding NVC a contract to produce thousands of goggles when NVC’s chief subcontractor misappropriated the technology and ultimately wrested the contract away from NVC.  Significantly, John prepared a partial summary judgment motion on a key issue in the case that was successful and helped lead to a settlement the night before the jury trial was to begin in federal court in Virginia.

John also defended a world-renowned NASCAR racing team against a lawsuit in federal court claiming misuse and conversion of certain racing equipment, and got the case dismissed on the pleadings for lack of personal jurisdiction.

In a case involving patent and trademark infringement claims, John handled the trademark side of the dispute and, together with patent co-counsel, defeated all claims brought against the firm's client PFE International ("PFE").  The case was tried in federal court in Chicago.  Immediately following Plaintiffs’ case-in-chief, PFE moved for judgment on all counts. The court fully absolved PFE, granting the motion and finding that Plaintiffs had failed to produce sufficient evidence of any act of infringement by PFE.  Although the case was litigated exclusively in the United States, the victory had international implications for the parties, whose overseas affiliates had been involved in a similar dispute.

In 2008 and 2009, Chicago Magazine recognized John as a "Rising Star," and one of the Top Young Commercial Litigation Attorneys in Illinois.  John is a member of the American and Chicago Bar Associations, and is active in the CBA Commercial Litigation and Judicial Evaluation Committees. 

John is Novack and Macey's Hiring Partner, and a member of the firm's Marketing Committee.

John was born in Lansing, Michigan in 1970, and now lives with his wife and their two children in Flossmoor, Illinois.

EDUCATION

• University of Michigan (B.A. 1992)
• University of Illinois College of Law (J.D. 1998) Magna Cum Laude; topics editor for the University of Illinois Law Review

BAR ADMISSIONS

• Illinois
• United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• United States District Courts for the Northern and Central Districts of Illinois

SPEECHES AND PUBLICATIONS

• “Trademark Infringement/Dilution,” Illinois Causes of Action—Elements, Forms & Winning Tips, Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, 2002  
• Recent Decisions Commentary, Illinois Bar Journal (June 1998), 86 Ill.B.J. 345  

REPRESENTATIVE CASES

• C/F Intern., Inc. v. Payne, No. 06 C 1329, 2006 WL 2290992 (N.D. Ill. Aug 3, 2006)
• Neopost Industrie B.V. v. PFE Intern., Inc, 403 F.Supp. 2d 669 (N.D. Ill. 2005)
• Griffith v. Wood Bros., No. 04 C 3118, 2004 WL 2418296 (N.D. Ill. Oct 27, 2004)
• Pentech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Par Pharmaceutical, Inc., No. 04 C 3149, 2004 WL 2390088 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 21, 2004)

MEDIA COVERAGE

• David Beats Goliath...Again
• Novack and Macey Attorneys Are Super Lawyers and Rising Stars!
• Novack and Macey Attorneys are Rising Stars
• Appellate Court Affirms Summary Judgment in Declaratory Judgment Action
• Complete Victory for Defendants in Patent and Trademark Infringement Trial
• Lawsuit Against Roush Racing Dismissed