Bio

Howard C. Emmerman has been a corporate litigation, trial lawyer and outside general counsel for more than 40 years. Mr. Emmerman is a “business problem solver,” using his experience to provide advice on the resolution of all types of disputes that afflict businesses, including the myriad of disputes that arise from the organization (including partnership and shareholder disputes), operation (including customer claims, competition issues, licensing, insurance, facility management, disputes with suppliers and distributors, collection of accounts receivable, intellectual property issues, information technology and employment), and dissolution and winding down of businesses (including resolving creditors’ claims). In addition, Mr. Emmerman represents clients in construction, mechanic’s lien, real estate, general commercial trust and matrimonial litigation. His experience in dealing with complex commercial disputes has also enabled Mr. Emmerman to litigate and try divorce cases involving high net-worth estates. In the past 10 years Mr. Emmerman has expanded his base of experience to include negotiating and closing small- and mid-cap corporate transactions, usually for clients who came to him originally as litigation clients and then asked him to stay on as their general counsel. His litigation experience gives him a unique perspective in differentiating between issues arising during negotiations that are minor and those that are “deal-breakers.” Mr. Emmerman is a court-appointed mediator for the Cook County Chancery Court and was appointed by that Court as Trustee of the Illinois Roll-Back Tax Fund. In addition, he holds a Certificate of Professional Achievement in mediation issued by the DePaul University Dispute Resolution Center. Mr. Emmerman is recognized by the Leading Lawyers Network as being among the top lawyers in Illinois in commercial litigation and he has received an AV rating under the Martindale-Hubbell ® Lawyer Rating System, indicating that he “has reached the height of professional excellence” and “is recognized for the highest levels of skill and integrity.” In addition, Mr. Emmerman has in each of the past 6 years been named as an Illinois Super Lawyer in the area of business litigation. Illinois Super Lawyers were selected by their peers and are “considered among the best in their profession” and “represent the top 5% of the practicing attorneys in Illinois.” He has published articles and the DePaul Law Review, the Docket (Lake County Bar Assn.) and for the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education (IICLE); he has also lectured for the IICLE, the Chicago Bar Association, the Lake County Bar Association and Lorman Education Services.