Thomas B. Quinn

Partner

Thomas B. Quinn is the leader of the General Litigation Group and concentrates his practice in civil litigation with a special emphasis on complex commercial, corporate, ERISA, intellectual property and acquisition-related disputes.

He has extensive experience practicing before federal and state trial courts as well as the International Trade Commission. His appellate experience includes proceedings before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Seventh, Eighth and Federal Circuits, as well as the appellate courts for the states of Illinois and Ohio.

In addition to his courtroom work, Mr. Quinn has represented buyers, sellers, manufacturers, and other clients in party-to-party and third-party mediations as well as in arbitrations before the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR Institute), the American Arbitration Association, and JAMS.

Mr. Quinn is a past member of the Board of Governors for the Seventh Circuit Bar Association and has served as its Liaison Representative to the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Experience

• Public companies and private equity firms in post-closing and other acquisition-related disputes.
• The officers and directors of Baxter International in their successful defense of a shareholder derivative action arising out of the company's restatement of earnings in 2004, Rivera v. Kraemer et al., Case No. 04 CH 13028 (Cook Cty., Ill. 2005).
• Newell Rubbermaid Inc. in connection with a putative class action filed by participants of Rubbermaid's stock option plan relating to Newell's merger with Rubbermaid, O'Planick v. Rubbermaid, et al., 2004 WL 224412 (Ohio App. 9 Dist. 2004).
• PepsiCo, Inc. in its successful challenge to the constitutionality of the Illinois Soft Drink Act under the Commerce and Contracts Clause of the U.S. Constitution, PepsiCo v. Marion Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company, 2003 WL 22594235 (S.D. Ill. 2003). In that same matter, PepsiCo prevailed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on a novel discovery issue relating to the application of the accountant privilege under Illinois law, PepsiCo v. Baird Kurtz & Dobson LLP, 305 F.3d 813 (8th Cir. 2002).
• Clients such as Newell Rubbermaid Inc., Chicago Board Options Exchange, Bunn-O-Matic Corporation, and Modine Manufacturing Company in patent and trademark disputes and litigation in federal district and appellate courts and the International Trade Commission. See., e.g., Bunn-O-Matic Corporation v. Bunn Coffee Service, Inc., 88 F.Supp.2d 914 (C.D. Ill. 2000); Modine Manufacturing Co. v. U.S. International Trade Commission, 75 F.3d 1545 (Fed. Cir. 1996)].
• Insurers, banks, investment managers, broker-dealers, plan sponsors, trustees, and other fiduciaries in ERISA lawsuits and investigations by the DOL.
• Nine local governments in defense of a major constitutional challenge to various fair housing programs under the First and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, involving an eight-week trial in the Northern District of Illinois, a Seventh Circuit appeal, and a petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court. [E.g., South Suburban Housing Center v. South Suburban Board of Realtors et al. v. City of Blue Island et al., 935 F.2d 868 (7th Cir. 1991), cert. denied 502 U.S. 1074(1992)].

Awards and Honors

Leading Lawyer — Commercial Litigation, Illinois Leading Lawyers Network

Education

Teaching Appointments

Co-trial practice instructor (with Judge James Holderman, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois), University of Chicago Law School (1990-1992)

Professional Memberships

American Bar Association
Section of Litigation

Illinois State Bar Association

Chicago Council of Lawyers

Seventh Circuit Bar Association