Getting the right result is as important to Bill McErlean as it is to the clients he represented, and he consistently obtained such results in his nearly four decades of litigation and trial practice. Bill was the Litigation Department Chair Emeritus and served for many years as Litigation Chair and on the firm’s Management Committee.
OVERVIEW
William M. McErlean
Of Counsel (Retired)
Chicago
One N. Wacker DriveSuite 4400
Chicago, IL 60606-2833
South Bend
201 S. Main StreetSuite 400
South Bend, IN 46601-2130
Elkhart
52700 Independence CourtSuite 150
Elkhart, IN 46514-8155
OVERVIEW
William M. McErlean
Of Counsel (Retired)
Chicago
One N. Wacker DriveSuite 4400
Chicago, IL 60606-2833
South Bend
201 S. Main StreetSuite 400
South Bend, IN 46601-2130
Elkhart
52700 Independence CourtSuite 150
Elkhart, IN 46514-8155
Getting the right result is as important to Bill McErlean as it is to the clients he represented, and he consistently obtained such results in his nearly four decades of litigation and trial practice. Bill was the Litigation Department Chair Emeritus and served for many years as Litigation Chair and on the firm’s Management Committee.
- OVERVIEW
- EXPERIENCE
- INSIGHTS AND EVENTS
- PUBLICATIONS
OVERVIEW
A proven and consistently effective advocate, Bill tried more than 40 commercial litigation cases, including the first civil RICO action in the Northern District of Illinois. In his former practice, he handled a variety of complex, high-stakes commercial cases in courts and before arbitrators throughout the country, defending and prosecuting RICO, securities fraud and common law fraud claims at trial and on appeal.
Bill also tried franchise, contract, professional malpractice, UCC, ERISA, lender liability, partnership and corporate dissolution and freeze-outs, trade regulation, trade secret, and real estate broker disputes. In addition, he defended his client’s rights in business torts and construction and real estate disputes.
Bill regularly prosecuted and defended multimillion dollar cases, including bet-the-company cases where the result determined whether or not his client stayed in business.
Honors
The Best Lawyers in America, 2014-2021
Illinois Super Lawyers, 2008, 2011-2020
Leading Lawyers Network, Illinois Leading Lawyer
EXPERIENCE
INSIGHTS AND EVENTS
PUBLICATIONS
"The Impact of Rule 11 on Franchise Litigation," ABA Franchise Law Journal, Winter 1989
"What to Do When Your Client Lies," ABA Litigation Magazine, Winter 1989
Co-author, "Privileges: How to Uncover the Facts," ABA Litigation Magazine, Winter 1997
Co-author, "From Kahn to Carlton: Recent Developments in Special Committee Practice," The Business Lawyer, Vol. 53, November 1997
"Training an Associate: Garbage In, Garbage Out," ABA Litigation Magazine, Spring 1998
"The Evolution of Witness Preparation," ABA Litigation Magazine, Fall 2010
