EIMER STAHL - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner / Chicago
Benjamin E. Waldin is a Partner at Eimer Stahl LLP. Ben's practice focuses on complex litigation, including a wide variety of antitrust and healthcare matters. As a part of his practice, Ben spends significant time working on the legal and strategic matters involved in the admission and presentation of expert testimony.
Prior to attending law school, Ben was a senior consultant at the economic consulting firm Bates White in Washington, DC. As a consultant he supported experts providing testimony in numerous cases spanning monopolization, cartel investigation, merger review, and class action litigation.
Experience
Case Experience
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner / Chicago
Mr. Austin's trial and appellate practice concentrates on complex litigation in state and federal courts nationwide, with an emphasis on antitrust/competition law, RICO, state consumer protection act class actions, False Claims Act and qui tam litigation, and government and internal investigations. Mr. Austin's clients come from the financial services and insurance, manufacturing, health care, and retail sectors. For example, he has represented various property and casualty insurers for years in significant commercial and contractual disputes, as well as consumer class actions challenging rates and premiums, marketing and sales practices, claims-handling practices, and brokering activities. His work often centers on industry-wide challenges to products or business practices.
Mr. Austin also writes and speaks frequently on issues of antitrust, RICO, consumer fraud and whistleblower issues, as well as developments in federal evidence and civil procedure. Prior to joining Eimer Stahl, he was a partner and co-chair of the commercial litigation practice group of a large national law firm.
Experience
Case Experience
Job Titles:
- Counsel
- Counsel / Chicago
- Counsel in the Chicago and Silicon Valley Offices
Brian Chang is Counsel in the Chicago and Silicon Valley offices of Eimer Stahl LLP. Before joining the firm, Brian was an associate at the San Francisco office of O'Melveny & Myers LLP. Brian has represented commercial clients in a variety of litigation matters in state and federal court at the trial and appellate levels, including before the United States Supreme Court. His practice includes representations in antitrust, securities, contract, and trade-secret litigation, as well as internal investigations and white-collar criminal matters.
Before law school, Brian was a consultant at the economic consulting firm of Cornerstone Research, where he supported experts providing testimony in antitrust, banking, accounting, and securities litigation.
Experience
Case Experience
Job Titles:
- Staff Attorney
- Staff Attorney / Chicago
Chris Murtaugh is a Staff Attorney at Eimer Stahl. He received his J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law where he was the recipient of the CALI Award for the highest grade in Federal Courts, Legal Writing 3, Environmental Law 1, Land Use, and International Intellectual Property. During law school, Chris was a judicial extern to the Honorable Ronald F. Bartkowicz at the Cook County Circuit Court, externed at two global litigation firms, and assisted clients who otherwise could not afford legal representation as a Baum Fellow at the Chicago Environmental and Energy Law Clinic.
Collin Vierra is a Partner in Eimer Stahl's Silicon Valley office. His practice focuses on complex trial and appellate litigation, arbitration, and counseling including in the areas of privacy, products liability, commercial disputes, antitrust, environmental law, and regulation.
Collin has ample experience in both state and federal court, before major arbitral tribunals including the ICC, IDCR, AAA, and JAMS, and with all aspects of litigation and arbitration. Collin has defended major public and private companies in consumer class actions, multi-district litigations (MDL), Judicial Council Coordination Proceedings (JCCP), and mass arbitrations (20,000+ individual claims). Collin has also defended these companies in civil and criminal investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and the Attorneys General of more than 40 states and the District of Columbia.
Collin brings his strong background in engineering, technology, and economics to bear in representing his clients. Collin holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he was a member of the Pi Tau Sigma Mechanical Engineering Honors Society and an engineering apprentice in the Pappalardo Laboratory. Collin also holds a Master of Arts in Economics from Stanford University where he was a Gregory Terrill Cox Fellow in the John M. Olin Program in Law and Economics. Collin obtained his Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School.
Collin lives in Carmel, California where he serves as the President and a member of the Board of Directors of the Carmel Highlands Association.
Experience
Case Experience
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner / Chicago
Daniel D. Birk is a Partner at Eimer Stahl LLP. Dan defends companies accused of violating the antitrust laws and in other complex civil and criminal litigation and serves as a thought partner to in-house counsel in their most complex and sensitive matters. He excels in crafting innovative theories that reframe the legal and factual questions driving large class actions and that help steer the cases towards early dismissal or an efficient resolution, and he also writes and speaks regularly on antitrust, data privacy, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issues. In addition to practicing law, Dan recently spent two years as a visiting assistant professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law, where he taught Administrative Law, Federal Courts, and Legal Writing. Dan has published articles in the Harvard Law Review, the Yale Law Journal, and the Stanford Law Review, among other places, and he is a contributor to the American Bar Association's Antitrust Section. Before attending law school, Dan taught English at high schools in Brooklyn, New York and Vienna, Austria.
Experience
Case Experience
Job Titles:
- Staff Attorney
- Staff Attorney / Chicago
Daniel Kfoury is a staff attorney at Eimer Stahl. Prior to joining the firm, Daniel was a staff attorney to the Honorable Moshe Jacobius (ret.) and the Honorable Sophia H. Hall in the Chancery Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County. Daniel received his J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law where he was a five-time recipient of the CALI Excellence for the Future Award, a member of the Moot Court Honor Society, and the winner of two Best Briefs at national Moot Court competitions. In 2021, he was inducted by the Student Bar Association into the Chicago-Kent Bar and Gavel Society in recognition of his outstanding service to the law school, the community, and the law profession.
Job Titles:
- of Counsel
- of Counsel / Chicago
David Stahl, one of the founding partners of Eimer Stahl LLP, has practiced complex commercial litigation for more than forty years. He has had numerous bench and jury trials in state and federal court, as well as administrative proceedings, involving a wide variety of matters including attorney malpractice cases, construction disputes, antitrust claims, securities law violations, breach of contract cases, refusal to defend cases, and toxic torts. He has focused intensively in litigation in the electric energy area. Some matters in which he has been involved in that area include:
Experience
Case Experience
Hannah Bucher is a stakeholder at Eimer Stahl. She received her J.D. cum laude from Chicago-Kent College of Law where she served as Notes and Comments Editor of the Chicago-Kent Law Review and Vice President of the Moot Court Honor Society. Hannah received several awards for her legal writing and appellate advocacy at national moot court competitions and was inducted into the Bar and Gavel Society for her contributions to Chicago-Kent and the legal community. During law school, Hannah was a judicial extern to the Honorable Mary L. Mikva at the Illinois Appellate Court, First Judicial District and a legal and policy intern at the Illinois Commerce Commission.
Job Titles:
- Counsel
- of Counsel
- of Counsel / Chicago
Hong Joon Lee is of counsel at Eimer Stahl LLP. Before joining Eimer Stahl, Hong was an associate at Williams Montgomery & John Ltd.
He is working on the intersection of the practice of law, big data analysis and various applications of machine learning. He has extensive experience in the uses of technology assisted review in the process of ediscovery, such as predictive coding and the application of technology assisted review tools to reviews that feature collections with multiple languages.
Hong has successfully managed multiple document reviews using technology assisted review tools, such as predictive coding. He has also been involved in planning and implementing the use of technology assisted review tools during early case assessment, internal investigations, and for case development during litigation. Hong is intensely interested in identifying and using state of the art e-discovery tools to conduct litigation as effectively and as cost-efficiently as possible.
Experience
Case Experience
Job Titles:
- Practice / Practice / Antitrust
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner / Chicago
Jacob M. Hamann is a Partner at Eimer Stahl LLP. Before joining the firm, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Philip P. Simon of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. Before clerking, Jacob was an associate at Hinkhouse Williams Walsh in Chicago.
Jacob has experience in a variety of complex commercial matters in both federal and state courts, including cases involving commercial torts, antitrust, and insurance as well as class actions and multidistrict litigations.
Experience
Case Experience
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner / Chicago
James Joseph is a Partner at Eimer Stahl LLP. He is a trial and appellate litigator and counselor with a focus on complex commercial disputes, antitrust and competition law, insurance, advertising and marketing, products liability, and mass toxic and environmental torts. He has also litigated matters involving construction, personal injury, accounting and legal malpractice, zoning and land use, trusts and estates, securities, mortgage and consumer fraud, attorney discipline, and other subjects. From 1998 to 2000, James helped to establish and lead the Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship, a pioneering legal clinic at the University of Chicago Law School, where he was also a lecturer.
Experience
Case Experience
Jennifer Aronsohn is a Stakeholder at Eimer Stahl and focuses her practice on complex commercial and appellate litigation. Prior to joining Eimer Stahl, Jennifer served as a law clerk to Justice Clint Bolick of the Arizona Supreme Court. She was previously a litigation associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Jennifer graduated cum laude from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. During law school, she was the Online Executive Editor of the Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, and she was awarded first place in the national Smith-Babcock-Williams Writing Competition for her article Community Claim of Right. Also while at Northwestern, Jennifer was a judicial extern to Judge Marvin Aspen in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
John Adams is a stakeholder in the firm's Chicago and Madison offices. He focuses his practice on appellate and complex litigation in a variety of areas, including antitrust, constitutional law, and civil and commercial litigation. He also has substantial experience with government investigations. During his time in practice, he has argued critical motions and briefs at the appellate and trial courts; examined expert and fact witnesses; executed depositions; negotiated with the government on settlements and subpoenas; and drafted briefs at every stage of litigation from pleadings at trial courts to briefs at supreme courts.
Prior to joining Eimer Stahl, John worked as an associate in the appellate and white collar groups of an AmLaw 10 firm. He also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Amy Coney Barrett in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Before his legal career, John, a decorated combat veteran, served as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps.
John has been recognized for his commercial litigation experience in the Best Lawyers "Ones to Watch" ranking, and he was also named an Illinois Rising Star by Super Lawyers. He has further been hand selected to sit on two national boards of "emerging leaders."
Experience
Case Experience
Job Titles:
- Staff Attorney
- Staff Attorney / Chicago
Joon Ahn is a staff attorney at Eimer Stahl LLP. His practice includes representations in class-action antitrust litigation, government investigations, and internal investigations.
Before joining the firm, Joon worked as a contract attorney for a variety of e-discovery cases including government investigations, internal investigations involving FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) issues, and antitrust litigation.
Experience
Case Experience
Jordan V. Hill is a Stakeholder in Eimer Stahl's Chicago office. He focuses his practice on a variety of complex commercial litigation, class actions, and appellate matters.
Prior to joining the firm, Jordan was an associate at one of the nation's top law firms where he handled patent litigation, appellate, and various complex litigation disputes. Jordan has experience in state and federal courts at the trial and appellate levels. He has represented and counseled large corporate clients in the technology and financial sectors, industry and advocacy groups, and various pro bono clients.
Before entering private practice, Jordan served as a law clerk to the Honorable James C. Ho of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Experience
Case Experience
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner / Chicago
Lisa Meyer joined Eimer Stahl as a partner at its formation in 2000, and is the co-chair of the firm's Environmental, Products Liability and Toxic Torts practice group. Lisa represents corporate clients in complex litigation across the country, including products liability, toxic tort, consumer fraud and business disputes. Lisa has been recognized as an Illinois Leading Lawyer in Commercial Litigation.
Lisa also has represented clients in a variety of pro bono matters, including hate crime and international human rights cases. In 2018 and 2019 she served as the President of the Board of Directors for the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Inc. From 1995 to 2000, Lisa was an associate in the Chicago office of Sidley & Austin.
Experience
Case Experience
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner / Chicago
Over the course of a three decade practice in business litigation, Mike McCluggage has represented corporate clients throughout the United States in a wide variety of complex proceedings. He has extensive experience in antitrust litigation, government antitrust investigations, internal investigations of client business practices, and the counseling of clients on antitrust and other business risks. He has had lead roles in major litigation throughout the country including a number of antitrust lawsuits brought parallel to government investigations, class actions and other business lawsuits. He currently serves as head of a group of defendants in 22 lawsuits in multidistricted antitrust, RICO, and class action proceedings. His prior experience includes leadership of a joint defense group in the successful resolution of 14 related conspiracy cases filed throughout the country. He has significant background in formulating defenses to certification of classes in antitrust and other business-based commercial cases. His experience encompasses representation of a variety of industries including pharmaceutical manufacturers, insurers, airlines, and equipment manufacturers. Many of these engagements have included counseling clients on governmental and media attention to litigation. Mike is counsel to the legal affairs committee of the board of one of the nation's largest corporations.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner / Chicago
Prior to co-founding Eimer Stahl LLP in July 2000, Nate was a partner at Sidley & Austin, where he was a member of the firm's Executive Committee, General Counsel to the firm, and co-head of the Commercial and Regulatory Litigation Practice Group. Nate also served as head of the firm's litigation practice in its New York office.
Experience
Case Experience
Nate has been recognized by Chambers since 2002 and has been named a Star Individual, one of only two Illinois antitrust lawyers currently ranked as such, since 2012. Awarded to lawyers with exceptional recommendations in their field, Star Individuals are defined by Chambers as "among the crème de la crème-the standard by which others are judged." Much client commentary focuses on Nate's ability to understand his clients' businesses and formulate advice based on their particular needs. One client notes they seek Nate's services "because of his keen understanding of the way we do business and what's important to us. That's unique to him and his firm." Another states, "He understood our pain points and our needs and he could meld that into how to defend us. He always provides very practical advice."
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Managing Partner of Eimer Stahl 's Silicon Valley
Robert Dunn is the Managing Partner of Eimer Stahl's Silicon Valley office. He focuses his practice on appellate and complex litigation in a variety of areas, with a focus on class actions, constitutional law, administrative law, environmental law, and insurance-related disputes. He has represented clients in a variety of industries in high-stakes commercial disputes before the Supreme Court of the United States, various state and appellate courts, and various federal district courts. He has also helped coordinate large joint defense groups in several complex multi-district litigations. Rob regularly drafts amicus briefs in California courts on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States and serves on the Chamber's Advisory Committee for Energy & Environmental Litigation.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner / Madison
- Writer
Ryan Walsh focuses his nationwide practice on complex trial and appellate litigation and corporate counseling. Having handled matters in tribunals at every level in dozens of jurisdictions, Ryan has maintained a perfect win record in all of the cases to have resolved while he managed the litigation either for plaintiffs or defendants. His practice covers a wide variety of areas, including class actions, government regulation, commercial disputes, constitutional law, corporate governance, land use, employment, and energy.
Named to Forbes' "30 Under 30: Law and Policy" list in 2017, Ryan has won three "best brief" accolades from the State Bar of Wisconsin, the most of any lawyer in the competition's history. His briefing has also won awards from the National Association of Attorneys General and the International Municipal Lawyers Association.
Ryan previously served as Wisconsin's Chief Deputy Solicitor General, where he ran many of the State's highest-stakes cases in the trial and appellate courts. Before that, he worked in Washington D.C. in an elite complex-litigation practice group of an Am Law 10 firm.
After graduating with high honors and Order of the Coif from the University of Chicago Law School, where he was editor in chief of the University of Chicago Law Review and where he now serves as a Lecturer in Law, Ryan was a law clerk on the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice Antonin Scalia and on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain.
Experience
Case Experience
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner / Chicago
Sarah Catalano is a Partner in the Madison and Chicago offices of Eimer Stahl. Her nationwide practice focuses on complex commercial disputes. Sarah has significant trial and deposition experience, including stand-up roles in jury and bench trials and international arbitration. She has represented clients in a range of industries, including health care, chemicals, food and agriculture, energy, and technology. Sarah maintains an active pro bono practice, representing clients in civil rights and criminal matters in state and federal courts. Outside of work, Sarah is a member of the American Constitution Society and volunteers on the Board of the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center.
Before joining Eimer Stahl, Sarah served as a staff law clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, where she assisted all judges on the court in drafting opinions and orders.
Sarah is admitted to practice in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Experience
Case Experience
Job Titles:
- Staff Attorney
- Staff Attorney / Chicago
Stuart F. Primack is a staff attorney at Eimer Stahl. He focuses his practice on the litigation of commercial disputes, breach of contract and tort claims. Stuart also has experience in post-judgment enforcement and collection actions and has represented several large life, health and disability insurers and administrators, fiduciaries, employers, self-insured benefit plans and financial services companies in ERISA-governed disputes. Stuart has litigated matters in state and federal courts, at the appellate levels, before arbitrators and mediators and other tribunals throughout the country.
Prior to Eimer Stahl, Stuart was a senior associate at a Chicago-based litigation firm where he represented clients in the insurance and financial services industries.
Experience
Case Experience
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner / Chicago
Susan M. Razzano is a partner at Eimer Stahl. Sue has extensive experience in complex civil litigation, including class action and multidistrict litigation defense work. Her practice focuses on product liability, consumer fraud litigation, antitrust, and commercial litigation, including settling and administering class action lawsuits. Sue practices nationwide, in both federal and state court, and has experience handling international arbitrations.
Prior to joining Eimer Stahl LLP in 2011, Sue was an Associate at Sidley Austin LLP where she had worked since graduating law school in 2006.
Experience
Case Experience
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Managing Partner of Eimer Stahl LLP 's Chicago
- Named Law360 2021 Competition Editorial Board Member
- Named Law360 2022 Competition Editorial Board Member
- Partner / Chicago
Vanessa G. Jacobsen is the Managing Partner of Eimer Stahl LLP's Chicago office and co-chairs the firm's Antitrust Group. Vanessa has experience in a wide variety of antitrust litigation, investigation, compliance, and counseling matters. She has prosecuted and defended antitrust, competition and unfair trade practice claims, including complaints regarding exclusionary business practices. She also has represented clients in antitrust investigations by the United States Department of Justice. Vanessa has developed and implemented robust compliance programs, including forensic audits, risk assessments, policy drafting, and employee training, covering a wide range of antitrust and competition issues - e.g., price fixing, competitor collaboration and information exchange, market intelligence practices, MSRP and other RPM policies, product allocation, price gauging and Robinson-Patman violations.
Vanessa has been recognized by several prominent publications for antitrust litigation, including Chambers USA, Leading Lawyers, Best Lawyers, and Super Lawyers. She also was named one of Chicago's Notable Women Lawyers by Crain's Chicago Business. Vanessa served as a member of Competition Law360's Editorial Advisory Board and was appointed to serve on the Antitrust Subcommittee of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives. She also is a member of the Antitrust and Litigation sections and the Business Torts Litigation and Class Action committees of the American Bar Association. Vanessa regularly speaks on the topics of antitrust law, contracts, and data and e-discovery issues.
Experience
Case Experience
Vanessa Jacobsen named to Law360's Competition Editorial Advisory Board