HARRIS WINICK HARRIS - Key Persons
Carolyn Winick is a trusted advisor and advocate for employers in a variety of industries on employment-related disputes and issues.
Carolyn Winick concentrates her legal practice in employment related litigation, representing employers in claims brought against them in local, state and federal agencies as well as in state and federal court. In addition to representing employers in agencies and courts, Carolyn also counsels clients regarding ongoing employment issues and performs investigations of internal employee complaints. Before joining the Firm, Carolyn practiced employment law at a large law firm and worked in-house as employment counsel for a large energy generation and delivery company.
After law school, Carolyn spent two and a half years serving as a law clerk to the Honorable Ann Claire Williams (Ret.), who was then a U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. From 2017-2018, Carolyn again served as a law clerk for Judge Williams, who at that point was serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Education
Carolyn received her J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1989. Carolyn received her Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Illinois in 1986.
Edward Vanicek, Deceased, and Sara Vanicek v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue; John B. Moden and Ruth Moden v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 85 T.C. 731 (1985). Tax Court opinion involving whether the fair rental value of lodging furnished to petitioners by their employer, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Illinois, was excludable from gross income under the provisions of I.R.C. section 119.
Elissa Isaacs is an experienced litigator who focuses on complex commercial and construction cases throughout the United States.
Jared D. Michael is an associate attorney at Harris Winick Harris LLP. His practice is primarily focused on complex commercial and construction litigation.
Jeff Winick, the Firm's co-founder, represents a wide range of businesses in complex commercial matters, including some of the most prominent institutions in the United States, with significant expertise in construction related matters.
Jeff Winick, the Firm's co-founder, represents a wide range of businesses in complex commercial matters, including some of the most prominent institutions in the United States. As a focus, Jeff has significant expertise in construction related matters. His clientele include ownership as well as contractors and design professionals. He is experienced in litigation in both state and federal court as well as alternative dispute resolution, including arbitration and mediation. As a corollary to this practice, Jeff offers counsel throughout the construction process to facilitate the management of complex construction projects. Jeff also assists his clients with the drafting and negotiation of design and construction agreements and has prepared the form documents used by many clients for all of their construction contracting needs.
Jeff receives annual recognition as one of the top practitioners in the field by Best Lawyers in America, the Leading Lawyers Network, Super Lawyers and Chambers USA. In 2014, he was selected as the Chicago Construction Litigation Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers. He has been inducted into the Society of Illinois Construction Attorneys.
Jeff is an Adjunct Professor at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, assisted in the creation of the Integration Course (a multi-disciplinary study of architectural and engineering practice in the "real world") at the University of Illinois Graduate School of Architecture, where he lectures each year and lectures at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, the Northwestern University Law School and the Illinois Institute of Technology School of Architecture. Besides authoring numerous professional papers (including several chapters in volumes prepared by the Illinois Institute of Continuing Education) and speaking on matters related to the construction industry, Jeff works with numerous industry organizations to offer service to the greater construction community. For example, he is a member of the Chicago Committee on High Rise Buildings, where, in conjunction with the City of Chicago, he assisted in drafting revisions to the Chicago Façade Ordinance and he is a member of the American Society of Testing and Materials (ADTM), where he helped draft a national façade inspection standard.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Formerly an Architect
- Member of the American Bar Association
John-Paul Lujan, formerly an architect, has practiced law for more than 25 years with a focus on counseling businesses, organizations and institutions in connection with their design, development and construction needs.
Mr. Lujan is a member of the American Bar Association and Chicago Bar Association and the American Institute of Architects. He is admitted to practice in Illinois, New York, Texas, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois.
Kenneth L Harris's practice is primarily devoted to advising corporations (public and privately held), partnerships and individuals on federal and state tax controversies and transactional tax planning matters.
Marisa K. Perry is a litigator focusing on complex commercial disputes arising from corporate transactions and construction agreements. She has significant experience litigating a broad range of matters including breach of contract, fraud, unfair competition and trade secrets, trademark, trusts, and class actions. In addition, Marisa has represented corporations in connection with internal investigations, and individual clients in high-profile white collar criminal cases.
Marisa has a vibrant criminal and civil pro bono practice, which has included representing individuals in federal and state courts. She argued and persuaded the Seventh Circuit to reverse summary judgment in a Section 1983 civil rights case on behalf of an inmate who was challenging the conditions of his confinement. Marisa led a complex RICO class action through settlement approval and appeal on behalf of rent controlled and rent regulated tenants who sued their landlord for forcing them out of their homes. Marisa also was part of a team that successfully appealed a 20-year conviction to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and she briefed and argued her client's resentencing in the district court. Marisa has been recognized for her pro bono efforts within the legal community. In 2010, Marisa received an Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in recognition of her outstanding commitment to pro bono representation and her service to the court. In 2011, Marisa was named the winner of the Albert E. Jenner, Jr. Pro Bono Award in connection with her work on a complex RICO class action against a New York City landlord.
Prior to joining the Firm, Marisa was a senior associate at a large litigation firm in New York City and Chicago focused on complex commercial litigation. In law school, Marisa first-chaired a criminal bench trial in Michigan state court and successfully defended her client against charges of domestic violence and breaking and entering. She was part of Michigan's American College of Trial Lawyers regional championship trial team and received an award for her oral advocacy. Before attending law school, Marisa worked in telecommunications and on federal grants involving clinical research and evaluation studies.
Matt Koenders represents corporations, partnerships and individuals in all aspects of transactional tax planning, and in the resolution of federal tax controversies. Matt has extensive experience in structuring corporate and partnership transactions, including acquisitions and divestitures (tax-free reorganizations, spin-offs and related business combinations and dispositions), real estate joint ventures and cross-border tax planning. Before joining the firm, Matt practiced as a tax lawyer at Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg, LLP and Mayer, Brown & Platt, both in Chicago, Illinois.
He is admitted to practice in the state of Illinois and is a member of the American Bar Association.
Education
Matt received his Juris Doctor degree from Harvard University in 2003, and his Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude, from Wayne State University in 2000.
Peter Donoghue focuses on analyzing and resolving sophisticated legal issues, with a focus in government and business related cases.
Peter Donoghue received his law degree from Duke University, where he was an editor of Law & Contemporary Problems, and his bachelor's degree from Georgetown University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Throughout his practice, Peter has focused on analyzing and resolving sophisticated legal issues. After graduating from Duke, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Kenneth F. Ripple of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which is the court that hears appeals from the federal trial courts of Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. He then went to work as an associate in the Litigation Department of Mayer Brown, where he litigated complex actions, including one of the largest mass tort litigations ever filed.
From Mayer Brown, Peter re-entered government service, working as an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago. At the City he handled commercial claims, as well as First Amendment, due process and other constitutional claims. His matters included high-profile cases involving the rights of protestors to gain access to a national political convention and a constitutional challenge to a City program aimed at abating the hazards posed by abandoned buildings. He also counseled City officials on their legal obligations.
Peter then joined the firm now known as DLA Piper LLP (US), which has become one of the largest law firms in the world. At DLA Piper, he focused his practice on counseling clients involved in business disputes and resolving complex class and business claims.
In 2013, Peter launched the Donoghue Law Firm, which he founded with the goal of providing business and business people with knowledgeable, practical, and responsive legal representation and advice.
Mr. Donoghue serves as a co-author of the Attorneys' Guide to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, a leading treatise on appellate practice. He formerly worked as a development volunteer in Peru, and speaks English and Spanish.
Bob Bedore is a tax lawyer with extensive experience representing both business and individual taxpayers at every phase of the administrative and judicial tax controversy process. Bob's clients include large multinational public and privately-held companies subject to the IRS Large Business and International (LB&I) examination program, partnerships and joint ventures, entrepreneurs, affluent families and individuals, trusts and estates, and tax exempt organizations, and his competencies run the gamut, from audit through administrative appeals and post-appeals mediation of contested tax disputes, at trial when tax litigation becomes necessary, obtaining private letter rulings and all forms of technical guidance and advice from the IRS National Office, negotiating compromised alternatives to the immediate and enforced collection of unpaid tax assessments under threat of federal tax lien, levy, asset seizure or forfeiture, and the abatement of civil tax penalties and additions to tax.
Bob has achieved notable recognition within the legal and professional tax community including being recognized as a leader in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers in Business (recommended in "Tax") since 2008, being recommended in the 2014 edition of The Legal 500 United States, being included in the Leading Lawyers Network (Tax Law: Business), and being AV Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell's highest peer recognition for ethical standards and legal ability.
Bob is a former IRS senior trial attorney with the Office of Chief Counsel, and has been a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Illinois since 1975. Bob also is a member of the adjunct faculty at Loyola University's School of Law, where he has taught coursework in the area of Federal Tax Procedure and Litigation for more than 20 years.
Bob Harris, the Firm's co-founder, focuses on a wide variety of complex construction and commercial litigation matters for public and private companies and prominent individuals. For more than 37 years, Bob has successfully tried and resolved cases throughout the United States in both state and federal courts and in arbitration proceedings. Bob has handled a wide variety of construction disputes for owners, developers, architects, engineers and general contractors, as well as commercial disputes ranging from breach of contract, to real estate disputes, to franchise litigation, to intellectual property, and executive employment lawsuits. Bob also acts as an arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association and has arbitrated several high profile arbitrations in the construction industry.
Bob has achieved notable recognition within the legal community including being distinguished as one of the Best Lawyers in America™ and the Top 5% of Lawyers in Illinois according to the Leading Lawyers Network, Illinois Super Lawyer (2006-present), and Chambers USA (2009-present). Bob also is a member of the Society of Illinois Construction Attorneys. Bob and the Firm have been active in the legal community as members of pro bono organizations providing legal services. Bob has handled several pro bono litigation matters and has served as a board member on one of Chicago's long-standing charitable organizations.
Bob served as an Adjunct Professor at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law for more than fifteen years, teaching a class in Construction Law, and also served as a frequent guest lecturer at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
Sean P. Higgins is an associate attorney with a practice focused on construction and complex commercial litigation.
Sean P. Higgins is an associate attorney at Harris Winick Harris LLP. His practice is focused on construction and complex commercial litigation.
At the University of Michigan Law School, Sean served as a student attorney for the Environmental Law Clinic, Unemployment Insurance Clinic, and Unemployment Policy Clinic. In his role at the Environmental Law Clinic, Sean contributed to litigation against the United States Department of Transportation in which the National Wildlife Federation challenged the operation of Enbridge Line Five, an oil pipeline that threatened the sanctity of the Straits of Mackinac and other navigable waters throughout Michigan. As a student attorney at the Unemployment Insurance Clinic, Sean defended Michigan residents experiencing unemployment in administrative law hearings and appeals before the Michigan Circuit Courts and Michigan Court of Appeals. During his time in the Unemployment Policy Clinic, Mr. Higgins appeared before the Michigan House of Representatives as an advocate for reforming Michigan's unemployment insurance program, contributed to a pro-claimant legislation package that ultimately passed into law, and fought to bring justice to thousands of Michigan residents impacted by Michigan's unemployment fraud scandal.
During his law school summers, Mr. Higgins served as a legal intern at the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois and a law clerk at a Chicago-based firm. Mr. Higgins' experience at the United States Attorney's Office culminated in him successfully prosecuting a petty offender before a federal magistrate judge in a bench trial.
After graduating from the University of Michigan Law School, Sean joined a boutique law firm on the East Coast where his practice focused on construction law, public contracts, and commercial litigation. While practicing on the East Coast, Sean litigated a residential condominium dispute over leaks stemming from common elements to a six-figure settlement and managed all aspects of litigation across three states against two judgment debtors that attempted to shelter assets to defeat their creditors.
Education
Sean received a Bachelor of Arts with high distinction in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Michigan and a minor in business administration from the Ross School of Business. Sean then earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan Law School in December 2017. He is currently admitted to practice in Illinois and New York.