Lawrence Allen Stein | Chicago Litigation Lawyer

I defended a large, publicly owned manufacturing company from an implausible claim presented to a jury in the amount of $57,000,000, prevailing on virtually all the contested issues.

One step at a time.

Experience, competence, and the ability to really listen.

It's important to hire a local lawyer for small cases, or those that you don't expect to remain pending very long. In big cases that will take a while to get to trial, an attorney from out of town can be the lead lawyer, with a local lawyer assisting.

Quite a bit, depending on the complexity of the case.

All the documents in advance, and if a case has been filed, the court's case number.

I try to listen carefully, and Poland a strategy that is designed for that case, not just the I always have handled similar cases in the past.

Trying a case to a jury or taking an appeal. They both provide unique opportunities to focus all my concentration on the matter at had.

I find various forms of manual labor a great complement to the intellectual and abstract legal issues I encounter every day.

With gusto. I've held elected positions in my community, volunteer for, and financially support, worthy causes, and serve on the the board do directors of community organizations.

• -Du Page County Bar Association
  -Illinois State Bar Association
  -American Bar Association
  -Ilinois Trial Lawyers Association
  -Alumni Council of the Northen Illinois University College of Law
  -Appellate Lawyers Association
  -National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
  

• Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America
  Super Lawyer, 2012 -- Present
  Graduated with honors: Northern Illinois University College of Law
  Articles Editor: Northern Illinois University College of Law
  American Jurisprudence Award in Appellate Advocacy

• Won a jury verdict favorable to the client, the defendant, after a three-week trial. The plaintiff sought around $57 million, and obtained a verdict in the net amount of approximately $800,000. Both sides alleged fraud against the other. The jury found against the plaintiffs’ claim of fraud and in favor of the defendants’ claim of fraud against the plaintiff. The verdict was affirmed on appeal.

• Won a dismissal of an appeal after obtaining success at trial in an intractable dispute over the administration and disposition of a trust with substantial assets. The unpublished ruling after the dismissal of the appeal affirmed the result of the trial.

• Represented the defendant in a claim for $1,184,848.57 in damages for alleged breach of contract by the plaintiff. The plaintiff filed the claim in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Larry succeeded having the case transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, where the defendant conducted its business. The case was then dismissed by the court in Wisconsin, which prompted an extremely favorable settlement in the approximate amount the defendant client offered before the suit was filed.

• Obtained a reversal of a judgment ordering the sale of virtually all of the client’s assets based on the restitution judgment (see bullet above) that was ultimately reversed as well. At Larry’s request, costs were taxed against the appellee personally, even though he was litigating in his capacity as the representative of the estate.

• In the Illinois Appellate Court for the Second District, obtained an outright reversal of a criminal conviction for felony theft, a sentence of nearly seven years in jail and a judgment for restitution in the amount of $320,000. The client was convicted after a jury trial handled by other counsel. The appellate court found the evidence presented at trial insufficient to prove the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, barring the prosecution from seeking a new trial on double jeopardy grounds, and essentially acquitting the defendant on appeal.

• -Author, “No Risk of Retroactively Validating Prior Void Orders When Submitting to the Jurisdiction of the Court after Final Judgment,” THE BRIEF, published by The Appellate Lawyers Association, May 16, 2014.
  
  -Author, “Caution: Follow the ‘Procedures Specified by Law’ Even When Filing an Unopposed Motion,” THE BRIEF, published by The Appellate Lawyers Association, 2012.
  
  -Author, “Does Failing To Obtain Leave of Court, As Required By A Supreme Court Rule, Deprive a Trial Court of Jurisdiction?”, THE BRIEF, published by The Appellate Lawyers Association, 2012.

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