Michael Dockterman

Current Matters in Active Litigation

• Representing Publicis Health in litigation over advertisement and marketing of pharmaceutical products.
• Representing several Publicis agencies in litigation on a range of matters around the country, including contract disputes, copyright, rights of publicity, indemnification claims, and bankruptcy claims.
• Representing Saks Fifth Avenue in multiple commercial real estate disputes over contractual obligations under leases and development agreements.
• Representing Tract and its affiliates in litigation over development rights related to data centers.
• Representing plaintiff inventor in multiple patent infringement matters in Delaware and California over technology issues.
• Representing manufacturer and licensee in litigation stemming from exposure claims to widely used pesticide.
• Representing a major financial institution in a variety of securities, contract and derivative litigation.
• Representing clients in litigation brought under the Illinois Biometric Information Protection Act.
• Representing League of Women Voters and chapters in litigation over voter registration and access to public officials in multiple jurisdictions.
• Representing buyer of corporate assets against claims that it is an effective successor to the seller on contract and lease obligations. 
• Representing clients in government investigations in the health care and advertising fields.

Recent Commercial Litigation

• Represented Hudson's Bay Company in the successful disposition of shareholder litigation in New York over its acquisition of Saks Fifth Avenue.
• Tried to defense jury verdict commercial customer claims by a refinery against PG&E following a power outage in San Francisco.
• Obtained dismissal of major financial institution against claims arising from servicing of mortgage pools totaling in excess of $4 billion, affirmed on appeal.
• Obtained the only trial verdict for seller in post-COVID-19 "busted deal" litigation in Delaware over buyer's termination of purchase agreement at the outset of the pandemic, affirmed by the Delaware Supreme Court.
• Negotiated global settlement with all 50 states and 6 US territories resolving investigation into pharmaceutical marketing practices, including related insurance issues.
• Obtained dismissal of former head of a business unit of a publicly traded company from securities class actions in New York alleging financial misrepresentations and breach of fiduciary duty.
• Successfully represented major financial institutions in multiple matters in commercial litigation, including pay-to-play suits, contract disputes and litigation over essential software.
• Obtained judgment for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock in litigation in Delaware arising from the sale of two businesses and related litigation involving the use of bonds, close-out of government contracts and resolution of lien claims, affirmed by the Delaware Supreme Court.
• Represented PG&E in several matters in litigation in California over contractual obligations and over business interruption claims.
• Represented telecommunications company in several contract matters in litigation and in bankruptcy proceedings as a result of pandemic-related breaches.
• Defeated claims against KeyBank Real Estate Capital in litigation over servicing of a $3.9 billion pool of loans arising from the default of the mortgage on the Bryant Park Hotel, affirmed by appellate court.
• Successfully defended colocation company in litigation over access rights and vendor contracts.
• On behalf of League of Women Voters, obtained injunction against state statute the limited the right to petition and to register voters, ensuring ballot access for all citizens in South Dakota.
• Successfully represented League of Women Voters in litigation to eliminate municipal restrictions on communications with the City Council and City officials in Cupertino, California.
• Represented medical testing provider in qui tam litigation under Illinois Insurance Fraud Claims Prevention Act.
• Obtained dismissal on motion of education technology company in multi-district antitrust litigation relating to sales of digital higher education courseware.
• Successfully resolved claims against promotion agency in litigation in California over the marketing of Blade Runner 2049.
• Successfully represented DISH in connection with actions by State Attorneys General to enjoin the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint, a condition of which was the sale of certain assets to DISH.
• Successful voting rights litigation for Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights in 2020 election in Wisconsin.
• Defeated series of claims across the country against Credit Suisse challenging the electronic registration system for real estate transactions against claims that the system wrongly avoids county filing fees, the last of which was dismissed by order of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
• Successfully represented Sears Holdings in multiple matters in litigation with vendors under various provisions of the UCC arising from supply chain agreements.
• Defeated claims against VTech Corporation in class action litigation arising from the hacking of information created to use the online aspects of tablets and other electronic devices.
• Defeated claims against Toys "R" Us in litigation under Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code seeking recognition of foreign proceedings invoked to avoid pending litigation obligations in the United States.
• Represented DISH in litigation over the controlling agreements governing carriage of stations following Apollo's acquisition of Cox and Northwest groups of stations.
• Successfully represented Georgia Power in matters arising from power failure at Atlanta's Harstfield-Jackson, the world's busiest airport.
• Successfully resolved claims against Royal Bank of Canada's Capital Markets unit in federal court litigation over the scope of plaintiff’s sale to RBC of a book of quarterly rankings for financial institutions and their debt offerings.
• Defeated several claims in litigation arising from the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act in Illinois and elsewhere.
• Successfully defended officer defendants in numerous suits in multi-district litigation in New York and in adversary proceedings in Delaware challenging the LBO of Tribune Company. Plaintiff bondholders and the Litigation Trustee sought damages for allowing the LBO to proceed, to recover the amounts paid as stay compensation and the amounts made on stock acquired in the LBO-related offering.
• Successfully defended Motorola Mobility and its directors in several lawsuits challenging the consideration for its acquisition by Google. Resolved disclosure claims prior to transaction and obtained dismissal of all rescissory damages claims.
• Tried to defense verdict claims by shareholder that he was entitled to greater share of sale proceeds following liquidity event for portfolio company.
• Successfully arbitrated real estate joint venture dispute for Sears Holdings arising from contracts governing allocation of cost responsibilities.
• Obtained dismissal of securities class action claims against largest investor in public company asserting failure to disclose fully both the nature of the investor's interests and his preferred position over other investors.
• Defeated injunction action against Toys "R" Us on a trademark, trade dress and trade secrets claim that sought to prevent the sale of one of the hottest toys for the 2012 holiday season; plaintiff's application for a TRO was denied after an evidentiary hearing and plaintiff ultimately dropped its claims. 
• Successfully defended Credit Suisse in matters involving the sale of certificates representing residential mortgage-backed securities under various state securities laws.
• Successfully defended Toys "R" Us in one of the largest multi-district consumer class actions ever brought, twice defeating certification and ultimately resolving suits by settlement to recover statutory damages for over 16 million claims in alleged violation of FACTA.
• Successfully defended claims against a national drug store chain that a tugboat captain was provided with prescriptions that left him unfit to guide a container ship that struck the Bay Bridge and fouled San Francisco Bay with bunker fuel.
• Defended marketing and transporting defendants against claims arising from the Lac-Mégantic fire and explosion in Canada in personal injury litigation in Illinois and Maine as well as in the bankruptcy court overseeing the reorganization of the rail carrier.
• Successfully resolved claims against Lenovo and Motorola Mobility in class action litigation challenging the warranties and service provided to purchasers of smartphones and smart watches.
• Arbitrated a number of complex commercial matters in the financial services industry, including the dispute between Toys "R" Us and Chase over their co-branded credit card program, leading to favorable decisions or resolutions.

Recent Corporate Governance and Counseling Engagements

• Advising financial services company on corporate governance issues related to prior management decisions.
• Advising public transportation board of directors on corporate governance and organizational matters.
• Advising multiple start-ups on initial and second level governance issues and structure.
• Advised global financial institution on reorganization of ethics and compliance groups following consolidation of internal organizations affecting risk, human resources and legal functions.
• Advised expanded audit committee and independent directors of global healthcare company during grand jury investigation, regulatory investigation and related qui tam and derivative litigation over alleged overcharging, conducting an internal investigation and guiding the board through resolution of all civil and criminal claims.
• Advised company founder following SPAC transaction to restore voting rights and reconfigure the board of directors.
• Counseled audit committee and independent directors of public company on potential exposure under federal and state law threatened by investors alleging failure to disclose adequately the company’s succession plans.
• Advised public company on potential exposure under securities laws threatened by investor challenging handling of investments made by the company in certain financial instruments.
• Defended Nalco and its directors in multiple derivative actions challenging the disclosures and compensation to be paid to the company’s shareholders in connection with its proposed acquisition by Ecolab. Plaintiffs challenged the judgment of the board of directors related to the proposed merger and allege that the purchase price was too low and undervalued shares. Matter settled without payment to plaintiffs. 
• Defended the outside directors of SFXE in connection with derivative litigation alleging corporate misconduct and a failure of board oversight in the sale of the company. 
• Advised two special committees of the board of directors of KeyCorp, one involving a demand and one alleging demand futility, arising from executive compensation and revenue-recognition issues, respectively. Both actions were resolved favorably on governance bases. 
• Defended Sturm Ruger against consolidated securities class actions filed in Connecticut alleging that certain officers and directors of the company violated federal securities law by issuing public statements failing to predict the adverse consequences of manufacturing and inventory changes at the company; matter settled favorably to our client.
• Represented the chair and CEO of a leading financial services firm following shareholder inquiries and subsequent demands concerning executive compensation and the quality of risk disclosures during the period leading up to the financial crisis of 2007-08. Matters were resolved without claims being made or payments to shareholders (or their lawyers).
• Advised several boards on reorganizing nonprofit organizations to bring them to an equal position with the standards required of public corporations under Sarbanes-Oxley and the listing standards of the principal self-regulatory organizations, including investigation and resolution of federal contracting issues arising from company conduct. 
• Successfully defended antitrust, copyright and RICO claims against the board of a standard-setting body and its related entities for alleged exclusionary and predatory conduct.

Recent Investigations

• Board investigation of CEO over charges of favoritism.
• Corporate investigation into alleged marginalization of compliance personnel leading to restructuring of the company’s compliance functions.
• Investigation at public university into allegations that the institution failed to respond properly to complaints concerning university personnel.
• Board investigation of legal department over charges of mishandling of claims against the corporation and complicity in judicial bribery.
• Board investigation into handling of tax issues and international investments.
• Company investigation of allegations of pay-to-play involvement by senior management of operating unit.
• Board investigation into allegations of procurement fraud in federal contracts to rebuild infrastructure destroyed in combat.

• Pantelist, "Crisis Management for In-House Counsel: Data Breaches, Social Media Attacks, Natural Disasters, Investigations, Developing a Proactive Plan, Identifying Potential Liabilities, Navigating the PR Fallout, Ensuring Business Continuity," Webinar, June 20, 2023

• Panelist, "Rising number of privacy-data-breach class actions, including those centralized in MDLs, temporary or here to stay? Consideration of special case-management procedures," Rabiej Litigation Law Center Online Class Action Bench-Bar Conference, July 20-21, 2023

• Moderator, "A Conversation with Diane Morse, Chief Counsel of ESPN," Sports & Entertainment Law Symposium at Duke University School of Law, Durham, NC, February 1, 2019

• Moderator, "Investigations – A Four Ring Circus," Chicago Association of Corporate Counsel CLE program, July 17, 2018

• Moderator, "Financial Markets," Law Bulletin's 2017 Chicago White Collar Crime & Corporate Governance Conference, Chicago, IL, April 19, 2017

• 2025 Global Law Experts - Litigation Lawyer of the Year in Illinois (2025)

• Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers, Litigation: General Commercial (2023)

• BTI Consulting Group, "Client Service All-Star" (2020)

• Legal 500 US, Dispute Resolution: General Commercial Disputes (2020)

• Legal 500 US, Litigation: Commercial Litigation (2016-2017)

• National Law Journal's "Trailblazers in Litigation" (2016)

• Law360 Inaugural Trial Ace (2015)

• Leading Lawyers, Commercial Litigation (2019-2023)

• Lawdragon, Leading Litigators in the United States

• Lawdragon, Leading Lawyers in America

• Best Lawyers in America, Commercial Litigation; Litigation: Intellectual Property

• Super Lawyers, Illinois, Business Litigation (2005-2023)

• Super Lawyers, Illinois, "Top 100 Attorneys"

• International Law Office and Lexology, Top Illinois Litigator, 2013 Client Choice Award 

• Who's Who in the World 

• Who's Who in America 

• Who's Who in the Midwest 

• Who's Who in American Law 

• Who's Who in Practicing Attorneys 

• Who's Who in Business and Finance and Leading Illinois Attorneys

• Senior Lecturing Fellow at Duke University School of Law
• Instructor, Women’s Director Development Program at Kellogg School of Management
• Former Chair, Board of Visitors of Duke University School of Law (2007-2009)
• Former president, Duke University School of Law Alumni Association
• Member, President’s Circle of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs
• Member, National Association of Corporate Directors
• Member, American Bar Association
• Member, Chicago Bar Association
• Fellow, American Bar Foundation