Thomas C. Koessl
Practice Areas:
Commercial Litigation,
Appellate,
Labor & Employment
Biography:
Mr. Koessl has extensive experience representing clients in a broad range of complex commercial cases such as breach of fiduciary duty cases and actions alleging violations of securities laws. Mr. Koessl also has extensive experience in accounting malpractice cases and labor and employment matters, including having represented clients before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations Board. Additionally, Mr. Koessl has represented clients in obtaining or defending over a dozen temporary retraining orders or preliminary injunctions.
Education:
Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago-Kent College of Law, J.D., 1996
Honors: With Highest Honors, Order of Coif, Member of Law Review
University of Wisconsin-Parkside, B.A., Magna Cum Laude, 1993
Bar Admissions:
Illinois (1997), Wisconsin (1996)
Professional Memberships:
Wisconsin Bar Association
Seventh Circuit Bar Association
Additional Bar Admissions:
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Representative Cases:
Utility Resource Management v. American Hotel, U.S.D.C., Chicago, Illinois. Represented American Hotel Register in a $3.2M breach of contract suit filed by URM to a successful confidential settlement prior to closing arguments in a bench trial. (2004)
Board of Trustees of Community College District No. 508, County of Cook, State of Illinois v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Cook County, Illinois. Represented the Board of Trustees in an accounting malpractice claim against PWC and Arthur Anderson. While Anderson settled before trial for a confidential amount, the jury awarded more than $13,000,000 in damages against PWC, the largest reported audit malpractice jury verdict in Illinois. That judgment was affirmed by the Appellate Court in July, 2002 and the Illinois Supreme Court in December, 2003.
Pacholder High Yield Fund v. Cucuz, et al. Represented the former Chairman and CEO of Hayes-Lemmerz, Inc. in class action case for breach of fiduciary duty and breach of the securities laws stemming from a several hundred million dollar bond offering.