Eric N. Macey

BIOGRAPHY

ERIC N. MACEY is a founding partner of Novack and Macey LLP, a sophisticated business litigation boutique.  Eric is rated as one of the top 100 Lawyers in Illinois per Super Lawyers.

Since its inception in 1984, Novack and Macey LLP has built a national practice involving complex business litigation and litigation counseling.  Eric is considered one of the country’s top commercial litigators.  His clients consist of a wide range of business corporations and institutions, investment ventures, partnerships and individuals.  Among other clients, Eric has represented or currently represents Medline Industries, Inc., Kohler Co., Sunoco Logistics, L.P., PJM Interconnection, L.L.C., Yahoo! Inc., General Growth Properties, Inc., Constellation Energy Group, Mirant Corporation, Central Purchasing LLC, Wrightwood Capital LLC, North American Corporation of Illinois, Checker Taxi Association, Inc., The Lurie Co., GES Exposition Services, Inc., Travelweb LLC, McDonald’s Corporation, affiliates of Time Inc., Hyatt Corporation and ExxonMobil Corporation.

Although he is always happy to see a client’s case through to a successful settlement short of trial, Eric is most at home in the courtroom. He has extensive trial experience in state and federal courts throughout the country and has acted as both an arbitrator and mediator in various alternative dispute resolution settings. In the past several years he has obtained:

• A $1.75 million punitive damages award was substantially reduced by the Illinois Supreme Court
• A $70 million judgment against a pharmaceutical company in a royalty payment dispute
• A multi-million dollar judgment for the nation’s largest wholesale power producer after a bench trial
• An arbitration award restraining $100+ million litigation in Guatemala against a U.S. domestic power wholesaler, which was confirmed by the federal court in Washington, D.C.
• A settlement agreement for a regional transmission organization in a $50 million energy market dispute with hedge funds
• An $8 million judgment in a stock buy-out suit for Gerry Kenny, former CEO of the Kenny Construction Company
• A judgment for his client at the close of plaintiff’s case for a $10 million breach of warranty claim on large power generators
• An injunction for an Internet travel service against Orbitz for breach of contract
• A jury verdict in federal court in Chicago to rescind his client’s multi-million purchase of fake antique statues
• A favorable multi-million dollar settlement of lender liability litigation
• A multi-million dollar judgment against a corporation and its president for bilking the federal government
• A successful result defending a senior Fortune 500 executive in claims by his former employer
• A successful defense at trial in federal court in Chicago for a corporation’s board of directors against claims by shareholders for breach of fiduciary duty and shareholder oppression

Eric has been an instructor with the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, and for many years has been an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University School of Law, teaching courses in Trial Advocacy and Discovery. 

Eric is admitted to practice in Illinois and numerous federal district courts and courts of appeal.  He is a member of the Trial Bar of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and is a member of the Chicago, American and Energy Bar Associations.  He is a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers, serves on the Advisory Board of The Institute for Energy Law, and is currently a co-chair of the Fiduciary Duty Sub-Committee of the ABA’s Commercial & Business Litigation Committee.  Eric is the immediate past President of the Chicago-Lincoln American Inn of Court.  He has also been selected as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and is regularly selected by his peers as an Illinois “Super Lawyer.”

Eric is also the immediate past Chairman of The Posse Foundation in Chicago and a member of its National Board. The Posse Foundation identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential who may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes. The Foundation extends to these students the opportunity to pursue personal and academic excellence by placing them in supportive, multicultural teams (“Posses”) of 10 students. The Foundation’s partner universities award Posse Scholars four-year, full tuition leadership scholarships.

EDUCATION

• Princeton University (A.B. 1973), Magna Cum Laude
• Annenberg School of Communications, University of Pennsylvania (M.A. 1975), full tuition scholarship
• George Washington University Law School (J.D. 1978), High Honors, Order of the Coif; member, George Washington Law Review

BAR ADMISSIONS

• Illinois
• Trial Bar of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• U. S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• Numerous other federal district courts and courts of appeal

SPEECHES AND PUBLICATIONS

• “Don’t let technology changes put you at risk,” An interview with Smart Business Chicago Online, October 5, 2011.  Read more.
• “Building a Successful Law Career,” Speaker for the Judicial Intern OpportunityProgram (JIOP) Orientation held by the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation (2010)
• “2009 Case Evaluation Conference,” Panelist for Law Bulletin Seminars (2009)”
• Arbitration: Issues & Drafting,” Presentation for the Corporation & Business Law Committee of The Chicago Bar Association (2009)
• “What Every Corporate Lawyer Needs to Know About Valuing a Private Business,” Presentation for The Chicago Bar Association (2006)
• Co-author, “Are Your Attorney-Client Retention Agreements Enforceable?” CBA Record, January 2001
• “Appeals Court Warns A New Retainer Agreement Pitfall,” Law.com
• “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” USA Today
• “The Collateral Estoppel Effect of Administrative Agency Actions in Federal Civil Litigation,” 46 George Washington Law Review, 65 (1977)

REPRESENTATIVE CASES

• Kathleen Lawlor v. North American Corp. of Illinois, 2012 WL 4950860 (Ill. 2012). Read more.
• Gerard M. Kenny v. Kenny Industries, 406 Ill. App. 3d 56 (2010). Read more.
• Pentech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Par Pharmaceutical, Inc., 597 F. Supp. 2d 758 (N.D. Ill. 2009).  Read more.
• PJM Interconnection, LLC v. Gorton, et al., Case No. 1:08-cv-216 (D. Del.) (filed April 16, 2008).  Read more.
• Mirant Americas Energy Marketing LP v. 1st Rochdale Co-op. Group, Ltd., 363 F. Supp. 2d 679 (S.D.N.Y. 2005).  Read more.
• Pentech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Par Pharmaceutical, Inc., No. 04 C 3149, 2004 WL 2390088 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 21, 2004).  Read more.
• In re USinternetworking, Inc., 310 B.R. 274 (Bkrtcy. D. Md. 2004). Read more.

MEDIA COVERAGE

• Steve Novack and Eric Macey Are Again Named to the List of Illinois Super Lawyers
• “Small but Mighty” Litigation Boutique Scores Eight Appellate Victories in 2012
• Smart Business Interviews Eric Macey on How Businesses Can Decide Whether to Use Arbitration to Resolve Business Disputes
• Illinois First District Appellate Court Affirms $7 Million Judgment in Favor of Novack and Macey’s Trust Client
• Novack and Macey Defeats Summary Judgment on Behalf of Shareholder in Family-Owned Business
• Novack and Macey Wins Dismissal for Kohler Co
• Eric Macey Argues Before Illinois Supreme Court on Damages for “Intrusion upon Seclusion”
• Steve Novack and Eric Macey Rank Among the Top 100 Illinois Super Lawyers for 2012
• Fleming, Macey, Mann, Marinello, Miller, Novack, Shonkwiler and Tarkington Are 2012 Illinois Super Lawyers
• Don’t let technology changes put you at risk: Interview with Smart Business Chicago Online
• Eric Macey Named to International Society of Barristers
• Kohler Affirmed by Appellate Court on Jury Trial Question
• Novack and Macey LLP’s Recent Supreme Court Victory Is the Latest in a String of Victories on Behalf of its Clients in Illinois Reviewing Courts
• Eric Macey Quoted in StreetWise on The Posse Foundation
• The Posse Foundation Recognizes Eric Macey as a “Leader, Energizer and Spokesman”
• Macey and Tedrowe Win Appeal for Client in Multi-Million-Dollar Case
• Fleming, Macey, Mann, Marinello, Miller, Novack, Shonkwiler and Tarkington Are 2011 Illinois Super Lawyers
• Novack and Macey LLP Joins The Institute for Energy Law
• Eric N. Macey to Speak at 2010 Case Examination Conference
• Novack and Macey Attorneys Effect Settlement Following Powerful Opening
• ABA Litigation Section Recognizes Firm’s Support of Intern Program; Eric Macey and Kristen Werries Collier Speak at Intern Orientation
• Novack and Macey Defeats Warranty Claims
• Chicago Bar Foundation Recognizes Novack and Macey for “Investing in Justice” Campaign
• Novack and Macey Scores Hard-Fought Summary Judgment Victories
• Novack and Macey Obtains Arbitration Victory
• Novack and Macey Attorneys Again Selected as Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
• Novack and Macey Celebrates 25 Years!
• Novack and Macey Sponsors Case Evaluation Seminar
• Federal Court Awards Novack and Macey Client Sanctions
• Novack and Macey Sponsors RealShare Chicago 2009