Stephen Novack

BIOGRAPHY

Steve Novack, the firm’s co-founder, handles cases for a wide range of business corporations, institutions, partnerships, individuals, and some of the wealthiest and most prominent families in the Chicagoland area. During his 38 years of legal practice he has had extensive experience trying cases, both before juries and judges. He has also handled appeals in the United States Court of Appeals for the 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and Federal Circuits; the Illinois Supreme Court; and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Districts of the Illinois Appellate Court.

The companies and individuals for whom Steve has litigated cases reads like a who’s who, including notables such as:

• Sam Zell
• Donald Trump
• Fox Network News
• United States Government (FDIC/RTC)
• Jones Lang LaSalle
• Sears
• Credit Suisse
• Prudential Insurance Co.
• Smithfield Properties

Steve has also represented many notable law firms. Steve has achieved considerable recognition within the profession, having been selected as one of the Top 100 Illinois Leading Lawyers and listed among Illinois’ top litigators in the international ratings publication, Chambers USA.

The National Law Journal in December 2008 featured Steve in its article, “Novack and Macey: A ‘law firm’s law firm’.” When major Chicago law firms need a litigator, they call Novack and Macey to represent their interests in high-stakes disputes and multi-million dollar legal malpractice cases, the article said. Clients called Steve “independent-minded” and the firm “creative, efficient and aggressive.”

Steve participated in an American Bar Association program being run in cooperation with judges of the Seventh Circuit and Northern District of Illinois to make improvements to the civil jury system. Steve worked on a proposed change to allow attorneys to make interim statements to the jury, rather than be limited to opening and closing statements only. This innovation was successfully tested and is used by many judges.

Steve was born (1946) and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He and his wife, Ilene, have four children and five grandchildren and live in Glencoe, Illinois.

EDUCATION

• University of Missouri at St. Louis (B.A. 1968), Magna Cum Laude
• Northwestern University Law School (J.D. 1972), Magna Cum Laude, Order of the Coif; notes and comments editor, Northwestern University Law Review; represented Northwestern University Law School in the National Moot Court Competition

BAR ADMISSIONS

• Illinois
• Trial Bar of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the First, Second, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Federal Circuits
• United States District Courts for many Districts throughout the country

SPEECHES AND PUBLICATIONS

• “Javins v. First National Realty Corp. – The Implied Warranty of Habitability and Rent Withholding in Urban Leases,” 66 Northwestern University Law Review, 227 (1971)
• “Jack Spring, Inc. v. Little; Appeal Bonds; Implied Warranty of Habitability, Defenses to Actions for Eviction — New Principles of Landlord-Tenant Law,” 66 Northwestern University Law Review, 790 (1972)

REPRESENTATIVE CASES

• Millennium Park Joint Venture, LLC v. James M. Houlihan, Assessor of Cook County, et al., Supreme Court of Illinois, No. 108923, 2010 WL 5187762 (Ill. Dec. 23, 2010)
• Perlman v. Zell, 185 F.3d 850 (7th Cir. 1999)
• Shields Enterprises, Inc. v. First Chicago Corp., 975 F.2d 1290 (7th Cir. 1992)
• Burke v. 401 N. Wabash Venture, LLC, No. 08-5330, 2009 WL 2252194 (N.D. Ill. July 28, 2009)
• Gaffney v. City of Chicago, 302 Ill. App. 3d 41 (1st Dist. 1998)