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Chambers USA 2017 Ranks Four Freeborn Practice Groups and Eight Attorneys

CHICAGO May 26, 2017 – Freeborn & Peters LLP is pleased to announce that Chambers USA has ranked four of the firm’s practice areas in Illinois and eight Freeborn attorneys as among the top leaders in law for 2017.

The firm’s Chambers-ranked practice areas for Illinois are Antitrust; Litigation: General Commercial; Media & Entertainment: Transactional; and Real Estate. In addition, Chambers USA “recognized” the firm’s Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Practice Group. The firm’s attorneys who were ranked by Chambers in Illinois for 2017 are Mitchell A. Carrel, Philip L. Comella, Jeffery M. Cross, Andrew L. Goldstein, Mark R. Goodman, David C. Gustman and Joseph T. McCullough. Freeborn attorney Daniel Hargraves was ranked in New York.

“We are honored that the prestigious Chambers USA has again ranked Freeborn and its attorneys as leaders in key practice areas for Illinois and New York,” said Michael J. Kelly, the firm’s Co-Managing Partner. “These accolades highlight our attorneys’ exceptional legal skills and knowledge, as well as their reputations for continually meeting and exceeding our clients’ legal needs and business goals.”

Published by London-based Chambers and Partners, the annual Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business directory ranks leading U.S. firms and attorneys in a wide range of practice areas based on in-depth research and client and peer interviews. Chambers distributes the referral guide to industry-leading companies and organizations worldwide.

Following are additional details about Freeborn’s ranked and “recognized” practice groups.

Antitrust: Freeborn’s Antitrust and Trade Regulation Practice, which is one of the firm’s largest practices, tries complex antitrust and trade regulation cases throughout the United States and assists clients in international proceedings in various jurisdictions, including the Canadian Competition Tribunal and the European Commission. The practice counsels clients and defends large antitrust and trade regulation cases on a variety of issues, and represents plaintiffs seeking redress under antitrust and trade regulation laws. Including former business managers and in-house counsel, the Antitrust and Trade Regulation Practice attorneys are part of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group, which includes more than 70 attorneys.

Litigation: General Commercial: Nearly half of the firm’s attorneys are litigators who have represented corporations in virtually every U.S. state. Clients range from emerging growth companies to Fortune 500 corporations in a variety of complex and often high-profile disputes. These have included large national and international manufacturing companies, banks, real estate firms, construction companies, high- technology firms, restaurant companies and public entities. Freeborn uses its state-of-the-art, in-house E-Discovery Lab to control clients’ costs, gain control over the process and provide a comprehensive solution to data management.

Media and Entertainment: Transactional: The firm’s Media & Entertainment Practice focuses on intellectual property (IP) and information technology (IT), as well as marketing-related law. In the areas of IP and IT, the practice includes trademark and copyright law; Internet, technology, outsourcing and computer law; advertising and promotion law; and entertainment law, including video production, theater and dance-related matters. Marketing law areas of emphasis include antitrust, pricing and distribution, as well as branding, licensing, entertainment, strategic alliances, supply relationships, complex contracts, advertising and new product development.

Real Estate: The group includes some of the most experienced and highly regarded attorneys from national and boutique law firms, as well as former developers, city planners, accountants, business owners and general counsel. The practice offers clients the full spectrum of real estate-related legal services. Areas of focus include acquisition, disposition and asset management; construction services; development; environmental regulation; fund formation; land use and zoning; leasing; like-kind exchanges; litigation and dispute resolution; management, brokerage and other real estate consultancies; partnership and other entity structure and formation; real estate finance; renewable energy; tax planning for real estate transactions; tenant and corporate real estate; tenant in common structures; and TIC workouts.

Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring: Freeborn’s Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Practice provides clients with a cross-functional team of bankruptcy, restructuring, finance and litigation attorneys who have extensive experience representing every type of stakeholder in complex insolvency issues. The practice’s services cover a broad scope of areas, including creditors’ committees, secured creditors’ rights, corporate debtor representations, financial restructurings and workouts, international insolvency, bankruptcy litigation, and fraud.

Following are additional details about Freeborn’s ranked attorneys, all of whom work from the firm’s Chicago office, with the exception of Mr. Hargraves, who is based in Freeborn’s New York City office:

  • Mitchell A. Carrel: A Partner in the Real Estate Practice Group, Mr. Carrel is ranked in Illinois for Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use. He focuses on representing public and private companies, land owners, developers and investors and helping them secure land use and zoning approvals, public incentives, and local regulatory and siting approvals, as well as performing zoning due diligence. He also represents clients before local plan commissions, zoning boards and city councils. 
  • Philip L. Comella: A Partner in the Litigation Practice Group, Mr. Comella is ranked in Illinois for Environment: Litigation. He concentrates his practice in environmental and toxic tort law. With more than three decades of experience in environmental law, and a focus on the solid and hazardous waste industry, he regularly counsels operators of landfills, treatment systems, recycling operations, transporters and waste generators on compliance and permitting matters arising under environmental laws and Department of Transportation regulations. 
  • Jeffery M. Cross: A Partner in the Litigation Practice Group and a member of the Antitrust and Trade Regulation Practice, Mr. Cross is ranked in Illinois for Antitrust. He has over 40 years of experience representing clients on antitrust, securities fraud, contract, real estate, environmental regulations, libel and slander, false advertising, commercial code and trade regulation issues. His experience also involves distribution and franchise law. His mergers and acquisitions (M&A) work includes counseling clients, working with economists to develop economic support for M&As, responding to government requests for documents and data, and negotiating with the government. 
  • Andrew L. Goldstein: A Partner in the Corporate Practice Group, Mr. Goldstein is ranked in Illinois for Media & Entertainment: Transactional. He focuses his practice in the areas of intellectual property and information technology. His experience includes trademark, trade dress and copyright law; Internet, website, cloud computing, technology, outsourcing and computer law in general; advertising, marketing and promotion law; and entertainment law, including video production, and theater and dance-related matters.
  • Mark R. Goodman: A Partner in the Corporate Practice Group and a member of the Insurance/Reinsurance and Transportation Teams, Mr. Goodman is ranked in Illinois for Insurance: Transactional & Regulatory. He has three decades of experience advising the insurance industry on corporate, regulatory and transactional matters. His clients in complex, high-profile matters have included insurance holding companies, insurers, producers, agents and brokers, and managing general agents. He also advises non-traditional sellers of insurance on insurance programs, including trade associations, retailers, banks and savings associations, and leasing and finance companies. 
  • David C. Gustman: A Partner in and Head of the Litigation Practice Group, Co-Head of the Antitrust and Trade Regulation Practice, and a member and former Chairman of the firm’s Executive Committee, Mr. Gustman is ranked in Illinois for Antitrust. For more than 35 years, he has handled and served as lead trial counsel on a variety of complex business litigation matters involving antitrust, accounting, banking, bankruptcy, construction, finance, insurance coverage and broker disputes, real estate, and securities. He provides antitrust counsel to joint ventures, trade associations, research consortiums and companies involved in mergers and acquisitions, as well as those facing antitrust claims.
  • Daniel Hargraves: A Partner in the Litigation Practice Group and a member of the Insurance/Reinsurance Industry Team, Mr. Hargraves is ranked in New York for Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Insurer. He concentrates his practice on insurance and reinsurance litigations and arbitrations on behalf of both ceding and assuming reinsurance companies, brokers, underwriting agents and pools. In more than 30 years of practicing, he has been involved in numerous high-profile reinsurance arbitrations and litigations and has successfully taken many cases to final hearing. Besides New York, Mr. Hargraves is also licensed to practice in Australia, England and Wales and has also represented clients in disputes in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda.
  • Joseph T. McCullough: A Partner in and Leader of the Insurance/Reinsurance Industry Team, a member of the Litigation Practice Group, and a member of the Executive Committee, Mr. McCullough is ranked in Illinois for Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Reinsurance. For more than 30 years, he has devoted his practice to representation of insurance and reinsurance companies. He has acted as counsel to insurers and reinsurers in more than 130 arbitrations and court cases, and administrative proceedings across the United States, as well as in Bermuda, England, Continental Europe and Australia, including some of the highest-profile cases in the industry.

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