H. Roderic Heard

Rod Heard has been a member of Wildman Harrold’s Executive Committee since 1998 and is a partner in the firm’s Litigation Department. With the firm since 1973, Rod has been a Partner since 1980. He was a member of the firm’s Executive Committee from 1986–1988 and Chairman of its Commercial Litigation Department from 1988–1998. His practice focuses on commercial and technology litigation. He has tried to verdict more than 30 complex business cases, appearing in courts in more than 20 states and Guam. He has successfully handled numerous class actions, injunctions, and appellate proceedings, and has represented such companies as Honeywell International Inc., KONE Inc., Sony Electronics Inc., Hyatt International, Transamerica Inc., Chevron Oil Co., and Biomet Inc. He has practiced in federal and state courts nationwide, and has extensive experience in arbitration, having served as an arbitrator for AAA and CPR in commercial, securities, and financial arbitrations. Additionally, he has been an advocate for many parties in domestic and international arbitrations, an expert witness in the federal courts, an adjunct professor, and frequent lecturer on arbitration.

Representative Experience:

Lead counsel for Honeywell International Inc. in numerous class actions claiming nuisance and trespass for contamination in federal courts in Columbus, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois; and Detroit, Michigan, 2003–2008
Lead counsel to KONE Inc. in a successful three-week jury trial in Rock Island, Illinois proving breach of warranty, 2005
Lead counsel to Biomet Inc. in four separate breach of distributorship and trade secret misappropriation trials in Fresno, California; South Bend, Indiana; and Hammond, Indiana, 2003–2004
Lead counsel to Honeywell International Inc. in a successful jury trial claiming ground water contamination in DuPage County, Illinois, 2003
Lead counsel for Biomet Inc. in a successful jury trial regarding breach of distributorship and trade secret misappropriation in federal court in Orlando, Florida, 1999
Lead counsel for Hyatt International, Inc. in secured transaction litigation in the Superior Court in Guam, 1999
Lead counsel for Sony Electronics, Inc. in defense of a breach of distributorship claim by Seeburg, Inc. in Illinois, 1997
Lead counsel for Transamerica Corporation in successful RICO and fraud jury trial in the Eastern District of New York, 1995
Lead counsel for Oppenheim, Appel and Dixon against Olympia & York in a successful jury trial in a $5 million breach of contract action in New York Supreme Court, Manhattan Division, 1993
Trial counsel for AlliedSignal, Chevron Oil Co., and Shell Oil Co. in nuclear litigation by utilities in New York and Chicago, where more than $500 million was claimed in breach of nuclear reprocessing contracts, 1990
Lead counsel for Electro-Biology, Inc. in a breach of distributorship and trade secret misappropriation claim in federal court in Colorado, 2001
Lead counsel for A. T. Kearney in a breach of contract arbitration in the management consulting industry, 2001
Lead counsel for Great Lakes Chemical Corporation in a securities fraud litigation in District Court in Delaware, 2000
Lead counsel for AlliedSignal Inc. in defense of several nationwide class actions against its Automotive Division for allegedly defective anti-lock brake systems, 1996
Lead counsel for Chevron Oil Co. and Shell Oil Co. in an $80 million breach of nuclear engineering contract in the Northern District of Ohio, 1989

Publications And Presentations:

Lecturer, “The Seven Deadly Sins of Trial vs. Arbitration,” Illinois State Bar Association Symposium, ADR in a Nutshell, Chicago, IL, February 13, 2008.
Co-author, “Arbitration: A Practitioner’s Viewpoint,” Illinois Continuing Legal Education Textbook: Business Litigation, 2007.
Lecturer, “Arbitration Is More Than a Four Letter Word,” Network of Trial Law Firms, Indiana Continuing Legal Education, 2006 – 2007.
Lecturer, ABA Dispute Resolution Section Mediation Training, Chicago, IL, 2004.
Lecturer, “Tailoring Trial Advocacy for Mediation and Arbitration,” Indiana Corporate Counsel Forum, Indianapolis, IN, 2001.
Lecturer, “Florida Election Contests,” Network of Trial Law Firms, Palm Beach, FL, 2001.
Lecturer, “Globalizing the Legal Process,” International Bar Association, New Delhi, India, 1997.
Lecturer, “Dispute Resolution,” a week-long course for the International Developing Law Institute, Rome, Italy, 1996.
Lecturer, “Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,” National Business Institute, 1996.

Professional Associations:

One of 500 Illinois attorneys listed in Who’s Who Legal, 2006

Chairman, Network of Trial Law Firms, an international network of 26 law firms in North America, 2003

Northwestern University Law School, Adjunct Professor, Trial Advocacy 1996 – Present; Dispute Resolution, 2002 – Present; International Arbitration, 2007

DePaul University Law School, Adjunct Professor, Dispute Resolution, 1993 - Present; Commercial Arbitration, 2004 - Present; International Arbitration, 2007 - Present

Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University Dispute Resolution Advisory Board, 1993 – Present

CPR International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution, Distinguished Neutral Panelist, 1993 – Present

American Arbitration Association, National Panelist

Selected as one of 100 All Stars in Client Service in BTI Survey of Corporate Counsel

National Institute for Trial Advocacy, Faculty, every year 1987 - Present

Chicago International Dispute Resolution Association

President, Better Government Association (BGA), an investigative citizens’ watchdog organization, 1996 – 2002; Board Member, 1992 – Present

American Bar Association

Illinois State Bar Association

Bar Admissions:

Illinois

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Trial Bar member)

U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Second, Sixth, Seventh, and Federal Circuits

U.S. Claims Court

Personal Information:

For the last five years, Rod and his wife Sue, who is also a lawyer, have team-taught the course “Dispute Resolution” at Northwestern’s and DePaul’s law schools. Students may think it ironic that a married couple teaches about resolving disputes instead of creating them, but the course has a waiting list each semester. Rod golfs and is the author of numerous articles and one unpublished mystery novel.

Please be aware, if you are not a current client of the firm, the attorney-client privilege does not exist and therefore confidential or sensitive information should not be sent in this email message.

I Understand
Cancel