Stephen J. Landes

Stephen J. Landes

Partner

T: (312) 201-2772
F: (312) 416-4592
landes@wildman.com

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Practice Areas:

Litigation
Antitrust
Commercial Litigation
Product Liability

Education:

Northwestern University School of Law, J.D., 1970 Russell Sage Scholar Staff and Projects Editor, Northwestern University Law Review

Northwestern University, B.A., 1967, with distinction and honors




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Stephen J. Landes

Stephen Landes is a partner in the Litigation Department of Wildman Harrold and acts as the firm’s General Counsel and Loss Prevention Partner. For over three decades Steve has counseled a broad range of companies on antitrust compliance, has advised trade regulation clients in civil and criminal cases, and has represented many manufacturing companies on post-acquisition issues. He also currently serves as national counsel to a major industrial concern for all asbestos-related litigation. Steve is well known for his work on cutting edge cases; for example, for many years he represented defendants in novel land claims brought by Native Americans throughout the United States. More recently, Steve was lead trial counsel in the first case brought on behalf of a U.S. citizen under the Anti-Terrorism Act against funders of international terrorism, resulting in a jury verdict of $156 million for Steve’s clients. Within the firm, Steve is a “lawyer’s lawyer,” advising the firm’s own attorneys and lawyers outside the firm on complicated ethical and professional issues.

Representative Experience:

  • Won jury verdict of $156 million in first action against domestic supporters of terrorism under the federal Anti-Terrorism Act which allows U.S. citizens harmed by an act of terrorism on foreign soil to sue for damages in an American court
  • Continues to serve as national coordinating defense counsel in asbestos litigation, representing a major manufacturer and managing tens of thousands of cases; as the developer of a national litigation strategy, including trial preparation and interaction with local counsel coast to coast, has achieved dismissals of thousands of cases, with no significant damages against the client
  • Achieved a successful outcome in the representation of a multinational company that, after purchasing businesses in ten locations from another company, had substantial post-acquisition disputes over environmental liabilities and breach of contract issues; lawsuits filed in federal court in Chicago and in state court in New York were settled right before trial
  • Regularly provides counsel to and establishes programs for companies on antitrust compliance issues including dealing with their distributors, maintaining the integrity of product lines, and protecting them from misuse of intellectual property
  • Represents both companies and individuals in criminal investigations and other alleged violations of antitrust laws, frequently negotiating on behalf of clients with various federal and state agencies including the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, and state antitrust authorities
  • Represented landowners in the defense of novel land claims throughout the United States by Native American tribes, resulting in the maintenance of the integrity of land owners’ property rights
  • Achieved a successful outcome via bench trial in the representation of a financial institution in defense of claims by minority shareholders alleging that the refinancing terms were unfair
  • Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a client who, after closing a factory, was sued in federal court by hundreds of individual discharged workers claiming age discrimination

Publications And Presentations:

  • Northwestern University School of Law, Adjunct Professor—Trial Advocacy, Civil Discovery.
  • Lecturer, “The Financing of Terrorism, Terrorism’s Global Impact,” International Center for Counter-Terrorism, The Interdisciplinary Center; Herzliya, Israel, 2005 and 2006.


Professional Associations:

American Bar Association (Antitrust, Litigation, and Criminal Law sections)

Chicago Bar Association


Bar Admissions:

Illinois, 1970

District of Columbia

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

U.S. Supreme Court

Court of Federal Claims

U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth, and D.C. Circuits


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