Matthew M. Morrissey

Matt regularly publishes and presents on cutting-edge litigation issues. Most recently, the American Bar Association featured his piece on Article III standing in class actions in a national publication. He also recently presented to the Chicago Bar Association regarding strategic considerations for attorneys defending class action cases. The firm routinely features Matt’s work on its litigation-centric blogs. Matt is a regular contributor to the firm’s TCPA Blog, which provides breaking news and important insights about the TCPA. The firm has also published Matt’s work on its Enforcement Highlights blog, which provides reports, discussion and analysis on noteworthy trends in enforcement and regulatory activity of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Matt maintains an active pro bono practice. He recently worked with a multidisciplinary team to draft an amicus brief for a U.S. Supreme Court matter. Matt has represented pro bono clients in Section 1983 civil rights actions and cases alleging claims arising under the Federal Fair Housing Act and the Illinois Human Rights Act. He has also served as a volunteer at a Chicago legal aid clinic, where he advised pro bono clients on a variety of civil and criminal matters.

Representative Experience

Class Actions

• Represented a national retail chain in a putative nationwide class action alleging consumer fraud and other claims related to its labeling of certain lumber products. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed all of plaintiff’s claims with prejudice. Plaintiff appealed the trial court order but agreed to a voluntary dismissal of all claims, without any settlement payment, following the submission of all briefs in U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
• Represented a multinational consumer products company in a putative nationwide class action alleging consumer fraud, breach of warranty and other claims related to the company’s advertising, labeling and representations associated with its shampoo products. Plaintiff dismissed the claims against our client prior to any briefing in the case because we identified dispositive flaws with the plaintiff’s claims during our initial case assessment.
• Represented a leading financial services company in a putative nationwide class action alleging violations of numerous West Virginia consumer protection statutes and financial services regulations. We initially removed the case from West Virginia state court to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and filed a dispositive motion to dismiss. Following briefing on the motion to dismiss, plaintiff reversed course and agreed to conduct a private mediation to resolve the claims on an individual basis.
• Represented an international automobile manufacturer in numerous consumer class actions alleging the existence of undisclosed defects in the transmissions of certain automobile models. Following several years of litigation in the U.S. District Courts for the Northern District of Illinois and the Middle District of Tennessee, we negotiated highly favorable class settlements. We subsequently represented the client in litigation seeking to enforce the terms of the class settlements to defeat additional cases filed in California state court.
• Represented clients in numerous federal and state class actions alleging violations of the Securities Act of 1933.
• Represented clients in a shareholder derivative action alleging that the trustees of a Delaware statutory trust breached their fiduciary duties.
• Represented corporate and individual clients in an antitrust class action filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. The court granted our motion for summary judgment and disposed of all claims against our clients.
• Represented corporate and individual clients in an antitrust class action filed in Madison County, Illinois.
• Represented one of the world’s largest broadcast media companies in numerous putative TCPA class actions filed in the Northern District of Illinois.
• Represented a major pharmacy chain in a putative nationwide class action alleging violations of the TCPA. Plaintiff agreed to dismiss all claims voluntarily and without any settlement payment after we filed our motion to dismiss.
• Represented numerous clients across various industries in other consumer class action matters in federal courts across the country.

Commercial Litigation

• As first chair trial counsel, obtained a sweeping defense victory for one of the largest health systems in the country in a week-long arbitration trial. The case involved a securities-related dispute following the health system’s divestiture of certain assets to an institutional investor. Plaintiffs sought millions in alleged damages and asserted claims for breach of fiduciary duty, tortious interference, declaratory judgment and injunctive relief. We prevailed on all counts after almost two years of contentious litigation.
• In an important win for our client and for public health, we obtained a broad consent judgment and permanent injunction shutting down the sale of counterfeit, defective and at times bacterially contaminated surgical devices bearing our clients’ trademarks to unsuspecting hospitals throughout the U.S. The consent judgment allowed our client to destroy over one million suspect medical devices that were seized from the defendants and valued at over $25 million. We also obtained a significant financial settlement for our client.
• Represented one of the world’s largest investment management companies in two related cases alleging claims purportedly arising from certain securities transactions. After over a year of litigation, we ultimately convinced plaintiff to dismiss our client from both cases voluntarily and without any settlement payment.
• Prevailed in an appeal to the Illinois Appellate Court, Fourth District, and convinced the appellate court to affirm the trial court’s ruling compelling arbitration of a securities-related dispute.
• Represented a large health system in its pursuit of post-closing indemnity claims arising from violations of an asset purchase agreement.
• Represented the minority owners of a medical practice in a securities and corporate governance dispute with the majority owners of the practice.
• Represented a national transportation company in litigation related to its divestiture of a business unit to a competitor. The case involved parallel litigation in Illinois and Delaware state courts.
• Represented a technology company in a dispute with a former business partner regarding access to the company’s proprietary and customized software platform as well as associated breach of contract claims. We ultimately secured a significant settlement from the opposing party.
• Defended a large health care company in a lease dispute regarding medical office buildings and other facilities located near two hospitals in Arizona. The trial court granted our motion to dismiss and awarded our client its attorneys’ fees and costs. Plaintiff appealed the decision to the Arizona Court of Appeals, but the court affirmed the trial court’s decision and granted our client a separate award of attorneys’ fees for the costs of the appeal.
• Prevailed on all monetary claims in a multi-day arbitration trial related to a partnership dispute involving a real estate development company.
• Represented a commercial tenant in a dispute with its former landlord in a mediation proceeding.
• Represented a social media marketing company in a trade secrets dispute with a former executive and her new employer. The case involved claims arising under the Illinois Trade Secrets Act and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act as well as claims related to the non-competition, non-solicitation and non-disclosure provisions in the individual defendant’s employment contract.
• Represented a banking client in numerous cases related to commercial loans and the bank’s lending practices.
• Represented an insurer in an environmental contamination lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.
• Obtained partial summary judgment in favor of an excess insurer in a major environmental pollution coverage case in Madison County, Illinois

White Collar Defense and Corporate Investigations

• Represented the former CEO and chairman of one of the nation’s largest energy companies in a multi-day civil tax fraud trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming. We prevailed on all claims at trial.
• Represented an automobile engineer in an international criminal investigation related to automobile emissions issues.
• Represented a trade union in connection with its response to a federal law enforcement subpoena and related federal criminal charges against a union executive.
• Represented a publicly traded company in a federal criminal investigation related to its accounting practices and other disclosures submitted to the SEC.
• Represented the chief compliance officer of an investment management company in an SEC investigation regarding the timing of certain bond transactions.
• Represented a publicly traded manufacturing company in an internal investigation regarding the conduct of a former corporate officer and provided advice regarding the company’s obligations under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.