William K. Merkel

James H. Whalen is the co-managing partner of Lipe Lyons Murphy Nahrstadt & Pontikis LTD, a Chicago, Illinois law firm. He practices in the areas of Litigation – Insurance, tort defense, commercial litigation, and product liability. Mr. Whalen represents clients in state and federal courts, as well as before state administrative bodies. His practice includes construction, business, commercial, product liability, employment discrimination, and premises liability litigation. Mr. Whale...

W. Gordon Dobie is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation. W. Gordon, who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which W. Gordon is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Matthew Steinmetz focuses primarily on leveraged buyouts of public and private companies, as well as recaps and joint ventures. His experience spans a wide variety of sectors, including technology, media, healthcare, industrials and retail. His principal clients include both large cap and middle cap leveraged buyout funds, located in the U.S. and abroad. In addition to his considerable transactional work, he is a trusted advisor to a number of senior PE fund managers.

Matthew L. Williams concentrates his practice of law in the areas of medical malpractice , catastrophic personal injury , wrongful death and premises liability . He joined Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. in 2003 and was named partner in 2009. In recognition of his outstanding legal work, Mr. Williams has been recognized by Super Lawyers as one of the Top 100 lawyers in the state of Illinois every year since 2019. Additionally, he has been honored by Best Lawyers in America in the field o...

Described by clients as a "phenomenal practitioner and extremely bright," Michael Hartz advises on business succession planning, tax-efficient wealth transfer into trusts for future generations and strategies for fulfilling philanthropic goals. Michael is ranked among the leading lawyers for private wealth law in Chambers High Net Worth, where his practical, effective solutions to complex problems have led to consistent recognition. With 40 years of experience in trust and estate planning and...

Steve Sandler has spent more than 50 years counseling and advising developer and investor clients in the acquisition, disposition, leasing, development, financing and structuring of all types of real estate and real estate transactions. Steve's range of experience includes complex, high-stakes projects involving major office buildings, hotels, apartment buildings, industrial buildings and unimproved land. He has particular depth of skill in structuring transactions and all phases of financing...

David W. Wirt is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation - Bankruptcy. David W., who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2016. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which David W. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

A firm founder, visionary leader, and skilled litigator, Paul Slater handles high-stakes antitrust cases for private and public enterprises, including Fortune 500 companies. He pioneered the opt-out practice, representing companies as individual plaintiffs in industry-wide multidistrict antitrust litigation. This practice enables clients to tailor their claims and maximize their recoveries outside of class action proceedings, which often fail to meet individual client needs. Mr. Slater repres...

Ted Becker is Co-Chair of McDermott’s ERISA Litigation Team and a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel. He focuses his practice on litigation under ERISA and related federal and state actions, and defense of government investigations and audits relating to employee benefit, health and welfare, and retirement plans brought by the US Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service, and the US Department of Justice. He is a leading voice and nationally recognized p...

Ricardo E. Ugarte is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of International Arbitration - Commercial and International Arbitration - Governmental. Ricardo E., who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2012. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Ricardo E. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.