In Brief:
Todd previously was managing partner for two of Chicago’s premier litigation firms and is the founding partner of our Chicago office. He is also resident in the firm’s Iowa offices. Todd has been lead counsel for numerous prominent companies in all manner and variety of commercial disputes throughout the United States.
Education:
■ Bachelor’s Degree with Highest Distinction, University of Iowa, 1986. Phi Beta Kappa (as a junior, one of seven students university-wide)
■ Juris Doctorate, University of Virginia School of Law, 1989. Order of the Coif
■ Leadership in Law Firms, Harvard Law School Executive Education Program, 2010
Experience:
■ Joined Bradley Riley Jacobs PC in 2017
■ Managing Partner, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP, Chicago, Illinois, 2015-2017
■ Managing Partner, Grippo & Elden LLC, Chicago, Illinois, 1992-2015
■ Sidley Austin LLP, Chicago, Illinois, 1989-1992
Professional Memberships:
■ Chicago Bar Association
■ Iowa State Bar Association
■ Defense Research Institute
■ U.S. Advisory Board for the Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies, Loyola University Chicago
Professional Recognition:
■ AV® Preeminent Rating in Insurance, Litigation and Commercial Law, Martindale-Hubbell
■ Best Lawyers in America (2015-present) (Commercial Litigation, Insurance Law)
■ “Leading Illinois Civil Defense Lawyer,” Chicago Lawyer Magazine (2017 – present)
■ “Top Lawyers in Illinois” and “Leading Lawyer,” Chicago Law Bulletin (Class Action/Mass Tort Defense Law, Commercial Litigation, Insurance, Insurance Coverage & Reinsurance Law) (2005- present)
■ “Business Litigation Super Lawyer,” Chicago Magazine’s Annual Guide to the Top Attorneys in Illinois (2005-present)
■ Honorary North American Member, The Commercial Bar Association, specialist bar association of barristers advising the international business community (2008-present)
Bar Admissions:
■ Illinois
■ Iowa
■United States District Court for the Northern and Central Districts of Illinois (Including Trial Bar)
■United States District Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa
■United States District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan
■United States District Court for the District of Colorado
■United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
■United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
■United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
■United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
■United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
■United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
■United States Supreme Court
Representative Cases:
■ Defended the Executive Manager of a Chicago-based derivatives trading firm in a 7-day Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration (by
Zoom during pandemic) alleging breach of fiduciary duty. Defense judgment obtained and attorney’s fees awarded.
■ Currently representing an international insurer in Iowa-based Covid-19 business interruption insurance coverage litigation.
■ Currently National Coordinating Counsel for an international insurer in respect of sexual abuse claims.
■ Currently representing two international insurers in respect of environmental and asbestos claims.
■ Represented Amazon.com in N.D. Ill. putative class action concerning alleged improper charges for Amazon Prime accounts.
■ Represented Microsoft in N.D. Ill. putative class action concerning alleged improper charges for Xbox Live accounts.
■ Represented Zebra Technologies in trade secret litigation in Massachusetts federal court in respect of real time sports and tracking technology provided to the National Football League.
■ Counsel to a gourmet pet food manufacturer in respect of consumer fraud claims alleging ingredients were not “made in the USA.” Putative class action dismissed with prejudice for failure to allege compensable damages. Sabo v. WellPet, LLC, 1:16-cv-08550 (N.D. Ill, April 21, 2017).
■ Counsel to Nissan North America in putative nationwide class action alleging concealment of design defects in Altima and Maxima vehicles. Case dismissed with prejudice on jurisdictional grounds and for failure to state a claim. DeMariav. Nissan North America, Inc., 2016 WL 374145(N.D. Ill. Feb. 1, 2016).
■ Co-lead counsel for CNA in the seminal Ninth Circuit decision establishing insurer standing to object to Chapter 11 reorganization plans in mass tort bankruptcies. In re Thorpe Insulation Co., 677 F.3d 869 (9th Cir. 2012).
■ Lead counsel for Groupon in a variety of matters, including shareholder derivative actions, consumer class actions, intellectual property matters and commercial contract actions.
■ Lead counsel for Amazon.com, DIRECTV and RealNetworks in U.S. Supreme Court appeal concerning enforcement of arbitration provisions banning class actions. The Supreme Court recently upheld the legality of such provisions (see description of RealNetworks’ privacy cases immediately below).
■ National coordinating counsel for streaming media pioneer RealNetworks in multidistrict privacy class-action litigation relating to RealPlayer and RealJukebox software. Lieschke v.RealNetworks, Inc., 2000 WL 198424 (N.D. Ill. 2000); In re RealNetworks, Inc. Privacy Litigation, 2000 WL 631341 (N.D. Ill. 2000); RealNetworks, Inc. v.Superior Court in and for the County of Orange, 2001 WL 1527492 (Cal. Ct. App. 2001) (sixteen nationwide putative class actions dismissed and claims ordered into individual, non-class arbitrations).
■ Lead counsel for IBM in disputes relating to implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and related software. Irwin Seating Co. v. IBM, 2009 WL 32711 (6th Cir. 2009) (affirming grant of summary judgment to IBM on all claims); Business Systems Engineering v. IBM, 547 F.3d 882 (7th Cir. 2008) (affirming grant of summary judgment to IBM on all claims); 249 F.R.D. 313 (awarding costs); M. Block & Sons, Inc.v. IBM, 2004 WL 1557631 (N.D. Ill. 2004) (dismissing fraud, breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation and warranty claims).
■ Lead counsel for RealNetworks in defense of consumer class actions relating to the RealOne online subscription service. Koresko v. RealNetworks, Inc., 291 F. Supp. 2d 1157 (E.D. Cal. 2003) (dismissing case pursuant to End-User License Agreement forum selection clause).
■ Counsel for Amazon.com in defense of patent infringement claims relating to online personalization technologies. Pinpoint, Inc.v.Amazon.com, Inc., 347 F. Supp. 2d 579 (N.D. Ill. 2004) (Posner, J. sitting by designation) (case dismissed for lack of standing); 369 F. Supp. 2d 995 (N.D. Ill. 2005) (subsequently filed case dismissed with prejudice following favorable claim construction).
■ Trial counsel for CNA in New York state court class action litigation (four-month bench trial) pertaining to alleged unaggregated “non-products” exposure for asbestos bodily injury claims. Continental Casualty Co. v. Employers Ins. Co. of Wausau, et al., 871 N.Y.S.2d 48 (N.Y. App. Div.2008) (Phase I) (no coverage for class claims). Todd subsequently represented CNA as lead counsel in two California state court cases and one Los Angeles-based bankruptcy proceeding presenting similar issues. Employers Reinsurance Co.v. Superior Court, 161 Cal. App. 4th 906 (Cal. Ct. App. 2008).
■ Trial counsel for Fireman’s Fund in bankruptcy court litigation seeking coverage for asbestos bodily injury and asbestos property damage claims. Celotex Corp.v. AIU Ins.Co., 216 B.R. 867 and 222 B.R. 644 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 1998) (defense judgment on late-notice grounds); 251 B.R. 163 (awarding costs). The judgment in Fireman’s Fund’s favor was affirmed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. In re Celotex Corp., 299 Fed. Appx. 850 (11th Cir. July 7, 2008). In related contribution litigation, Todd successfully represented Fireman’s Fund in its efforts to recover millions of dollars in defense costs from a nondefending primary insurer. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co. v. Hartford Accident and Indemnity Co., 2011 WL 1303148 (N.D. Ohio Mar. 31, 2011).
Publications and Speeches:
■ Co-Chair, Perrin Chicago Class Action Litigation Conference, September, 2018.
■ Co-Chair, Perrin Chicago Class Action Litigation Conference, May 31, 2017.
■ Spotlight on Personal and General Jurisdiction Trends in Class Action Practice, American Conference Institute, June 9-10, 2016.
■ Co-Chair, Perrin Chicago Class Action Litigation Conference, May 17, 2016.
■ Challenges to Ascertainability and ‘Fail-Safe’ Classes and Challenges to Article III Standing and the Issue of Absent Class Member Injury, presentations at Challenges to Class Membership seminar, Chicago Bar Association, May 14, 2015.
■ Co-Chair, Perrin Chicago Class Action Litigation Conference, May 6-7, 2015.
■ Legal Ethics and Social Media (presentation to in-house counsel), May 18, 2014.
■ Co-Chair, LSI-Chicago Litigating Class Actions Conference, December 9-10, 2013.
■ The Shifting Landscape of Class Litigation: Consumer Class Actions in a Post-Concepcion World, Chicago Bar Association, May 14, 2013.
■ Co-Chair, LSI-Chicago Litigating Class Actions Conference, December 6-7, 2012.
■ Emerging Insurance Issues, Perrin New York Conference, January 24, 2011.
■ Practical Advice for Handling Civil Appeals (in-house presentations), April 29, 2010 and June 20, 2012.
■ Motions Practice in State and Federal Court (in-house presentation), July 12, 2007.
■ Co-author, Enforcing Clickwrap Agreements, National Law Journal, March 11, 2002 (with Gary M. Miller).