Steven N. Malitz

Partner

Steven N. Malitz is a partner in the Litigation Practice Group of Arnstein & Lehr LLP and is the firm’s pro bono chair. Mr. Malitz has obtained many victories for public and privately-held businesses in trial and appeal in various state and federal courts, and in arbitration and mediation, in the following matters:

• Contract disputes including breach of contract, interference and fraud.
• Shareholder disputes including injunctions, breach of fiduciary duty, oppression, accounting and buyouts.
• Creditors’ rights including collections, fraudulent transfer, preference, post-judgment and tracing issues.
• Employment matters including discrimination, trade secrets and restrictive covenants.
• Real estate litigation including specific performance, rescission, quiet title, leasing, construction and premise liability.
• Intellectual property matters including trademark, copyright and licenses.

Mr. Malitz serves as trusted advisor and general counsel to highly successful entrepreneurs in Illinois, Florida and other states, and provides the following value and benefit to his clients:

• Your point person, on-call 24/7 with rapid-fire turnaround.
• Provide full-service, one-stop counseling through niche practice teammates.
• Equity partner at century-old law firm plugged-in to the business, legal and political community.
• Law professor, bar group leader, continuing education instructor and published author.
• Though armed for litigation, emphasizes proactive approach to litigation avoidance and cost savings through alternative dispute resolution, by studying and understanding your business, and through drafting solid contracts both within your business and with third parties.
• Add value by providing industry information and legal updates, and through cross-selling.

Professional Activities and Achievements

• Recognized by Law Bulletin Publishing Company as a recipient of its prestigious “40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch.” Mr. Malitz was nominated by judges, politicians, managing partners, and opposing counsel for his skill and achievement.
• Past chair of the Chicago Bar Association Real Property Law Committee.
• Member of the Chicago Bar Association’s Trial Techniques, Civil Procedure, Bench/Bar Relations, and Client Development and Firm Economics Committees.
• Member of the Illinois State Bar Association, Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association and the Commercial Law League of America.
• Member of the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce – Young Entrepreneurs Forum and the Jewish United Fund.
• Teacher at Smyser Elementary School as a “Lawyer in the Classroom.”

Speaking Engagements and Publications

• Adjunct professor of law at Chicago-Kent College of Law for Advanced Legal Research and Writing in civil litigation.
• Lecturer with jurists, government officials and prominent attorneys to University of Illinois College of Law students on civil discovery and motion practice at “Litigation Boot Camp” seminars.
• State-licensed lecturer to real estate licensees, as part of their continuing education requirements, on litigation avoidance.
• Lecturer to certified public accountants, as part of their required continuing professional education, on how business owners can avoid personal liability.
• “Defendants’ Right to Be Present in New York: A ‘Constatutory’ Right?,” appearing in 11 Touro L. Rev. 675 (1995).
• “Brokers: Take Care in Your Disclosures,” appearing in Real Estate Executive (April 2005).
• “The Ins and Outs of Hiring and Investigating Employees,” appearing in cfinsider (2007 Issue 2, p. 7-9), a quarterly Journal for Certified Forensic Interviewers.
• “Crafting a Strong Sales Contract,” appearing in destinationCRM.com (May 2009).
• “Taking and Documenting a Statement,” appearing in cfinsider (June 2009).
• “The True Test of a Contract – Litigation!,” (December 2010).
• “Arbitration – Plusses and Pitfalls,” appearing in destinationCRM.com (February 2011).
• Interviewed on television, as a legal expert, on the validity of the class action, consumer fraud lawsuit, filed against the author and publisher of “A Million Little Pieces.”
• Interviewed on the Chicago Bar Association’s “You and the Law,” on “The Successful Lawyer,” a 30-minute show that will be circulated by DVD to college campuses nationwide.

Education

Albany Law School of Union University (J.D., 1995, Albany Law Review, Moot Court Board)
Indiana University (B.A., magna cum laude, 1991, Phi Beta Kappa)

Bar Admissions

State of Illinois
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (including Trial Bar)
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit