Thadford A. Felton

Partner

Thadford A. Felton is a partner and co-chair of the Commercial Litigation Group at Arnstein & Lehr.  As a lawyer and counselor, he has extensive experience representing clients in a broad range of business and complex commercial matters.  Mr. Felton’s experience includes serving as outside general counsel for privately-held businesses where he is involved in a variety of legal issues such as the implementation of safeguards to protect the assets and longevity of businesses, the negotiation and documentation of transactional matters and advising on day-to-day operational issues.  In addition, he has litigated in the areas of misappropriation of trade secrets; the enforceability of restrictive covenants; fraud, misrepresentation, fraudulent transfer and consumer fraud act claims; breach of contract claims including issues related to interference with contract and prospective economic advantage; breach of fiduciary duty matters; products liability; declaratory judgments; section 1983 civil rights matters; creditor’s rights; and complex insurance coverage disputes, including the availability of coverage for environmental claims.  Mr. Felton’s litigation experience involves all aspects of litigation, including pre-trial discovery, preparing and arguing dispositive motions and serving as first and second chair in numerous jury and bench trials in federal and state courts.

Professional Activities and Achievements
Mr. Felton has also authored several articles which include, “Do You Have A Trade Secret?,” “When Is The Employer Liable For The Acts Of The Employee?,” “How Do I Keep My Employee From Competing Against Me,?” “Non Competition Agreements Must Be Narrowly Tailored to be Enforceable,” “Can You Stop Your Top Sales Person From Competing Against You?,” “Make Sure That You do Not Inadvertently Void Employment Agreements,” “Protecting Your Customer List,” “Protect Your Confidential Information and Maintain Your Competitive Advantage,” “When Does Competition Cross the Line?” and “Documenting Employee Discipline.” In addition, M.r Felton co-authored a chapter for the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education entitled “Real Estate Sales Person Liability Overview.”

Education
Chicago-Kent College of Law (J.D., 1994)
Denison University (B.A., 1989)

Bar Admissions
State of Illinois
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (General and Trial Bar)
U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan
U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina
U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Seventh and Eighth Circuits