Lawrence H. Heftman
Partner
Lawrence H. Heftman has experience litigating a wide range of commercial litigation disputes in state and federal courts across the country. This experience includes class action, multi-district litigation, appeals and alternative dispute resolution and has involved:
- Lender liability
- Business torts
- Contract disputes
- Fiduciary duties
- Trust and estate litigation
- Legal Malpractice
- Insurance
- Telecommunications
- Trade secrets
- Real Estate
ExperienceMr. Heftman's representative engagements include:
- Total victory from jury verdict in favor of Fortune 500 financial institution after four week jury trial on claims of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, tortious interference and conspiracy. Successfully defeated claims for more than $65 million in damages and recovered over $1.2 million on counterclaim
- Total victory in multi-week bench trial on real estate claim for specific performance, including full damages award on counterclaim in client's favor
- Multi-day arbitration regarding contingent attorney fee and legal ethics dispute leading to favorable settlement
- Winning Sixth Circuit appeal of right of first refusal dispute in lease agreement. Evans v. SC Southfield Twelve Associates, 208 Fed.Appx. 403, 2006 WL 3724132 (6th Cir. 2006)
- Successfully moving to dismiss majority of claims in real estate dispute leading to favorable settlement. Guitar Center Stores, Inc. v. 7250 South Cicero Equities, LLC, 2007 WL 3374592 (N.D. Ill. 2007)
Publications
Mr. Heftman regularly prepares notices on significant court and bar association opinions regarding legal ethics issues for the American Bar Association, which are available at http://apps.americanbar.org/litigation/committees/ethics/news.html.
Pro Bono ActivitiesMr. Heftman has made a significant commitment to pro bono work. His pro bono representations include the following:
- Representation of Georgia death row inmate in state and federal habeas proceedings
- Representation of individual wrongfully detained after 9/11 in civil litigation against FBI and INS officers
- Regular volunteer work at Chicago Volunteer Legal Services clinic for indigent clients
Education
Harvard Law School(J.D., magna cum laude, 2004)Solicited Content Editor, Harvard Civil Rights - Civil Liberties Law Review
Ames Moot Court Competition, Semifinalist
Emory University(B.A., Political Science, summa cum laude, 2000)Phi Beta Kappa
Professional Memberships
American Bar Association
Litigation Section
Ethics & Professionalism Subcommittee
Co-Website Editor