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  • Illinois
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

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Charles H.R. Peters

Partner



In My Own Words

Schiff Hardin

Charles ("Chip") H.R. Peters concentrates his practice in commercial litigation with a focus on class actions and issues related to technology companies.

Mr. Peters also oversees the work of the firm's Electronic Discovery, Litigation Support, and Knowledge Management Committees, and he is a frequent speaker on these topics.

Experience

Mr. Peters has represented numerous major companies in their defense of class action suits. Some examples include:

  • Representing AT&T Mobility in a class action claiming that the company violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by improperly using credit information in its direct marketing program (Murray v. New Cingular Wireless Services, Inc., 523 F.3d 719 (7th Cir 2008);
  • Representing AT&T Corp. in a class action asserting a variety of antitrust and constitutional violations arising from its operation of a restricted access telephone system in government facilities (Arsberry v. Illinois, 244 F.3d 558 (7th Cir 2001);
  • Representing a major insurance company in a class action claiming that the company violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by improperly using credit information to investigate claims;
  • Representing a major telecommunications company in numerous class actions claiming that the company improperly billed customers for unauthorized fees, services or products.
  • Representing numerous manufacturing and distribution companies in class actions claiming that they violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by sending unsolicited facsimile messages;
  • Representing a major telecommunications company in a class action claiming that the company violated United States antitrust laws by conspiring with other wireless service providers to fix the price of text messages.

Mr. Peters has significant experience trying complex matters to juries and judges both at trial and in preliminary injunction hearings. For example, Mr. Peters represented AT&T Wireless Services, Inc., and its subsidiary Claircom Communications, in a claim of misappropriation of trade secrets and other related business torts, culminating in a jury verdict in favor of his clients after a six-week trial and 10 years of litigation. Mr. Peters successfully obtained a multi-million dollar verdict and judgment for the City of Chicago in its claim that a former contractor violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. He also successfully defended a major institutional deferred compensation plan administrator against a preliminary injunction that sought to enjoin the company from using alleged trade secrets to administer the plan for one of the world’s largest investment banking firms. Mr. Peters has also represented other businesses in trade secret litigation, including industries as diverse as medical products, financial services, consumer products, and electronic storage devices.
 

Pro Bono Activities

Mr. Peters has also handled numerous matters on a pro bono basis. The organizations with whom he has worked on pro bono matters include the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation, the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago and the Uptown People's Law Center.

Awards and Honors

Leading Lawyer — Commercial Litigation, Illinois Leading Lawyers Network
Litigation Advisory Board: Lexis Nexis

Education

Northwestern University School of Law(J.D., cum laude, 1986)
Miami University(B.S., magna cum laude, 1982)

Professional Memberships

Chicago Council of Lawyers
Board of Directors
State Court Practice Committee
      Past Chair
American Bar Association
Litigation Division
Communications Law Forum
International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolutions
E-Discovery Neutrals Training Committee