James R. Figliulo

James R. Figliulo has successfully represented clients in a wide variety of business and real estate related trials in state and federal courts around the county. He also has extensive appellate court experience, including successful oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Appellate Courts in Illinois and Arizona.

Jim is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (1999 to the present) and served as Chair of its Upstate Illinois State Committee (2009-2010).

Jim was recently recognized as one of the Stand-Out Lawyers (2026) by Thomson Reuters in their survey of clients world-wide.

Jim is recognized as being among The Best Lawyers in America^® in the following categories: Bet-The-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Legal Malpractice Litigation, Securities Litigation, Banking and Finance Litigation, and has been selected as Chicago Lawyer of the Year for Securities Litigation (2014) and Chicago Lawyer of the Year for Legal Malpractice Litigation (2012). Jim has been listed among The Best Lawyers in America^® for more than 25 years.

Jim is a leader in the Chicago legal community. He served as president of the 7th Circuit Bar Association in 2005-06. He also served as co-chair of the 7th Circuit American Jury Project. He was appointed to serve as Chair and as a member of Federal Magistrate Judge Merit Selection and Review Panels for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (2004-2014). Jim also was selected to serve as a member of U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk’s bipartisan Judicial Advisory Committee. He was also appointed to serve as a member of the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee for nine years, including a term as Chair of the committee.

Jim received the prestigious American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the 7th Circuit in 2010. He is a founder, past president, and Master of the Bench of the Chicago Inn of Court.

Jim has been honored by the Chicago legal community. He received the prestigious Judge Joel M. Flaum Award for excellence, ethics, civility and professionalism from the Chicago Inn of Court. In October 2015, he was honored as a recipient of the Justice John Paul Stevens Award for excellence, integrity and public service by the Chicago Bar Association and Chicago Bar Foundation.

Jim was also recognized by the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin as one of the “Ten Attorneys Who Raised the Bar” during the first decade of this millennium for his extensive contributions to the legal profession. In 2009, he was also featured in Leading Lawyers Magazine’s 2009 Business Litigation edition in the cover story entitled, “Trial Master—from Chicago’s Southside to the Elite of his Profession.”

Jim's Practice

Representative Matters

• Lead trial counsel obtaining a jury verdict of over $41 million in a breach of contract case against BP after a nine-week jury trial in federal court.
• Lead trial counsel obtaining a jury verdict of $25 million against a major insurance company for breach of its duty to defend after a 3-month jury trial in Mississippi state court in 2023.
• Lead trial counsel obtaining a jury verdict of over $24 million for unreasonable interference with air rights against METRA (the commuter rail system in the Chicago metro area) and the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) after a four-week trial in federal court.
• Lead trial counsel obtaining a $25 million jury verdict against the Village of Evergreen Park in an eminent domain case in Cook County Circuit Court.
• Lead trial counsel obtaining a $27.5 million judgment in favor of his client, Walsh Construction Company, after a four-week bench trial in Cook County Circuit Court.
• Successfully represented McDonald’s Corporation in a 65-day bench trial in Cook County Chancery Court defeating franchisee’s claim of bad faith termination of his Master license Agreement (more details of this case and some of the stories behind it are included in Chapter 17 of the book “Your Witness” authored by Jim Figliulo.
• Successfully counseled and represented lawyers and law firms in professional liability matters.
• Successfully represented KPMG and other accounting firms in trials and in motion practice in federal court.
• Lead trial counsel in successfully defending the City of Joliet in a 99-day bench trial in federal court in a housing discrimination case brought by HUD, the Southern Poverty Law Center and wealthy owners of a Section 8 housing complex.
• Successfully represented numerous corporations, partnerships, and other entities in governance disputes, contract disputes, claims of breach of fiduciary duty and other business torts.
• Successfully represented numerous individuals in trials, motion practice, arbitrations, and settlement negotiations in federal and state court cases.
• Successfully argued appeals in the United States Supreme Court, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, and in appellate courts in Illinois and Arizona.