Robert F. Coleman, Esq.

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Robert F. Coleman, Esq.

Ph: 312-444-1000
Fax: 312-444-1028

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Practice Areas

Trial and appellate lawyer concentrating in complex commercial litigation including: corporate derivative cases, legal & accounting malpractice, commercial fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, bankruptcy litigation, insurance coverage, securities, consumer fraud.

Counseling corporations, boards of directors and senior executives with respect to fiduciary obligations, executive compensation, employment arrangements and coporate governance matters.

Admissions & Qualifications

Bar Admissions:
Illinois, 1969;
U.S. Supreme Court, 1979;
U.S. Court of Appeals – 7th Circuit, 1974;
U.S. Court of Appeals – 5th Circuit, 1982;
U.S. Court of Appeals – 9th Circuit, 1971;
U.S. Court of Appeals – 6th Circuit, 1979;
U.S. Court of Appeals – 8th Circuit, 1994;
U.S. Court of Appeals – 2nd Circuit, 2004;
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 1969 (Member of Trial Bar)
U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois, 1993;

Admission - Pro Hac Vice:
U.S. District Courts and/or Bankruptcy Courts in: Arizona, California, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Texas, and Washington,
Various State Courts in: Indiana, Kansas, New York, and Delaware.

Education

Education:
DePaul University College of Law, Chicago, IL, 1969 – J.D., Doctor of Jurisprudence
DePaul University, Chicago, IL 1966 – B.S. Finance

Biography

Robert F. Coleman, principal and founder of the Coleman Law Firm, is a trial and appellate lawyer concentrating in complex commercial litigation. His litigation experience includes corporate derivative cases, legal and accounting malpractice, commercial fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty and imprudent investment practices. Mr. Coleman has acted as lead counsel in high profile bankruptcy litigation, as well as insurance, antitrust, securities, and consumer fraud class actions. Mr. Coleman has extensive experience counseling corporations, boards of directors and senior executives with respect to fiduciary obligations, executive compensation, employment arrangements and corporate governance matters. He frequently negotiates employment agreements and exit packages on behalf of senior executives of Fortune 500 companies.

Before founding the Coleman Law Firm in 1984, Mr. Coleman was a name partner in the firm of Freeman, Atkins & Coleman. He was as an assistant attorney general for the State of Illinois, Antitrust Division from 1969-1974, serving as assistant chief of the Antitrust Division from 1973-1974.

In addition to his litigation practice, Mr. Coleman has extensive business experience. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Mr. Coleman was the Chairman and CEO of Intercontinental Financial Group, a multi-national insurance group that wrote casualty insurance in the United States and reinsurance off-shore. Mr. Coleman previously oversaw the professional liability program for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) and the risk retention group sponsored by ATLA. He is currently a member of the board of directors and chairman of the audit committee of PrivateBancorp, Inc., a $12 Billion bank holding company that provides business and personal financial services to middle-market commercial and commercial real estate companies as well as business owners, executives, entrepreneurs and families in multiple geographic markets in the Midwest and Southeastern United States. The company is listed on NASDAQ. Mr. Coleman earned his JD as well as a BS in finance from DePaul University.

Mr. Coleman is a frequent speaker on matters related to professional liability, financial institution audit committee practices, corporate governance and compliance, and risk management issues. He is a co-author of Your Witness, Lessons on Cross-Examination and Life from Great Chicago Trial Lawyers, and has been selected by his peers as an Illinois Super Lawyer and for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, Leading Illinois Attorneys, and a Top Lawyer in Illinois among Commercial Litigators. Mr. Coleman has been designated as a Bar Register Preeminent Lawyer, having achieved the AV rating in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, and has been elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation in recognition of his distinguished service as an attorney.

Publications

Coleman is a panelist at the KPMG Spring 2010 Audit Committee Institute Roundtable Conference entitled - Preparing for Growth, Focusing on Controls, Transparency and Financial Communication, held in Chicago on June 8, 2010.

Coleman is a speaker at the American Bar Association Fall 2009 National Legal Malpractice Conference on "Caught in the Crossfire - Liability and Ethical Dilemmas for Directors and Advisors of Troubled Companies", "How Corporate Bankruptcies Can Put a Bulls Eye on Lawyers".

Coleman presents at the 2009 American Bar Association 35th National Conference on Professional Responsibility on "Mens Rea Standards in the Law of Lawyering".

Coleman presents in December 2008 for the American Bankers Association on "Effective Board Committees - The Audit Committee and Beyond".

Coleman is a speaker at the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel conference on Ethics and the Legal Profession on "Ethics and Avoiding Malpractice and Malfeasance".

Coleman delivers a presentation in June 2008 at a conference sponsored by NASDAQ-OMX and Bank Director Magazine on "Identifying and Managing the Top Three Bank Risks".

Coleman is a panelist in October 2007 at the 19th Annual Banking Law Institute on "Issues Affecting Audit Committees".

Coleman is a panelist in March 2007 at the Legal Malpractice & Risk Management Conference on "Transactional Law - Issues on the Periphery"

Coleman presents at the 2006 American Bar Association 32nd National Conference on Professional Responsibility on "Tort Liability to Third Parties - How Lawyers Can Be Liable for the Sins of the Clients".