These 9 alumni currently practice in a range of areas. They do, of course, share one thing in common: they were able to launch their careers due to the knowledge and skills they attained while attending DePaul. There is no doubt that Tressler’s DePaul College of Law Alumni are proud to be Blue Demons.
Daniel Formeller, Chairman of Tressler, graduated from DePaul’s College of Law in 1976. “I enrolled at DePaul following my service in the Navy,” said Mr. Formeller. “DePaul provided the support and services I needed to make my transition from the military to law school seamless.” Daniel Formeller has been lead trial counsel in bench and jury trials in state and federal courts throughout the United States and is now a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. He received the annual Defense Research Institute’s Fred Sievert award in 1994 for Outstanding Defense Bar Leader of the Year and was selected for inclusion in Illinois Super Lawyers® for the past 13 years. Mr. Formeller has achieved an AV® Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell. His daughter, Kathryn Formeller, is also a graduate of the DePaul College of Law and is a partner at Tressler LLP.
Below is the complete list of Tressler attorneys who graduated from DePaul College of Law with their respective practice focus areas, graduation year, and their thoughts on how DePaul impacted their careers.
Tressler’s DePaul College of Law Alumni
Partner and Member of Tressler’s Executive Committee
Practice Focus: Mark Banovetz concentrates his practice in the areas of aviation, insurance coverage and general civil and commercial litigation, including construction, professional liability, tort litigation and appellate work. He is a current, active pilot and private aircraft owner, and served from 2007-2012 as Board President of Naper Aero (LL10), a private airport located in Naperville, IL.
Graduation Year: 1992
Quote: “All courses were practical and had hands-on training. Therefore, I was able to easily apply the skills and knowledge I learned from the classroom to the court room."
Of Counsel
Practice Focus:
Jacqueline Criswell chairs the firm’s Intellectual Property group and has been a commercial litigator for more than 28 years. She practices in all aspects of intellectual property law, including trademarks, trade dress, misappropriation of trade secrets, copyrights, e-commerce, and false advertising matters. Jackie acted as lead trial counsel in cases involving novel issues, including the interplay of permissible parody and the First Amendment, functionality of product designs, copyright protection for useful articles and Digital Millennium Copyright Act damages. She also litigates claims for misappropriation of trade secrets against former employees and competitors, as well as piracy and economic espionage. She is a frequent lecturer on these issues and also provides counseling on software licensing, web hosting and technology transfer agreements. Jackie is the editor of the firm’s Internet and Intellectual Property Law Update, a quarterly newsletter.
Graduation Year: 1981
Quote: “DePaul gave me very practical training.”
Partner
Practice Focus: Dan Cunningham’s practice involves insurance coverage and bad faith litigation stemming from underlying consumer protection claims, privacy claims, intellectual property claims, personal and advertising injury claims, defective product claims and environmental claims. Additionally, Dan counsels insurers with regard to claim handling and underwriting issues and is a frequent speaker at insurance industry seminars. He also defends insurance brokers in professional liability actions.
Graduation Year: 1991
Matthew J. Devereux
Partner
Practice Focus: Matthew Devereux represents individuals, corporations and municipalities in insurance coverage, tort and commercial litigation. He is experienced in representing insurance companies and their insureds in insurance coverage disputes, including preparation of coverage opinions, and litigation of claims through trial and appeal.
Graduation Year: 1996
Quote: “As an evening law student at DePaul, I had a good mix of full-time professors, along with practicing attorneys and judges, who challenged and exposed me to real life experiences, thus preparing me to immediately step into the practice of law in the Chicago legal community."
Daniel R. Formeller
Partner
Practice Focus: Dan is Senior Chairman of the firm. As a trial lawyer based in the firm’s Chicago office, Dan focuses his practice on business litigation and the resolution of business disputes through mediation and arbitration. He has been lead trial counsel in bench and jury trials in state and federal courts throughout the United States.
Graduation Year: 1976
Partner
Practice Focus: Kathryn regularly represents condominium associations as creditors in both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceedings seeking to modify the automatic stay so that they can pursue their state court remedies. Kat is the lead attorney for the Condominium & Common Interest Community Association Law practice. Furthermore, Kat practices in the area of commercial litigation nationwide and counsels clients with respect to a wide variety of business disputes.
Graduation Year: 2010
Quote: “I truly enjoyed my time as a student at DePaul and believe it very much set the tone for my successful career as a lawyer.”
Katherine F. Letcher
Associate
Practice Focus: Katherine F. Letcher is an associate in the Litigation practice. She focuses her practice on business litigation with an emphasis on business torts and defense of management and professional liability claims. In addition to the preparation of pleadings, discovery and motions, she appears regularly in state and federal courts.
Graduation Year: 2014
Quote: “I am truly proud to have called DePaul my home for both my undergraduate and law school studies. I gained unique insights and perspectives from professors and classmates that helped shape my professional career.”
Linda J. Schneider
Partner
Practice Focus: Linda J. Schneider is a partner in the Litigation practice at Tressler LLP. She concentrates her practice in the areas of aviation, product and general civil litigation. She has represented clients in commercial and general aviation matters, including issues of flight instruction, aircraft maintenance and rebuild, component part design and performance, and alleged airline and airport negligence, as well as matters involving the NTSB and the FAA. She has been involved in litigation arising out of the ValuJet Flight 592, Comair Flight 3272, Comair Flight 5191 and Concorde crashes, the Southwest Flight 1248 overrun at Midway Airport, and many other commercial and general aviation accidents and incidents.
Graduation Year: 1989
Quote: “DePaul Law School offered the unique insights and experiences of a diverse group of professors, including practicing lawyers and judges, who made the law school experience interesting and challenging.”
Michael F. Zimmermann
Partner
Practice Focus: Michael F. Zimmermann concentrates his practice in government law, human resources and commercial litigation. For more than 20 years, he has served as general counsel to Chicago-area municipalities and their leaders, representing them in day-to-day legal issues and as municipal prosecutor. Mike is chair of Tressler’s local government law group. With respect to his local government law practice, Mike advises elected officials and administrative staff on general business matters, development, personnel, Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Districts and other tax incentives, code enforcement and public policy issues.
Graduation Year: 1994
Quote: “DePaul was the ideal place to learn to practice law in Chicago. The training was excellent and my time at DePaul College of law taught me to take a practical approach to client problems.”
About Tressler LLP
Headquartered in Chicago, with eight offices located in five states, Tressler LLP is a national law firm comprised primarily of attorneys who devote their practice to the representation of the insurance industry in coverage analysis and resolution, litigation, underwriting consultation, product development, claims management and reinsurance.
In addition, Tressler has one of the most experienced and multi-faceted government law practices in Illinois, and has attorneys who represent clients in commercial litigation; defense litigation; corporate transactions; employment law and litigation, intellectual property and condominium and common interest community association law. For additional information about our firm, visit www.tresslerllp.com.
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