Jonathan S. Goodman

Jonathan Goodman has been a partner in the firm’s Litigation Practice Group. Jonathan has more than two decades of experience litigating complex commercial cases for his clients in state and federal courts throughout the United States, including in bench and jury trials, appeals and in private commercial arbitrations. He has been regularly called upon to handle a variety of matters such as breach of commercial contracts; business disputes involving misappropriation of trade secrets, trademark infringement and other violations of intellectual property rights; disputes involving the enforcement or removal of non-competition provisions and other restrictive covenants; litigation among partners, shareholders and members; claims alleging legal and accounting malpractice; real estate-related claims concerning construction disputes, commercial foreclosure or commercial lease disputes; and product and premises liability claims. Jonathan assists his clients in all aspects of the litigation process, from devising business strategies to minimize litigation exposure, to aggressive representation once litigation has come to fruition—and ultimately, obtaining positive results for the client, whether in the courtroom or at the negotiation table.

Jonathan’s clients include a range of public and privately held mid-size entities, medical practices, partnerships and individuals servicing a wide-variety of industries. Despite their diversity, Jonathan’s clients have one thing in common: they view Jonathan as more than just their trusted litigator, but as their trusted business counselor. Jonathan has gained this position of trust by strictly adhering to a straightforward set of guiding principles: understand your client’s business and its litigation (or, as appropriate, litigation avoidance) goals; be accessible; communicate with your clients early, often, meaningfully and frankly; conduct investigations that are both thorough and commensurate with the goals at hand; have a robust knowledge of the law; do not be afraid to ask questions; and, finally, aggressively advocate for your client.

Representative Experience:

• Obtained complete defense judgment in lawsuit brought against medical practice sued by former member seeking six-figure credit as part of redemption, trial court’s order affirmed by the First District Court of Appeals, and petition for further appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court denied, H. Merrill Matschke v. Uropartners, LLC et al., 2023 IL App(1^st) 221112 (September 29, 2023), petition for appeal to Illinois Supreme Court denied, 2024 WL 337073 (January 24, 2024).
• Obtained $6.7 million damages award on trade secret theft claim in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois relating to high oil content metallic fibers, after underlying liability finding through demonstration that defendants and their counsel breached their discovery obligations.  Global Material Technologies, Inc. v. Dazheng Metal Fibre Co. et al., 2016 WL 4765689 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 13, 2016) (final judgment entered March 28, 2018, appellants/defendants dismissed appeal after oral argument before 7th Circuit Court of Appeals).
• Successful appeal affirming dismissal obtained on behalf of client of five related construction lawsuits alleging successor liability under mere continuation exception theory of liability. The Groves of Palatine Condo. Ass’n v. Walsh Constr. Co., 2017 IL App (1st) 161036.
• Obtained complete defense judgment in lawsuit brought in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, affirmed by the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, against seven different entities and individuals, including eleven causes of action alleging fraud, breach of contract and defamation and claims relating to the sale of assets. Gravelle v. Hudson Lock, LLC et al., 2018 WL 627373 (D. Mass. Jan. 30, 2018), (final judgment affirmed by 1st Circuit Court of Appeals January 14, 2020).
• Obtained dismissal of multimillion dollar lawsuit asserting defamation per se claim against condominium management company and one of its employees, brought by clients’ primary competitor.
• Lead defense counsel in related patent infringement litigation pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey involving solar powered color-changing and monochromatic LED lighting products and asserted against nearly 100 manufacturer, distributor and retailer defendants and obtained rulings severing the claims of manufacturers from retailers and staying all litigation through the successful challenge of the subject patents to the USPTO. Richmond v. Lumisol Electrical Ltd. et al., 2014 WL 3022024 (D. N.J. July, 3, 2014).
• Obtained dismissal for client of multi-million dollar complaint alleging trademark infringement, cyberpiracy, conversion and tortious interference in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas Open Source Group v. Patel, 13-cv-3755 (N. D. Tex. 2015).
• Obtained successful settlement of distributor in patent infringement suit brought in the United States District Court for the Central District of California where we had previously obtained dismissal of various claims and severed claims brought against client’s retail partners. Seville Classics, Inc. v. Neatfreak Group, Inc. et al., 2016 WL 6661176 (C.D. Cal. April 1, 2016).
• Successfully defended business association in $2.5 million contract and trade secret theft lawsuit brought in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin by former business partner. Achieved zero dollar settlement payout shortly after discovery and motion practice attacking opinions of plaintiff’s damages experts.
• Successfully defended steel company and two sales employees in defeating two motions for temporary restraining order to enforce non-competition restrictive covenants brought by competitor.
• Represented multi-state podiatry practice in successful efforts to end management service organization joint venture, including prevailing on two motions for temporary restraining order and two motions to dismiss.
• Obtained dismissal, with prejudice, of multimillion dollar legal malpractice lawsuit.
• Obtained substantial settlement on behalf of large orthopedic surgery practice in termination of ambulatory surgery center venture.
• Successfully defended physician in defeating two motions for temporary restraining order to enforce non-competition restrictive covenants brought by former partners.
• National litigation counsel for multi-national distributor of lighting, wire and cable products, overseeing patent and related intellectual property disputes, commercial litigation and product claims.
• Represented law firm in federal and state trademark dispute pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, resulting in opposing law firm’s name change in the State of Illinois.
• Obtained six-figure pre-litigation settlement for manufacturer in billing dispute with significant customer.
• Represented an international manufacturer in an arbitration in Tennessee relating to the purchase of a painting facility in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Obtained a multimillion dollar settlement for the client that exceeded the purchase price of the facility.
• Represented former company owner in action against purchasing company in which owner alleged purchaser failed to fulfill payment obligations under stock purchase agreement and purchaser counterclaimed that owner committed misconduct before and after stock sale. After defeating multiple motions to dismiss, achieved settlement in which client was paid in excess of $500,000 and was able to continue to retain ownership of stock in merged company.
• Obtained verdict for real estate developer in a multimillion dollar broker commission arbitration arising from the construction and marketing of a 190-unit residential development in Cambridge, Massachusetts in which claimant was awarded less than 1/3 of amount sought.
• Successfully represented nationally-renowned food manufacturer in trade secret dispute with former shareholder, in which litigation resulted in client’s acquisition of opponent’s competing business.
• Represented client in lawsuit against insurance consultant for misconduct in connection with processing claims with Medicare and private insurers. After overcoming multiple motions to dismiss, achieved settlement in excess of 70% of total claim.
• In wrongful death action pending in state court in Texas, obtained defense summary judgment for client by successfully arguing that client did not have successor liability for events arising before client purchased predecessor’s assets.
• Obtained dismissal, with prejudice, with zero dollar payment on behalf of client in trademark dispute alleging sales of misbranded prescription drug in matter brought in the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan.
• Obtained summary judgment for developer-client resulting from damages caused by neighbor’s misconduct in a large-scale demolition project in the heart of Chicago’s Loop.
• Obtained summary judgment in the Western District of Virginia on behalf of an international insurance company in a multimillion dollar class action lawsuit alleging consumer fraud and RICO violations.
• Obtained a verdict in a bench trial for a computer network maintenance and installation company in a lawsuit brought against a former employee who started a competing business in violation of non-compete/non-solicitation restrictive covenants.

In addition, Jonathan founded a program with Family Rescue, Inc. in which more than a dozen attorneys represented victims of domestic abuse in emergency and plenary hearings before the Domestic Relations Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.