Craig White

Craig M. White has experience in the banking, real estate and private equity sectors, and has tried to verdict dozens of cases involving complex and high-stakes issues. His breadth and depth of knowledge spans a range of general business litigation issues, including securities fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and bad faith, as well as consumer fraud and unfair competition.

With a national commercial litigation practice, Craig has tried cases in both state and federal courts throughout the country. A respected counselor to many industry leaders, Craig excels at balancing aggressive representation with meeting the business objectives of his clients.

He brings to each case not only experience and business understanding, but also a unique ability to break down complex issues and connect with juries and witnesses.

Experience :

• Successfully defended a publicly traded bank holding company and inside directors against a shareholder class action alleging securities fraud and breach of fiduciary duties arising from a merger with another multibank holding company. Preliminary injunction was denied and summary judgment granted to all clients. James Badger, et al. v. Boulevard Bancorp, Inc., et al.
• Won a verdict on behalf of directors in a public company, since taken private, in a shareholder derivative suit in Utah claiming waste and mismanagement for failure to maximize value from the company’s real estate holdings through development. Jones v. Utah Resources International, Inc., et al.
• Obtained dismissal of a federal securities fraud suit against an Iowa grocery store chain, which was affirmed by Seventh Circuit. Denise McCann V. Hy-Vee, Inc.
• Successfully defeated a request for preliminary injunction to stop a bid for minority stake in Archstone, a subsidiary of Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. Archstone v. Banc of America Strategic Ventures, et al.
• Obtained a favorable defense verdict in a consumer fraud trial brought by a certified class of Florida tenants against the nation’s largest apartment owner to invalidate early termination fees charged when apartment leases were prematurely terminated. Yates v. Equity Residential.
• Successfully defended the CFO and CAO of a public company in 22 shareholder class actions alleging violations of ’33 and ’34 Act arising from pooling-of-interest accounting and insider loans to purchase stock. Stearns v. Navigant Consulting, et al.
• Successfully defended California private equity fund managers in a breach of fiduciary duty suit brought by SBA as receiver. Small Business Administration v. Altotech, et al.
• Obtained dismissal of RICO and antitrust conspiracy claims and successfully settled copyright and trade secret claims in a case between data synchronization competitors. Edgenet Inc. v. GS1 US., Inc., et al.
• Limited a court’s fee award to class counsel to 6.8 percent of the amount sought in an MA class action settlement over unlawful fees paid by prospective tenants. Heien v. Archstone, et al.
• Zero award result in a AAA arbitration for the defense of a tech firm accused of securities fraud by an ex-officer in connection his non-exercise of vested stock options which expired one day prior to the announcement of a merger with a public company.

Memberships :

• American Bar Association
  • Litigation Section
  • Business Law Section
• The Lawyers Club of Chicago

Community :

• Real Estate Investment Association
• Dartmouth Lawyers Association
• The Executives’ Club of Chicago
• Institute of Real Estate Management

Education :

• J.D., Indiana University School of Law, 1977, Order of the Coif, magna cum laude
• B.A., Economics, Dartmouth College, 1974, Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude

Admissions :

• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin