Daniel DeLeo

Daniel J. DeLeo is Board Certified in Business Litigation and his practice focuses on commercial disputes, with particular emphasis on representing businesses in contract disputes, business torts, and complex business litigation. Dan is an experienced trial lawyer with considerable knowledge and experience in the areas of construction defect litigation, class actions, and products liability claims. Dan’s practice is focused on efficiently resolving business disputes by aggressively pushing all available means of escaping the usual extended litigation track.

A majority of Dan’s practice is devoted to representing businesses such as manufacturers in both State and Federal Courts. Consistent with our Firm’s commitment to client service, Dan utilizes, where possible, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms such as arbitration proceedings and mediations, as an alternative to litigation.

Dan is Board Certified in Business Litigation, one of only 230 lawyers statewide to receive this distinction. As a lawyer certified in Business Litigation, Dan deals with all matters relating to general business litigation, business organizations, creditors’ rights, the Uniform Commercial Code, restrictive covenants and business torts.

Board Certified business litigators are so designated because they have acquired a superior level of substantive expertise involved in the practice of law dealing with the litigation, arbitration or other resolution of the legal problems arising from commercial and business relationships.

Dan has represented clients in numerous jurisdictions outside of Florida and Illinois, such as New York, Michigan, Indiana, Georgia, North Carolina, and Washington. Dan also has extensive experience handling real estate valuation litigation, real estate property development litigation, as well as fraud and conversion claims. Dan also has handled numerous commercial foreclosures and other complex litigation both on behalf of a Plaintiff and a Defendant.

Prior to joining the Firm, Dan had a broad commercial litigation practice in Chicago. After graduation from law school, Dan clerked for the Honorable Allen S. Goldberg on the Commercial Calendar of the Circuit Court of Cook County in Chicago, Illinois where his duties included extensive research and writing.

Dan is licensed to practice in both Florida and Illinois. Dan was admitted to practice in Illinois in 1999 and in Florida in 2005. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the Central District of Illinois, the Eastern District of Michigan, the Middle District of Florida, the Southern District of Florida and all Florida and Illinois State Courts. Dan has authored multiple publications including the Circuit Court of Cook County Bench Book and CLE publications.

Education:

• J.D., DePaul University College of Law, 1999
• B.A., with honors, Albertson College of Idaho, 1993

Bar and Court Admissions:

• Florida, 2005
• United States District Court Central District of Illinois
• United States District Court Eastern District of Michigan
• United States District Court Southern District of Florida
• United States Supreme Court, 2015

Professional and Community Affiliations:

• Federal Trial Bar in the Northern District of Illinois
• Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast, Past Chair and Advisory Board Member
• Forty Carrots Family Center, Advisory Board
• Citizens for Better Schools, President, Chair One Mill Referendum raising more than $55 million per yer for Sarasota County Schools
• Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Board Member