Philip Kujawa

For more than 25 years, Philip R. Kujawa has represented his clients—which include Fortune 100 companies as well as national and regionally based alarm and security service companies—in commercial and tort litigation. The majority of his practice is dedicated to defending clients facing catastrophic claims and advising them on contract matters.

Armed with his extensive industry knowledge, Phil created and serves as the leader of Hinshaw’s Alarm and Security Services practice. He also serves as due diligence counsel of alarm and security issues in corporate mergers and acquisitions.

Representative Matters :

• Defended an alarm company in theft suit seeking in excess of $7.5 million and punitive damages. After a complete victory at the trial court level, the case was remanded by the appellate court for further proceedings on a narrow issue. It was settled for 10% of the applicable insurance coverage limit.
• Successful representation of alarm companies in numerous cases involving exposure beyond the applicable insurance coverage limits without formal litigation by pressing enforceability of contract terms and through the utilization of leading national experts in the alarm industry.
• Successful representation of an alarm monitoring company in litigation arising out of a residential fire resulting in the deaths of two residents and two responding firefighters. Although the alarm monitoring company reported the fire on a non-emergency line, through extensive discovery and utilization of leading national experts, the company who sold and installed the alarm system was contractually responsible for the vast majority of the extensive damages arising out of the various wrongful death claims.
• Lead trial counsel for a Fortune 10 corporation targeted as the main defendant in a multiparty suit brought by a union electrician who suffered catastrophic injures in an electrocution accident. The initial settlement demand was $16,000,000 and the case resolved on the eve of the jury trial for a settlement paid by subcontractors’ insurers. The case was aggressively litigated for nearly five years with nationally renowned liability and damage experts without incurring any cost to the client for either defense or indemnity.

Professional Affiliations :

• Defense Research Institute
• Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel
• Practising Law Institute
• Trial Lawyers Club of Chicago

Education :

• J.D., Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago-Kent College of Law, 1991
• B.A., Loyola University of Chicago, 1986

Admissions :

• Illinois
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Central and Northern Districts of Illinois