Steve J. Dragich focuses on a client’s big picture, not just individual deals. He believes in investing time up front to fully understand his clients’ strategic and tactical needs before matching them with legal counsel. This often involves bringing in a team of Schiff Hardin attorneys skilled in other areas such as labor, employee benefits, tax, intellectual property, real estate and litigation.
His extensive background in representing an array of medium to large companies means Steve can offer clients clear perspectives on virtually any corporate opportunity or challenge. This includes mergers and acquisitions, public and private financing, and other complex contractual arrangements.
Steve is especially adept at representing entrepreneurs and emerging businesses in their day-to-day concerns, as well as serving as outside general counsel and providing general corporate advice to business owners and senior executives. Should a client run into “compliance” issues, he also has experience with internal investigations and advising on post-investigation strategies.
Steve operates at the speed of business. He understands the need for responsive client communication and the importance of meeting deadlines. Unlike other corporate attorneys from major firms, he does not just move on after a deal is done. Once a corporate transaction is complete, he sticks by his clients, offering legal advice to meet their business needs and better their bottom line.
EXPERIENCE:
- In a complex $1.05 billion transaction with many multinational and multi-U.S. jurisdictional compliance components, Steve led the Schiff Hardin team that represented Emaar. Under his guidance, the Dubai-based developer and one of the world’s largest real estate companies closed its first U.S. acquisition. This deal, which involved purchasing the second largest privately held U.S. homebuilder, received national and international publicity and strongly positioned Steve and Schiff Hardin as “go-to” lawyers for similar transactions.
- Recently, Steve counseled a 50 percent partner in a major trucking and warehousing business to recoup the multimillion-dollar value of his ownership stake in the business. Despite an extremely contentious and hostile management takeover battle with his deceased 50 percent partner’s relatives, this culminated in a favorable settlement for our client.
EDUCATION:
- University of Illinois College of Law, J.D., 1983
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, B.S., 1980
BAR ADMISSIONS:
- Illinois
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:
- American Bar Association, Section of Business Law
- Chicago Bar Association
Cost
Rate : $$$
