Stephen O’Donnell

Stephen O’Donnell is a commercial lawyer with 30 years of experience. He focuses on resolving business disputes through negotiation and settlement, mediation, arbitration or trial. Stephen has tried numerous cases to verdict in arbitration venues and state and federal courts throughout the country and internationally. On a more limited basis, he also counsels clients in transactions and helps them document deals.

Substantively, Stephen has developed a strong expertise in many forms of commercial insurance disputes, including professional liability, comprehensive general liability, employer’s professional liability, and cyber liability coverage and placement disputes.

Stephen’s other areas of substantive expertise include reinsurance cases, “other insurance” contests between insurers, construction disputes, fraud and misrepresentation cases, including disputes under the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act, and unfair competition-employee raiding cases, both in the sale-of-business context and between existing competitors.

EDUCATION:

• University of Illinois College of Law, J.D., magna cum laude
• Washington University in St. Louis, B.A.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

• Steptoe & Johnson LLP

BAR ADMISSION:

• Illinois
• U.S. Central District of Illinois
• U.S. Northern District of Illinois
• U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
• U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals

Representative Experience

The following is a list of some of the cases in which Mr. O’Donnell has participated during his career:

• Insurance/Reinsurance Cases
  • Redacted v. Redacted, Private Arbitration, London (Reinsurance dispute over cancellation of catastrophe excess of loss reinsurance treaty)
  • Abbott Laboratories, Inc v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London, Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois (Insurance coverage litigation involving pharmaceutical product-recall and business interruption losses)
  • National Union Fire Ins. Co. et al. v. XL Insurance (Bermuda) Ltd, U.S. Dist. Ct. N.D. Cal. (“Other Insurance” contribution and equitable subrogation dispute)
  • Redacted v. Redacted, Private Arbitration, London (Reinsurance dispute over coverage under catastrophe excess-of-loss treaty for 2004 hurricane losses)
  • Zurich Ins. Co., et al v. Ace Insurance Ltd., Texas State Courts and Texas Court of Appeals (decision reported at 59 S.W. 3d 424 (2001)) (facultative reinsurance contract dispute, including international jurisdictional and conflict of law issues)
  • Ace Insurance Ltd. v. Zurich Ins. Co., et al., High Court of Justice, Queens Bench, London (facultative reinsurance dispute over Saudi Arabian oil well blow-out loss)
• Securities Cases
  • Cash Account Trust, et al. v. Merrill Lynch, Illinois State Court (securities fraud dispute arising from sales of short term notes issued by Orange County, California)
  • CentTrust Bank v. Western Union Corp., et al., U.S. District Courts, N.D. Ill and D.N.J. (securities fraud dispute arising from sales of high yield bonds to failing savings & loan institution)
  • Downs Estate v. Kemper Securities, Inc., et al., Illinois State Court (commodities fraud dispute arising from sales of grain, livestock, and currency options and futures to executor of estate)