Profile
John M. Fitzgerald is an equity partner at Tabet DiVito & Rothstein LLC in Chicago. He is a trial and appellate lawyer with more than two decades of experience handling complex commercial and governmental litigation in state and federal courts across Illinois and nationwide. John represents clients in a wide range of industries and regularly briefs and argues high-stakes appeals.
John is widely recognized as a leading appellate practitioner in Illinois. He served as the 53rd President of the Appellate Lawyers Association of Illinois and currently serves as Vice Chair of the Amicus Committee for Illinois Defense Counsel. He is a frequent author and commentator on appellate practice and procedure. John has been recognized as a Super Lawyer for eight consecutive years and, in 2015, was named one of the 40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch by the Law Bulletin Publishing Company.
John earned his undergraduate degree from the College of the University of Chicago and his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School. While in law school, he served as a judicial extern to U.S. District Court Judge Milton I. Shadur and as a research assistant to Professor Richard A. Epstein.
He is the author of A Guide to the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, which was published in 2020 by the Illinois State Bar Association.
Representative Experience
Business and Commercial Litigation
John represents businesses and individuals in litigation arising out of contract disputes, business partnership disputes, shareholder oppression claims, professional malpractice claims, construction disputes, real estate disputes, claims of statutory and common law fraud, and trade secret and unfair competition disputes. John represents clients at every stage of litigation, from the initial pleading through trial and appeal, and in arbitration, mediation and negotiations.
Appeals
John is an experienced appellate practitioner and served as the 53rd President of the Appellate Lawyers Association of Illinois. He briefs and argues high stakes appeals in jurisdictions across the nation.
For several years, John co-authored Chicago Lawyer magazine’s regular column on appellate practice, On Appeal, with Hon. Gino L. DiVito. As co-chair of the Appellate Lawyers Association’s Rules Committee from 2013 to 2017, John testified before the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee multiple times concerning proposed amendments to the Illinois Supreme Court Rules governing appellate practice.
Constitutional and Governmental Litigation
John has experience representing individuals, businesses and non-profit associations in constitutional litigation against governmental entities, in other governmental litigation, and in administrative appeals. John represents the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association and a coalition of other transportation infrastructure construction and design industry associations in litigation against Cook County to enforce the Safe Roads Amendment to the Illinois Constitution. That litigation resulted in a declaratory judgment that Cook County spent over $243 million in transportation funds in violation of that constitutional amendment within a single fiscal year.
Employment and Executive Compensation Disputes
John routinely represents employers and employees in severance negotiations, employment discrimination litigation, retaliatory discharge litigation, and in connection with other claims and disputes involving employment. John has litigated claims under the Illinois Wage Payment & Collection Act, claims for retaliatory discharge, defamation claims in the employment context, employment contract claims, trade secret misappropriation claims, and restrictive covenant enforcement claims. John also routinely represents business and non-profit executives in confidential compensation and severance negotiations.
Law Firm Partnership Disputes, Law Firm Transitions and Professional Responsibility Matters
John frequently represents other attorneys in law firm partnership disputes, transitions between firms and in professional responsibility matters. He also has served as an expert witness in litigation concerning the reasonableness of attorneys’ fees.
Recognition
John served as the 53rd President of the Appellate Lawyers Association of Illinois. He previously served as the Appellate Lawyers Association as an officer, Board member and as co-chair of its Rules Committee. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the Amicus Committee of Illinois Defense Counsel. John has been selected as a Super Lawyer from 2019 to the present and was named one of the “40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch” by the Law Bulletin Publishing Company (2015)
Credentials
John is a member of the Trial Bar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He is admitted to practice law in the State of Illinois, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and in the United States Supreme Court. John also has been admitted to practice law pro hac vice in several other jurisdictions.
John received his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 2004, and his B.A. with Honors in Political Science from the College of the University of Chicago in 2001.
John is a graduate of St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago.
Memberships & Affiliations
The Appellate Lawyers Association
- President (2020-2021)
- Vice President (2019-2020)
- Secretary (2018-2019)
- Treasurer (2017-2018)
- Co-Chair of Rules Committee (2013-2017)
- Member, Board of Directors (2013-2016)
- Contributor to The Brief, the ALA’s Blog on appellate practice (2011-present)
Illinois State Bar Association
- Author, A Guide to the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (first edition, Illinois State Bar Association, 2020)
- Co-Author with Professor Alexandra M. Franco, A Guide to the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (second edition, Illinois State Bar Association, 2021)
- Member of ISBA Assembly (2013-2016)
Chicago Lawyer Magazine
- Co-Author of On Appeal column, with Hon. Gino L. DiVito, concerning Illinois appellate practice (2014-2015)
Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
- Author of The Bottom Line column concerning business and commercial litigation (2012-2016)
The Chicago Litigation Blog, Contributor
News & Publications
A representative sample of John’s publications include:
- A Guide to the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (Illinois State Bar Association, first edition, 2020)
- A Guide to the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, co-authored with Prof. Alexandra M. Franco (Illinois State Bar Association, second edition, 2021)
- A Palpable Conflict, Illinois Bar Journal, co-authored with Anthony J. Longo (Nov. 2020)
- Palm v. Holocker: A Study in Legislative Inactivity, Cook County Record (Nov. 13, 2019)
- Carmichael and Ambiguity in Constitutional Law, The Brief: The Blog of the Appellate Lawyers Association (Dec. 27, 2018)
- On Appeal: Twombly’s Limited Influence in Illinois, Chicago Lawyer, co-authored with Hon. Gino L. DiVito (April 2015)
- The Bottom Line: High Court Revisits Tobacco Class Action, Chicago Daily Law Bulletin (Oct. 28, 2014)
- New Limits on Subject Matter Waiver of Attorney-Client Privilege, Illinois Bar Journal, co-authored with Hon. Gino L. DiVito and Brian C. Haussmann (July 2013)