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Jake joined Tabet DiVito & Rothstein in May 2017. His practice is focused upon complex commercial litigation matters in state and federal courts throughout the country. Jake has significant experience representing clients of all shapes and sizes in matters involving breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, breach of restrictive covenants and non-competition agreements, corporate disputes, trade secrets misappropriation, e-Discovery issues, unfair competition, real estate disputes, adversary bankruptcy matters, and labor and employment issues. Jake’s extensive experience in a variety of commercial matters makes him well-suited to represent clients through all phases of litigation, including from the initial investigation of a matter through trial, appeals, and enforcement or relief from judgments.
Jake graduated from the Chicago-Kent College of Law magna cum laude in May 2014 and was inducted into the Order of the Coif. During law school, Jake was honored to serve in leadership roles as an Executive Articles Editor of the Chicago-Kent Law Review, Vice President of the Moot Court Honor Society, and as a student representative of the Chicago-Kent Student Bar Association. Demonstrating his early interest in and commitment to representing clients in complex litigation matters, Jake won six CALI Awards for having the highest grade in his Contracts, Legislation, Pretrial Litigation, Constitutional Law, Appellate Courts and Procedure, and Complex Litigation classes. Additionally, during law school, Jake served as a law clerk at a well-known Chicago litigation firm and as a judicial extern to Justice Robert E. Gordon of the Illinois Appellate Court, First District.
Jake is a proud Wisconsin Badger, having earned his undergraduate degree with honors from the University of Wisconsin in May 2009. At the University of Wisconsin, Jake double majored in Political Science and International Studies: Political Economy and Policy Studies, and he was elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa. After undergraduate and before attending law school, Jake worked as a paralegal for a solo practitioner in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Prior to joining Tabet DiVito & Rothstein, Jake served as an associate at a national law firm.
In his free time, Jake is an avid fan of outlaw country music, cycling, exploring Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods, hiking and camping in our country’s national parks, international travel, and the Green Bay Packers and Wisconsin Badgers football teams.
Credentials
- IIT-Chicago Kent College of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, 2014
- University of Wisconsin, B.A., with Honors, Phi Beta Kappa, 2009
Memberships & Affiliations
Bar Admissions
- Illinois (2014)
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (2014)
Representative Matters
- First chaired bench trial in landlord-tenant dispute, obtaining judgment in favor of client on all claims and counterclaims and obtaining attorneys’ fees award nearly five times the amount of the judgment.
- Second chaired bench trial in multidefendant breach of contract and defamation action by medical billing specialist, resulting in confidential settlement agreement on favorable terms for client.
- Represented defendant former accountant and real estate developer, and related parties, in action by former employer for breach of fiduciary duty, tortious interference with business expectancy, conversion, and civil conspiracy alleging that former employee client improperly poached business from his former employer. Case was dismissed at the pleading stage.
- Represented defendant landlord in breach of lease case on an emergency basis, defeating plaintiff’s motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction and causing case to be voluntarily dismissed.
- Represented defendant former employee in trade secrets litigation against former insurance company employer on an emergency basis, defeating motion for temporary restraining order and obtaining favorable settlement for client that allowed him to continue to advance his start-up company.
- Represented plaintiff large plumbing engineer and contractor in trade secrets litigation against former employee, resulting in settlement agreement in which former employee acquiesced to all demands of engineer/contractor.
- Represented plaintiff nationwide franchise operator of fast-food restaurants in breach of contract arbitration against seller of various parcels of real estate and fast food franchises arising out of environmental contamination of real estate parcels, resulting in favorable settlement for client where purchase price of real estate was reduced, and seller agreed to indemnify client for environmental cleanup costs.
- Represented in arbitration, trial court, and appellate court a defendant family of medical office real estate developers in LLC dispute brought by co-investor alleging claims for breach of fiduciary duty and fraud. After trial court dismissed certain claims and referred others to arbitration, parties entered into a confidential settlement agreement on extremely favorable terms for defendant family.
- Represented public traded corporation in putative class and collective action brought by former employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Illinois Minimum Wage Law. After mooting named plaintiff’s claims, case was resolved via confidential settlement agreement resulting in nominal payment to named plaintiff.
- Represented defendant former employee in breach of restrictive covenant case against large manufacturer former employer, resulting in dismissal of former employer’s case at the pleading stage.
- Represented liquidating trustee of former metals manufacturer in trial and appeal of complex adversary bankruptcy proceeding against former officers and directors for breach of fiduciary duty, fraudulent transfer, insider preferences, equitable subordination, and equitable reacharacterization, resulting in trial court verdict for liquidating trustee. Appellate case remains pending.
- Represented defendant physician sole-member of cardiology practice in claims against former employee for breach of contract and buyout under the Illinois Limited Liability Company Act. After the trial court compelled arbitration of the matter, the Illinois Appellate Court, Second District affirmed, and plaintiff former employee dismissed his case.
- Represented large cable company in emergency matter in federal court seeking relief from writ of execution that resulted from plaintiff obtaining a judgment against another company and caused cable company’s bank accounts to be frozen. After emergency briefing and argument, court quashed the writ of execution and unfroze client’s bank accounts.
- Represented commercial tenant in emergency action to quash order of possession placed with the sheriff while judgment for possession in favor of landlord was stayed pending resolution of an appeal. After emergency briefing and hearing, court quashed order of possession and allowed client to remain in the space pending disposition of the appeal. Appeal remains pending.
- Represented father in appellate court in child custody matter after trial court imposed restrictions on his parenting time, resulting in reversal of the order imposing restrictions on his parenting time.