Terry F. Moritz

Terry Moritz founded the firm's litigation practice and served as chair of the Litigation Group for over 25 years. Mr. Moritz has more than 35 years of experience in a wide variety of complex commercial disputes both in court and in ADR settings. He has worked extensively in the electric utility and the financial service industries. He was lead counsel for the State of Illinois in the landmark Goldberg vs. Sweet telecommunication tax decision in the United States Supreme Court. He successfully prosecuted claims by a Midwest electric utility in a number of complex tax disputes involving the value of a fleet of nuclear generating facilities. He has recently represented wireless carriers in class action disputes in a number of jurisdictions, as well as, a merchant power generation enterprise in several significant disputes involving long-term power purchase agreements and fuel servicing agreements.

Mr. Moritz has also represented issuers, underwriters, financial institutions and business enterprises in a wide variety of matters. He has tried matters concerning the early redemption of corporate obligations, the legitimacy of bonds issued under legislative authority and numerous securities related issues, as well as, claims arising out of a wide array of contractual agreements. He has extensive experience representing corporate trustees in disputes involving complex financial instruments and has prosecuted and defended matters concerning professional malpractice. Mr. Moritz has also represented numerous individuals concerning their role as members of private and public company Boards. Mr. Moritz has extensive experience in reorganization proceedings having served as lead counsel for the First Mortgage bondholders in the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific Railroad reorganization, and as lead counsel for the trade creditors and special counsel for the Regional Transportation Authority in the Milwaukee Road reorganization. Mr. Moritz also served as Trustee and Chief Operating Officer of the Iowa Railroad Company during its 3 year reorganization. As a special assistant attorney general, Mr. Moritz has defended the states of Illinois and Minnesota in matters where the constitutionality of state taxes were at issue. He has won matters before the United States Supreme Court, throughout the federal appeals system, and in the state courts of Illinois, New York and Colorado. 

Mr. Moritz is a certified mediator and arbitrator. Mr. Moritz is a member of the Executive Committee of Resolution Systems Institute, a not for profit organization focused on strengthening justice by enhancing court alternative dispute resolution systems through its expertise in program development, research and resources. He has served as a panelist in the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, and he has arbitrated commercial disputes in a program established for the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. Mr. Moritz is a panel member of the American Arbitration Association ("AAA"), a member of the American Bar Association ("ABA"), a member of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution ("CPR"), and a board member and panelist for the Forum for International Conciliation & Arbitration ("FICA").  He was recently elevated from member to fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators ("CIArb").

Mr. Moritz is consistently listed as one of the top business litigators in the State of Illinois. He is a frequent author and lecturer on a variety of topics. Mr. Moritz's article "The Future of Consumer Arbitration In Light of Stolt-Nielsen" was published in The Loyola Consumer Law Review, 23.3 (2011). Recent presentations include: "International Arbitration," A Workshop on Building Capacity for Iraqi Women Leaders, Duhok, Iraq (October 2010) for the International Human Rights Law Institute, DePaul University College of Law; "Baffled by Bazzle then Stumped by Stolt-Nielsen," at the Meritas Annual Litigation and Labor & Employment Group Meeting, (October 2010);"Reporting Duties – An Uncertain Landscape," at the Practising Law Institute's Preparation of Annual Disclosure Documents 2007 (January 2007); "Management Views of KM," a panel discussion at the Practising Law Institute; Preparation of Annual Disclosure Documents 2004, (January 2004); "Corporate Governance and the Independent Auditor," panel discussion chair, The Conference Board, Council of Chief Legal Officers (February 2003) and The 41st Annual Corporate Counsel Institute at Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago (October 2002); "Sarbanes-Oxley: A Corporate Compliance Checklist," qualified online CLE program, administered through Cognistar Corp.; "Techniques and Resources for Developing Proper Valuation of Electric Power Generating Plants," CBI's 3rd Annual Electric Asset Valuation Seminar (February 2001); "Deregulation: Power Plant Values and Property Taxes: Shifting Values Shifting Rules," The 30th Annual Wichita Program (August 2000); "State Taxation of Restructuring Industries," Multistate Tax Commission's 33rd Annual Conference (July 2000); "Managing Taxation," The Center for Business Intelligence (April 2000); "Deregulation Power Plant Values and Property Taxes: Two Thoughtful Approaches," Lincoln Institute of Land Policy (October 1999); "Antitrust Issues and the Restructuring of the Power Industry," The Electricity Journal (November 1999); "Antitrust Issues and the Restructuring of the Power Industry," CBI's Power Plant Divestiture and Acquisition Conference (December 1998); "Utility Taxation in an Era of Deregulation," International Association of Assessing Officers Annual Legal Seminar (December 1998); "Impact of Electric Utility Deregulation," Commercial Law Affiliates Annual Meeting (March 1997); "Recent Developments in Real Property Taxation: Public Utility Deregulation in the United States," International Association of Assessing Officers 17th Annual Legal Seminar (November 1996); and "Taxing Telecommunications," Federation of Tax Administrators Annual Meeting (June 1989).

Mr. Moritz authored the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education's practice handbook, "Business, Law and the Internet" (2002), which received an Award for Outstanding Achievement for 2002 from the Association of Continuing Legal Education Administrators.

Mr. Moritz is a member of the Executive Committee for Resolution Systems Institute and serves on the Board of the Big Shoulders Fund, a major charitable organization.  He has also served as president of the Society for Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago; as president of the Board of Trustees for the Wood Turning Center; and as a member of the board of directors and finance committees for both the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind and the Arts Club of Chicago.