Jeffrey S. Becker
312-321-8425 direct
jbecker@smbtrials.com

Mr. Becker has represented clients in a variety of litigation matters, including contractual disputes, partnership dissolution, trade secret misappropriation, real estate disputes, construction liability, fraud and breach of fiduciary duty, intellectual property infringements, restrictive covenants and employment-related disputes. In addition, Mr. Becker provides business counseling and contract negotiation services to a wide range of businesses.

Mr. Becker has significant experience working with clients in various aspects of the media and entertainment industry. Among his clients are actors, screenwriters and musicians, for whom he is able to provide comprehensive representation with respect to licensing and distribution rights, talent submissions, royalty negotiations, motion picture and television production agreements, intellectual property and publishing rights, and many other facets of the industry.

Mr. Becker also has experience in admiralty and maritime litigation related to cargo damage and recovery, unseaworthiness, non-payment of freight, deadfreight, jurisdictional issues, removal/remand litigation and forum selection disputes, as well as litigation related to the Carmack Amendment, Jones Act, COGSA and the Death on the High Seas Act.

Practice Areas:
Commercial Litigation and Business Disputes
Intellectual Property
  Creative Arts and Entertainment Law
Admiralty and Maritime Law

Education:
Illinois Wesleyan University (B.A., 2001)
DePaul University College of Law (J.D., magna cum laude,
  2004)
  Member, DePaul Law Review
  Order of the Coif
  Phi Kappa Phi
  Recipient, 4 CALI Excellence for the Future Awards

Admissions:
Illinois Supreme Court, 2004
United States District Court for the Northern District
  of Illinois, 2004
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh
  Circuit, 2004
United States District Court for the Southern District
  of Indiana, 2010
United States District Court for the District
  of Colorado, 2010

Awards and Distinctions:
Selected for inclusion in Illinois Super Lawyers–Rising Star
  Edition in Business Litigation (2010)

Memberships:
Lawyers for the Creative Arts
Chicago Bar Association
American Bar Association

Publications:
Avoiding the Pitfalls of Untimely Removal: Beware of the Interplay Between the Federal Removal Statutes and State Court Pleading Requirements, LAW TRENDS & NEWS, Vol. 6, No. 3, American Bar Association General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Division (Spring 2010).

Civility: A Rational Approach to Combat Discovery Abuse, LAW TRENDS & NEWS, Vol. 6, No. 1, American Bar Association General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Division (Fall 2009). Click here to download PDF, 64K

A Legal War on Terrorism: Extending New York v. Quarles and the Departure from Enemy Combatant Designations, 53 Depaul Law Review 831 (2003). Click here to download PDF, 288K

Government Service:
Honorable William J. Bauer, United States Appellate Court
  for the Seventh Circuit (Judicial Extern 2004)
Honorable Ronald A. Guzman, United States District Court
  for the Northern District of Illinois (Judicial Extern 2003)