Kenneth A. Michaels, Jr.

Ken represents clients facing complex commercial litigation and assists with commercial transactions including asset transfers and property development, and property management.  He regularly engages in business and corporate asset sales and purchases, structuring loan agreements on behalf of lenders and borrowers, commercial real estate purchases and sales, and negotiating commercial lease transactions. In serving clients Ken provides a special focus on adhering to corporate governance principles while managing and minimizing risk.
 
Throughout his career, Ken has represented banks, insurance companies, property developers and managers, not-for-profit charitable organizations, condominium and homeowners associations, Fortune 500 businesses, high net worth individuals, and chapter 11 debtors-in-bankruptcy.  His litigation experience ranges from a highly-publicized class action involving a major league baseball organization setting up a company to scalp its own tickets to small and middle market businesses and organizations caught in trade disputes with competitors, contractors, and contract counter-parties. 
 
Ken has been recognized as an Illinois “Super Lawyer” in the field of real property law and has written scholarly and practical articles and book chapters for the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education (IICLE).  Since 2016 Ken has authored a monthly article on developments in condominium and homeowner association law for IICLE’s Flashpoint publication including topics on not-for-profit governance, insurance coverage, lien litigation and mechanics liens.  As recognition of his contributions to the legal profession, Ken has been elected into Scribes/The American Society of Legal Writers.
 
Early in his career Ken served as research director and then First Fellow of the Center for Information Technology and Privacy Law. Trained by the former White House Counsel for Privacy, Ken was involved in law and information technologies from the time of the federal Privacy Act of 1974 to the birth of personal computing. During this era, he engaged in researching, writing, and developing legislation and policies for criminal prosecution of computer crime, drafting legislation pertaining to personal information regulation and management, and eventually to responding to proposed regulatory approaches to transmittal of diseases and viruses.  Having been on the cutting edge of information technologies and regulation, Ken continues to assist clients today through his e-discovery practice with their operational, compliance and policy needs.  
 
Ken has also served for approximately three decades as a public official appointed by members of the Illinois General Assembly in Lake and McHenry Counties, Illinois. His experience serving as president of a Regional Water Reclamation District taught him a valuable governmental perspective that he utilizes in transactional negotiations.
 
As an adjunct professor, Ken teaches business associations and corporate law and appellate advocacy at the University of Illinois Chicago Law School. He has previously taught courses in lawyering skills, legal drafting and corporate law at The John Marshall Law School, Chicago, Illinois.
 
Ken has been a member of the American, Illinois State, and Chicago Bar Associations throughout most of his professional life and has periodically engaged in work and projects with each. Occasionally he has spoken on condominium and homeowner related matters for the Chicago Bar Association Condominium Subcommittee of the Real Property Committee and for Chicago Title Insurance Company and for Citywide Title Insurance Company.
 
In addition to his commitment to the bar, Ken has an excellent track record of community service.  He has served as a Trustee and Treasurer of the Northern Moraine Wastewater Reclamation District in Lake and McHenry Counties, where he has also served as President for the past 15 years.   Ken served on the Board of Directors of Midwest Young Artists Conservatory for the past 13 years and has served on the Executive Committee of this not-for-profit youth conservatory for approximately 10 years.  Ken is active in Transfiguration Wauconda Catholic Parish where he serves in a variety of ministries. He is also active in serving the Archdiocese of Chicago. In recognition of his outstanding civic contributions, Ken received the Public Official of the Year Award from the Illinois Association of Wastewater Agencies, the I Care Award from Lake County Cares and the Christifideles Award from the Chicago Archdiocese.
 
Ken received his Bachelors of Arts in Philosophy from Loyola University in 1980 and his J.D. from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law (formerly John Marshall Law School) in 1983.  He is admitted to practice in the State of Illinois, and in federal courts in Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan as well as the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit. He has litigated in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and the Northern District of Indiana.