Firm Profile > Lawyers

Edward A. Wallace
Partner
eaw@wexlerwallace.com

Office: (312) 346-2222
Direct: (312) 589-6272
Fax: (312) 589-6273

Chicago Office
55 West Monroe St., Ste. 3300
Chicago, IL 60603

Practice Areas

Professional Profile

Ed joined the firm in February 2000, a little over a month after its founding by Ken Wexler. Since then, he has helped lead the firm to national prominence working on a number of the firm's cases. He became a partner of the firm in 2003 and joined Ken as an equity partner in 2006. Ed focuses his practice on large scale multi-party complex litigation and he has been asked to serve in prominent positions in numerous high-profile cases, including recent appointments in securities litigation and mass torts.

His hard work led to his recognition as a 2009 "Rising Star" by SuperLawyers for the practice areas of class actions and mass torts, an award given annually to no more than 2.5 percent (2.5%) of the lawyers in Illinois. Ed also was rated by peers in the Bar and given an AV® Preeminent^TM rating by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating a lawyer can obtain, indicating a very high to preeminent legal ability and exceptional ethical standards.

Appointed & Representative Positions

In RE: Kugel Mesh Hernia Patch Products Liability Litigation, (MDL No. 1842) Ed is a member of Plaintiffs Steering Committee ("PSC") in both Rhode Island State Court and in the consolidated Federal Court proceedings in the District of Rhode Island, where over a thousand cases are pending against manufacturers of the Composix Kugel Mesh Patch. Ed is Chair of the Law and Briefing Committee and is also a member of the trial team for the first cases selected for trial in the Federal Court proceedings. He was also recently re-elected to another term as the co-chairman of the American Association for Justice's Kugel® Mesh Litigation Group and co-authored "Composix® Kugel® Mesh: A Primer" for the Spring 2008 AAJ newsletter for the Section on Toxic, Environmental & Pharmaceutical Torts. His significant role in these cases have given him the privilege to work with lawyers from all over the Country with similar cases.

Illinois Funeral Directors Association Litigation, (Multiple Cases), Ed is co-lead counsel in these derivative and class actions aimed at restoring the trust monies that have disappeared from the IFDA Services, Inc. Preneed Trust (the "Trust"), which had more than three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000) in assets that were supposed to pay for funerals of Preneed planning customers. Much of the Trust's assets disappeared as a result of a risky investment scheme orchestrated by Merrill Lynch. While these cases are ongoing, they have already proved to be a catalyst for action taken against a former Merrill Lynch employee by governmental authorities to revoke his ability to sell securities and insurance.

Levie v. Sears Roebuck Co., Case No. 04-CV-07643 (N.D. Ill.) Ed is liaison counsel in a securities fraud suit alleging the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Sears made material omissions and misrepresentations in press releases regarding its acquisition by Kmart, which had the effect of artificially deflating the price of Sears' securities and maintaining their trading level.

Virginia M. Damon Trust v. Mackinac Financial Corp., f/k/a North Country Financial Corp., Case No. 2:03cv0135 (W.D. Mich.) Ed was co-lead counsel in this derivative action on behalf of Mackinac Financial Corp., which involved allegations of wrongdoing and gross mismanagement by former chief executive officers of what was formerly known as North Country Bank and Trust resulting in millions of dollars in bad loans and other losses incurred by the bank and its shareholders. The case was litigated for years, brought to the brink of trial and settled after the Honorable Gordon J. Quist entered an order denying the bulk of defendant's motion for summary judgment and denying defendant's motions in limine to exclude plaintiff's experts. See Virginia M. Damon Trust v. Mackinac Fin. Corp., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23 (W.D. Mich. Jan. 2, 2008). In approving the settlement, Judge Quist addressed the efforts of plaintiff's counsel stating, "...the plaintiff's lawyers did a good job. I mean they were successful almost a hundred percent..." Transcript of May 1, 2008, fairness hearing at p. 17.

List v. List, Case No. 96 CH 845 (IL) Ed was lead counsel in this case alleging mismanagement and waste at this closely held manufacturing concern. The firm was retained by shareholders after a decade of litigation. Ed was lead trial counsel in the bench trial regarding fee claims against the clients; Judge Nancy Arnold rendered a verdict in favor of the clients and the remainder of case settled for a confidential amount after the firm pursued discovery relating to financial transactions of the company's former chief executive officer.

Morris v. Sony Electronics, Inc., Case No. 03 L 210 (IL) Ed was lead counsel in this class action involving defective electronic DVD players, which was certified as a nationwide class and later settled.

In RE: Medtronic, Inc. Implantable Defibrillators Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1726 (D. Minn.) Ed was a member of third party payor committee in this action to recover costs of explant surgery and related expenses necessitated by the recall of certain Medtronic implantable defibrillators. The case settled with the firm's third party payor client, United Food and Commercial Workers Unions and Employers Midwest Health Benefits Fund, for a confidential amount.

Memberships

Chicago Bar Association
Illinois Bar Association
American Bar Association
American Association for Justice (AAJ)
Trial Lawyers for Public Justice
National Association of Shareholders and Consumer Attorneys (NASCAT)

Presentations & Teaching

Guest Lecturer on Class Actions and Mass Tort Practice at the Loyola University School of Law - Chicago

State Court Admissions

Illinois

Federal Court Admissions

U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (member of Trial Bar)
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan
U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit

Academic Background

J.D., DePaul University, 1995
B.A., Eastern Illinois University, 1991