Leslie P. Poole

Les Poole has extensive, high-level legal experience in his current practice area of domestic relations and paternity law, with a record of success. His practice has a concentration in marital and family law, and protecting the rights of parents. Les has secured significant victories for clients in divorce cases that have involved complex, high net-worth marital estates, in addition to contested custody, support and visitation issues.

Mr. Poole has also provided extremely valuable and sophisticated legal services in the complex areas of commercial litigation and transactions, business law, real estate litigation, personal injury and insurance coverage.

He has litigated over 50 jury trials in state and federal courts in Illinois and Wisconsin. His litigation practice includes a winning record in commercial and complex litigation, securities, joint ventures, contracts, Uniform Commercial Code, general business law, all aspects of personal injury and insurance coverage, product liability, medical malpractice, bankruptcy, as well as criminal matters. Mr. Poole served as lead counsel in a 23-day multi-million dollar anti-trust suit and successfully defended a specific performance action in a leading land trust case in Illinois.

Mr. Poole's transactional experience and practice focused on complex corporate financing and restructuring, buy/sell agreements, asset purchase agreements, contracting, labor relations, restrictive covenants, Uniform Commercial Code issues, security interests and commercial real estate procurement and development. Mr. Poole has also represented clients in arbitration, mediation and regulatory proceedings before the National Association of Securities Dealers.

Mr. Poole maintains memberships in the Chicago Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association, and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He is a member of Tau Epsilon Rho and past vice president and treasurer of Delta Sigma Pi. Mr. Poole received his B.A. in economics from Loyola University of Chicago in 1976, and his Juris Doctor from Northern Illinois University in 1980.

COURT VICTORIES:

• Successful defense in post-decree divorce action of a claim against his client for over $2 million in shares of stock related to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) restructuring and series of mergers whereby it "demutualized" and went from being a member-owned, non-stock company to being a wholly-owned subsidiary of a new, publicly held company, CME Holdings, owned by its shareholders
• Successful defense of numerous complicated orders of protection, including defending false allegations of firearm usage
• Successful handling of domestic relations case ensuring the equitable division of property for his client of a marital estate valued in excess of $50 million
• Lead trial counsel in securing a judgment in excess of $2 million on behalf of a client who suffered damages due to breach of contract and defamation
• Settlement of a DuPage County personal injury action in excess of $900,000 on behalf of his client
• Representation of school superintendent before the School Board to enable continued employment by the school district.