Lou began his practice of law in New York in 1984 prior to moving to Chicago, where he became an equity partner at Gould & Ratner in 1992. He also held the same position at Neal, Gerber, & Eisenberg and Much Shelist, prior to forming Bernstein Law Firm in 2009. During those formative years, Lou garnered experience representing clients throughout the United States, in complex civil litigation matters before trial courts, arbitration panels, mediators, and numerous state and federal appellate courts, including the United States Supreme Court. Lou also served as chairman of the litigation department and governing bodies of several of those firms. However, large firm politics and adherence to the bottom line took its toll. As Lou liked to joke, “I could not wait to get out of the office and into court for some peace and quiet.” Lou then decided to build upon his experience and open his own law firm to better represent his clients and provide a work environment more conducive to relationship building and fostering collegiality among the attorneys and staff of the firm. Lou is a member of the Trial Law Institute and Diversity Law Institute. Lou is also a member of the Litigation Council of America’s Barrister, Order of Veritas, and Barrister, Order of Certus.

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Practicing in both federal and state court, James Trail represents clients in complex litigation concerning a wide variety of subject matters, with a particular emphasis on real-estate-related matters, contractual disputes, supplementary proceedings, commercial disputes, construction law and securities law.  James also has broad experience representing clients in dispute resolution prior to litigation and in appellate proceedings.

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