After graduating from Northwestern University, with honors in economics, he received his J.D from Harvard Law School. He was law clerk to the Hon. Abraham L. Marovitz in the federal district court of Chicago.

Thereafter, he joined the fledgling law firm of Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon, a recent spinoff from Kirkland & Ellis, when it had 9 lawyers. He became a partner, headed up the firm recruiting efforts for 12 years, and became the managing partner of the firm when it had about 200 lawyers and offices in 6 U.S. cities and London. He is a "lifer", remaining at the firm after it merged twice, first in 2011, to become Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP and then in 2015 to become Locke Lord LLP. He left Locke Lord to found Esrick ADR LLC, effective January 1st 2017.

 

ADR Experience             
 

Jerry has over 30 years experience nationwide as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association,  including many international and class action cases. He has served as sole arbitrator or chair or member of a panel in over 250 arbitrations and as a mediator in over 50 mediations, authoring over 75 reasoned awards. He has served as a neutral in business disputes involving the healthcare and life sciences, technology, intellectual property, automotive, e-commerce, manufacturing, communications, securities, banking, financial services, insurance and reinsurance, real estate, franchising, sports and entertainment, hospitality, accounting, consulting, construction industries, and governmental entities, many involving multi-million-dollar disputes. He recently served as sole arbitrator in multi-million-dollar disputes between large telecommunications companies, between large health care systems and several major automotive industry disputes, all involving detailed reasoned awards. In recent years he has served on many panels hearing disputes in the healthcare industry. Recently he issued a reasoned award in a first impression antitrust healthcare dispute between a large healthcare system and healthcare insurer. As a trial lawyer, he's been an advocate in a number of significant arbitrations before alternative dispute resolution tribunals. He also has substantial experience in mediation proceedings both as a mediator and advocate.

 

Practice Experience

 

Over more than 45 years he has served as both a business corporate lawyer and civil trial lawyer. His corporate practice included over 100 M&A transactions, corporate tender and proxy fights, IPOs, and equity and bond offerings, private placements, private equity deals, joint ventures, counsel to directors and special board committees. He served as outside general counsel to several midsize public companies and numerous privately held businesses. As a trial lawyer, he has served as counsel in numerous bench and jury trials in state and federal courts nationwide. He has argued numerous appeals in the Seventh and Ninth Federal Circuits and the Illinois appellate courts.

 

Teaching Experience

 

Jerry has appeared on ADR panels for the American Arbitration Association, The Chicago Bar Association, The College of Commercial Arbitrators and many law firm training programs.

He has appeared on numerous litigation related seminars and taught antitrust law at Northwestern University for nine years.

 

A representative list of his reported case decisions includes the following:

 

• SCA Services, Inc. v. Morgan, 557 F.2d 110 (7th Cir. 1977)    

• In re Wheat Rail Freight Rate Antitrust Litigation, 579 F. Supp. 517 (N.D. Ill 1984)

• Frederickson v. Merrill, Lynch, et.al, 389 F.Supp. 1151 (N.D. Ill. 1974)

• Jones v. Heritage Pullman Bank, 164 Ill. App.3d (1st Dist. 1987)

• Polytechnic Data Corp v. Xerox Corp., 361 F.Supp. (N.D. Ill. 1973)

• Stein v. Malden Mills, Inc., 9 Ill. App. 3d 266 (1st Dist. 1972)

• Callaizakis v. Astor Development Corp., 4 Ill. App. 3d (1st Dist. 1972)

• Chicago Health Clubs v. Ahmad, 5 Ill. App. 3d (1st Dist. 1972)

• Mediware Information Systems v. Interstate Blood Banks, II CV 3932 (N.D.Ill. 2012)

•    Cement-Lock, LLC v. Gas Technology Institute, et al., No. 05 C 0018 (N.D. Ill.), 523 F.Supp.2d 827 (N.D. Ill. 2007); 2006 WL 3147700 (N.D. Ill. 2006); 2005 WL 2420374 (N.D. Ill. 2005)

• Gas Technology Institute, et al. v. Rehmat, et al., 524 F.Supp.2d 1058, 2007 WL 3374590 (N.D. Ill. 2007); 2006 WL 3743576 (N.D. Ill. 2006)

•   Proctor v. Board of Education, et al., 392 Supp.2d 1026 No. 04 C 3889 (N.D. Ill.) (2005 U.S. Dist. Lexis 10473) (Judge Gettleman)

• CPN v. Cass, No. 99 C 1482 (N.D. Ill.) (Judge Hibbler)

• Ratcliffe v. International Surplus Lines, 194 Ill.App.3d 18 (1st Dist. 1990)

•  American Passage Media Corporation v. Cass Communications, Inc., 750 F.2d 1470 (9th Cir. 1985)

• Amendola v. Bayer et al., 907 F.2d 760 (7th Cir. 1990)

• Cass Communications, Inc. v. NEAS, 374 F.Supp. 796 (N.D. Ill. 1974), rev’d. 516 F.2d 1092 (7th Cir. 1975), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 986 (1975), on remand, 407 F.Supp. 520 (N.D. Ill.), aff’d., 537 F.2d 282 (7th Cir. 1976)

• Weit v. Continental Illinois National Bank et al., 60 F.R.D. 5 (N.D. Ill. 1973), aff’d. 535 F.2d 1010 (7th Cir. 1976) (class action issues); 467 F.Supp. 197 (N.D. Ill. 1978) and 478 F.Supp. 285 (N.D. Ill. 1978), both aff’d., 641 F.2d 457 (7th Cir. 1981), cert denied, 455 U.S. 988 (1982) (merits)

• Bank of Lincolnwood v. Federal Leasing Inc., 622 F.2nd 944 (7th Cir. 1980)

•   Wright v. Heizer, 411 F.Supp. 23 (N.D. Ill. 1975), aff’d in part and rev’d in part, 560 F.2d 236 (7th Cir. 1977)

•   McCormick v. McCormick, 118 Ill. App. 3d 455, 455 N.E. 2d 103 (1983)

• TSC Industries v. Northway Inc., 426 U.S. 438 (1976), rev’d in part 512 F.2d 324 (7th Cir. 1975), aff’d, 361 F.Supp. 108 (N.D. Ill. 1974)

• Schaefer v. First National Bank of Lincolnwood et al., (N.D. Ill., unreported, June 25, 1973), aff’d., 509 F.2d 1287 (7th Cir. 1975)

• Rosin v. American Stock Exchange, (N.D. Ill., unreported, April 17, 1972), aff’d., 484 F.2d 179 (Cir. 1975)

• Svizzero v. Twomey, 72 C 1229 (N.D. Ill.) (Judge McGarr)

•  AMF v. McDonald’s Corp., 73 C 1376 (N.D. Ill., unreported, 1975), aff’d., 536 F.2d 1167 (7th Cir. 1976)