Tracy Ickes

Tracy previously practiced in Chicago, Illinois, where the Leading Lawyers Network recognized her as an “Emerging Lawyer.” While in law school, Tracy was a judicial intern with the Hon. John C. O’Meara of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

What do you focus on?

I litigate complex commercial disputes in a range of industries, including construction and real estate, technology and insurance. My experience includes claims for breach of contract, antitrust violations, theft of trade secrets, business torts and corporate governance disputes and indemnity issues.

I handle all stages of litigation in state and federal courts at both the trial and appellate levels. I am currently representing a subcontractor in arbitration regarding a construction dispute. My ability to distill complex issues into accessible narratives is of great value to clients litigating highly technical subject matters before generalist courts.

What do you see on the horizon?

Companies that use ephemeral messaging services, in-house chat programs and shared documents in the cloud—which can all be effective tools for collaboration—may be surprised to face negative inferences in litigation if those materials are no longer available. Civil discovery strategies need to adapt to rapid changes in communication preferences and technologies.

Representative Cases

• Represent The Regents of the University of California in a groundbreaking patent enforcement campaign to protect its rights in a revolutionary new generation of light bulb technology known as filament LED that was invented by a Nobel laureate-led team at UC Santa Barbara. The campaign includes litigation before the U.S. International Trade Commission, the U.S. District Courts for the Central District of California and Eastern District of New York, and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
• Obtained summary judgment in federal district court in favor of insurance company against bad faith and breach of contract claims based on an environmental legal liability policy.
• Defeated multiple motions to dismiss and obtained favorable settlement for contractor on claims of tortious interference with contract and business expectancy.
• Obtained affirmation on appeal before the Seventh Circuit of the largest eminent domain award in Illinois history.
• Enforced rights of secured creditors, including national banks and private lenders, in litigation and loan workouts.
• Obtained reversal from Alaska Supreme Court of jury verdict based upon novel evidentiary issues.

Publications

• “Long Odds: Commercial Mortgagors Fighting to Keep Their Property During Foreclosure Have Few Options,” 102.3 Illinois Bar Journal 144 (2014).
• “A Path Toward User Control of Online Profiling,” 17.2 Mich. Telcomm. & Tech. L. Rev. 459 (2011).