Biography
Monte Mann is an accomplished trial lawyer who represents clients in high-stakes civil litigation concerning a wide variety of subject matters, such as commercial contracts, corporate governance and fraud, with a particular emphasis on the financial services, commercial real estate, insurance and manufacturing industries. He also defends clients in legal malpractice lawsuits.
Monte is experienced in all phases of litigation, including investigations, commencing suit, discovery, depositions, motion practice, trials, judgment enforcement and asset recovery.
Monte has earned numerous honors and distinctions throughout his career. Benchmark Litigation, the definitive guide to the world's leading litigation firms and lawyers, has named Monte a "Local Litigation Star."
Monte also is recognized annually:
- As an “Illinois Leading Lawyer” by Law Bulletin Media, an independent panel that places him among the top five percent of attorneys in Illinois for his legal talent and ethical standing.
- As one of the “Best Lawyers in America” by US News & World Report, based on peer review.
- As an Illinois “Super Lawyer” by Super Lawyers Magazine, an honor conferred on no more than 5 percent of the attorneys in the state based on peer recognition for his professional achievement in Commercial Litigation.
Monte has been inducted into the Midwest Real Estate News Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame based on his accomplishments as a trial lawyer for his commercial real estate clients.
Monte also is a senior fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, an invitation-only honorary society for trial lawyers established to reflect the new face of the American bar. Membership is limited to 3,500 fellows, representing less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers. Monte is a member of the Trial Law Institute and Diversity Law Institute.
In what the Chicago Tribune called an “extraordinary ruling,” the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, appointed Monte as its Independent Counsel to investigate the role played by the indicted law firm Milberg Weiss in finding plaintiffs to bring a shareholders’ derivative action against Boeing. This prestigious court appointment, and other of Monte’s cases, have been covered in the national and local press, including the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and Crain’s Chicago Business.
Monte has cross-examined some of Wall Street’s most powerful players, including JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon and New York Private Bank & Trust and Emigrant Savings Bank Chief Executive Howard Milstein. In what the Chicago Tribune called an “extraordinary ruling,” the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, appointed Monte as its independent counsel to investigate the role of an indicted law firm in finding plaintiffs to bring a shareholders’ derivative action against a major aerospace manufacturer. This prestigious court appointment, and cases Monte has handled, have been covered by national and local media, including the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times and Crain’s Chicago Business.
Others have described Monte as follows:
- "… Monte Mann is dynamite in a courtroom and takes the time to make sure you as a client are fully briefed." - Anonymous
- "He is one of the hardest working and brightest people that I know, and he is incredibly committed to his clients and his legal practice.... Monte shows amazing poise, judgment and advocacy skills." - General Counsel, NY-based hedge fund
- "I am never concerned about whether a litigation matter is being handled properly when Monte is the lead attorney. He is pragmatic and is the epitome of a 'business persons' lawyer." - General Counsel, Publicly traded automotive-related franchisor
- "His scholarship is first rate [and] he is brutally efficient. There are no wasted motions, no wasted words, no blind alleys and none of the nonsense oft times associated with litigation." - Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel, Midwest-based real estate developer
Services and Industries
Background
Monte was previously a lawyer at Novack and Macey in Chicago, and joined Armstrong Teasdale in 2023. For several consecutive years, based on Monte’s representation of a global leader in the design, manufacture, distribution and service of engines and related technologies, Novack and Macey was named one of the “Go-To” litigation firms for Fortune 500 companies by the publishers of Corporate Counsel magazine. This honor placed the firm in an exclusive group of law firms recognized for delivering exceptional services to Fortune 500 companies and an even more exclusive group that does so in the field of business litigation.
Education
- Northwestern University School of Law (J.D., 1995)
- Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Note and comment editor
- University of Pennsylvania (B.A., magna cum laude, 1992)
Admissions
Professional Activities
- Litigation Counsel of America, Senior Fellow
- Trial Law Institute
- Diversity Law Institute
- Real Estate Investment Association (REIA) (Member)
Accolades
- Benchmark Litigation, Litigation Star (2021-present)
- 40 Illinois Attorneys Under 40 to Watch (2005)
- Illinois Leading Lawyers (2015-present)
- The Best Lawyers in America® (2020-present)
- Illinois Super Lawyers® (2010-present)
- Midwest Real Estate News, Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame (2016)