Biography
During his 50 years of legal practice, Steve has had extensive experience trying cases, before both juries and judges. He has also had extensive experience at the appellate level. He has handled appeals in many circuits of the United States Court of Appeals, the Illinois Supreme and appellate courts. In the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit alone, he has won nine of his last 10 cases.
Steve has handled cases for a wide range of national and Chicago-area business corporations, institutions, partnerships, individuals and some of the wealthiest and most prominent families in the Chicagoland area.
Many well-known law firms have also expressed their confidence in Steve by retaining him to defend them against claims of legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty and securities fraud, as well as in law partnership disputes.
Steve has achieved considerable recognition within the profession. Chambers USA, which ranks Steve in the highest tier – Band 1 – for Illinois Litigation: General Commercial, described him as “a highly regarded litigator who is prominent for representing major companies and law firms.”
Further, Steve participated in an American Bar Association program run in cooperation with judges of the Seventh Circuit and Northern District of Illinois to make improvements to the civil jury system. Steve worked on a proposed change to allow lawyers to make interim statements to the jury, rather than be limited to opening and closing statements. This innovative approach was successfully tested and is used by many judges today.
Background
In 1984, Steve co-founded Novack and Macey LLP, one of Chicago’s most prominent commercial and business litigation firms. Steve joined Armstrong Teasdale when the two firms combined in 2023.
Education
- Northwestern University School of Law (J.D., magna cum laude, 1972)
- Order of the Coif
- Northwestern University Law Review (Notes and Comments Editor)
- National Moot Court Team
- University of Missouri-St. Louis (B.A., magna cum laude, 1968)
Admissions
Accolades
- Honorary Doctorate, University of Missouri-St. Louis (2023)
- Illinois Super Lawyers® (2005-present), Top 100 Lawyers in Illinois (2007-present)
- Preeminent Attorney, Martindale-Hubbell
- Chambers USA, Litigation: General Commercial, Band 1
- Illinois Leading Lawyer (2003-present)
- The Best Lawyers in America®, Commercial Litigation, Legal Malpractice Law – Defendants, Litigation - Real Estate, Professional Malpractice Law – Defendants (2017-present); Lawyer of the Year, Litigation – Real Estate (2022); Lawyer of the Year, Legal Malpractice Law – Defendants (2024)