Steve has a unique combination of legal and business experience in risk management and civil litigation. An entrepreneur and justice advocate, he helped launch and serves as the Chief Advocate and General Counsel for the U.S. Sport Safety Council.
His background also includes being co-founder and managing partner of a national firm, president and CEO of a software company, CEO of a professional development company, and chairman of a non-profit senior center. He created business and administrative operations for one of the top four national market leaders and negotiated and implemented a strategic alliance program of more than 8,000 independent financial advisors. Steve is a former law clerk for the Chief Justice of the Illinois Court of Claims and a former law clerk for a Hearing Officer of the Illinois Department of Financial Institutions where he assisted in investigations and administrative hearings.
Current and past clients include Olympic athletes, national and international medal winners, coaches, General Counsel, Olympic National Governing Body officers and directors, managing partners, retired judges, individuals, entrepreneurs, professionals, businesses, and insurance carriers ranging in size from sole proprietors to Fortune 500 companies.
Steve is Counsel and a Board Member at Athletes for Equity in Sports. He is a past member of TEC/Vistage (the world’s largest member organization of CEOs) and trained as a Vistage Group Chair to form business peer advisory boards. He also served as the Chairman of the Board for the Des Plaines Valley Senior Center, where he was a member of the Executive Board and its Finance Committee. He is a past member of the Judicial Evaluation Committee reviewing trial and appellate judge applications. A member of the Federal Trial Bar for the Northern District of Illinois, he is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and the Illinois Supreme Court. He has other current or past admissions in United States District Courts in Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Wisconsin.
Steve was one of three attorneys in the country to obtain an arbitration ruling criticizing the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee structure between the USOPC and national governing bodies for failing to address a conflict between the SafeSport™ Code and the Ted Stevens Act protecting amateur sports participants rights to due process. He also completed the Litigation Management Institute hosted at Columbia University Law School in New York, receiving the Litigation Management Professional certification. At the time less than 300 attorneys had the CLMP designation nationwide. Steve received the Martindale-Hubbell Client Distinction Award. Less than one percent (1%) of the attorneys listed by Martindale-Hubbell receive the award.
A three sport collegiate athlete, Steve is a Level 5, USA Hockey Masters Certified Coach and was a Certified Referee. He served on the Board of Directors of the national governing body state affiliate, served as Chair of the High School Committee, and served on the Rules & Ethics Committee.
