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Douglas E. Whitney is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP based in the Firm's Chicago office. As a member of the Trial Department, he practices in the area of white collar criminal defense and complex commercial litigation. In 2007, for the second consecutive year, Doug was recognized by Chambers USA as one of the leading commercial litigators in Illinois.
Doug regularly represents companies and executives in governmental investigations, agency proceedings, arbitration, and federal and state court litigation across the country. His recent work on behalf of his clients includes the following representative matters:
Represents national accounting and law firms in IRS investigation and enforcement actions relating to the promotion of allegedly abusive tax shelters.
Lead attorney for national accounting and law firms in federal and state court litigation involving claims of malpractice, fraud, and conspiracy relating to the promotion of allegedly abusive tax shelters.
Successfully defended Chief Accounting Officer of Fortune 500 company without any charges being filed in federal grand jury and SEC investigations regarding accounting fraud.
Obtained dismissal of all felony counts in prosecution charging one of country's largest privately-held companies with criminal environmental offenses.
Obtained favorable verdict rejecting all claims against broker-dealer clients in securities arbitration relating to acquisition and sale of trading entities.
Defended founding principal of nationally prominent private equity firm against SEC charges of insider trading.
Obtained not guilty jury verdict on all 13 substantive counts against a labor union executive charged in federal indictment with conspiracy to extort national movie theater companies.
Obtained reversal in U.S. Supreme Court of Seventh Circuit's refusal to release individual wrongfully convicted of twenty-year-old sexual assault.
Prior to joining the Firm, Doug worked for the Federal Defender Program for the Northern District of Illinois, where he represented criminal defendants and habeas corpus petitioners in federal district court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. Doug tried numerous federal jury trials, including cases involving bank fraud, wire fraud and immigration offenses, and he also argued numerous cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals.
While in law school, Doug was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as an editor of the Law Review. Following law school, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Phyllis A. Kravitch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and worked as an associate for a large law firm in Atlanta. He is admitted to practice in Georgia and Illinois, as well as the U.S. District Courts for the Northern District of Illinois (Trial Bar) and the Northern District of Georgia and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh and Eleventh Circuits.
Doug is currently a member of the Editorial Board of the ABA Criminal Justice Newsletter and the President of the Board of CASA of Cook County, a non-profit organization that trains volunteers to advocate on behalf of abused and neglected children in Cook County Juvenile Court.
Education
New York University School of Law, J.D. (magna cum laude), 1996
Yale University, B.A. (cum laude), 1990 | 