Jay brings more than two decades of experience both in private practice and government handling white collar matters, internal investigations and various areas of litigation. In his career he has worked on a wide variety of matters including complex accounting issues, public corruption, cryptocurrency, environmental regulations, and alleged violations of U.S. securities laws and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Jay has experience advising corporations, boards of directors and their various committees, and individual executives and employees, responding to inquiries from a range of federal agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois Inspector General and numerous United States Attorneys’ Offices nationwide. He has been successful in obtaining declinations of charges, favorable plea agreements, and non-custodial sentences for clients facing charges of corporate misconduct.

Jay is highly experienced in handling every phase of litigated matters, including complex discovery disputes, motions practice, jury selection, witness examination, and legal argument. His practice has included federal and state jury and bench trials, as well as domestic and international arbitrations. As an Assistant Illinois Attorney General, he briefed and argued dozens of criminal appeals, including six before the Illinois Supreme Court.

In addition his private practice, Jay is an active member of the Illinois State Bar Association, where he has served as Chair of the Business & Securities Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution Section Councils. He has also written and performed for the Chicago Bar Association’s annual show and served for more than a decade as a coach to the International Arbitration Moot Court Team at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.

A prolific writer and thought leader, Jay has published more than a hundred articles on emerging legal issues, with a focus on white collar and arbitration developments. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including Florida A&M University Law Review, The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ The Champion magazine, The American Bar Association Criminal Justice magazine, and Bloomberg Law White Collar Crime Report. He has also been recognized by The Legal 500 for his work in corporate investigations and white collar defense.

Jay earned his law degree from the University of Illinois, summa cum laude, where he graduated in the Order of the Coif. After law school, he proceeded to clerk for the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Representative Matters

As a white collar practitioner, Jay and his colleagues have represented numerous clients including:

The CFO of a public company in an internal investigation of internal controls issues.
 
A special committee of a public company conducting an internal investigation of allegations of bribery and internal control failures.

The chief technology officer of a public company in an investigation by the EPA and DOJ of compliance with environmental regulations.

The chair of the board of a public company in an SEC and DOJ investigation.

The audit committee of a public company in an SEC investigation and internal investigation.

One of the world’s largest telecommunications companies in litigation and a multi-week civil trial involving theft of trade secrets, among other claims.

A public company in a cross-border internal investigation into potential books and records and internal controls violations.

A corporation and its principals in a criminal antitrust investigation being conducted by DOJ Antitrust Division and FBI.

A software company in a public corruption investigation being conducted by the United States Attorney’s Office and FBI.

A government contractor in a public corruption investigation being conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI and Inspector General.

A former controller of a publicly traded company in SEC and Special Litigation Committee investigations relating to revenue recognition issues and earnings restatement.

Presentations

Presenter, Ethics for Business Lawyers, Illinois State Bar Association, Chicago Regional Office, May 24, 2024. 

Presenter, Alternative Dispute Resolution in Intellectual Property Cases, Illinois State Bar Association, Chicago Regional Office, February 5, 2019.

Presenter, Criminal Trade Secret Theft: What You Need to Know, Client Presentation, November 14, 2018. 

Moderator, ISBA Arbitration Roundtable, Illinois State Bar Association, Chicago Regional Office, May 8, 2018.

Moderator, ISBA Mediation Roundtable, Illinois State Bar Association Chicago Regional Office, October 17, 2017.

Publications

Law Review Articles 

“Winning the Battle but Losing the War: Towards a More Consistent Approach to Prevailing Party Fee Shifting in the Contractual Context,” 12 Florida A&M University Law Review 185 (2017).

“Something Old, Something New: Recent Developments in the Enforceability of Agreements to Arbitrate Disputes Between Nursing Homes and Their Residents,” 22 Elder Law Journal 141 (2014).

“Strange Bedfellows: Why Older Straight Couples Should Advocate for the Passage of the Illinois Civil Union Act,” 17 Elder Law Journal 31 (2009).

“Due Process in International Arbitration: Anything Goes? A U.S. Perspective,” 22 Revista de Arbitragem e Mediação 173 (2009) (with Lawrence S. Schaner).

Book Chapters

“Corporate ‘Tag’ Jurisdiction Remains in Flux After Supreme Court’s Certiorari Denial,” The State of Criminal Justice, July 2024 (with Andrew S. Boutros).

“New Liability Risks for Corporate Executives: DOJ Begins Requiring CEOs and CCOs to Provide Compliance Certifications Under Penalty of Prosecution,” The State of Criminal Justice, July 2023 (with co-authors).

“New Chinese Anti-Bribery Guideline Calls for Blacklisting and Expulsion of Foreign Companies That Pay Bribes in China,” The State of Criminal Justice, July 2022 (with co- authors).

“The Department of Justice’s New Enforcement ‘High Priority’: Trade and Customs Fraud,” The State of Criminal Justice, July 2019 (with Andrew S. Boutros).

“United States of America,” Commercial Litigation: Jurisdictional Comparisons, The European Lawyer Reference Series, November 2011 (with Lawrence S. Schaner).

Professional Journal Articles

“2025 forecast: Trump’s top target for secrets theft,” World IP Review, December 9, 2024. 

“Civil RICO: A trade secrets super weapon,” World IP Review, November 11, 2024.

“IBA Updates Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, forthcoming August 2024.

“States Split on Arbitrability of Wrongful Death Claims,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, July 2024.

“Supreme Court Holds SOX Whistleblowers Need Not Show Retaliatory Intent,” Business & Securities Law Forum, May 2024.

“Artificial Intelligence: Key Legal Issues for Businesses,” Business & Securities Law Forum, May 2024 (with Daliah Saper).

“American Arbitration Association Issues Amended Mass Arbitration Rules,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, April 2024.

“Rule 42 Special Prosecutors: A Separation of Powers Frankenstein That is Part Judicial and Part Executive Yet All Vulnerable to Challenge,” The Champion, March/April 2024 (with Andrew S. Boutros).

“Ban on Non-Competes Fails in New York, But Federal Threat Looms,” Business & Securities Law Forum, February 2024 (with Troy Sphar).

“Eleventh Circuit Rejects Challenge to Arbitral Award Based on Arbitrators’ Failure to Disclose Potential Conflicts,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, February 2024.

“A Welcome from the Section Council Chair,” Business & Securities Law Forum, January 2024.

“Confidentiality of Communications With Unlicensed Attorneys,” Bloomberg Law, November 20, 2023 (with Andrew S. Boutros).

“United States Supreme Court Holds District Courts Must Stay Proceedings While Interlocutory Appeals on Arbitrability Are Pending,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, November 2023.

“Attorney-Client Privilege May Attach to Communications with Unlicensed Attorneys,” Bloomberg News Insight, October 26, 2023 (with Andrew S. Boutros).

“Practice Tip: ‘Tag’ Jurisdiction Remains in Flux After Supreme Court’s Certiorari Denial,” ABA Criminal Justice Section Newsletter, Fall 2023(with co-authors).

“Ninth Circuit Provides Guidance on ‘Reasonably Conspicuous Notice’ of Website Arbitration Agreement,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, August 2023.

“Claws Out: SEC Adopts Rules Requiring Listed Companies to Clawback Erroneous Compensation,” Business & Securities Law Forum, May 2023.

“Practice Tip: Key Considerations for Corporate Compensation Arrangements in Light of DOJ Criminal Division Pilot Program Incentivizing Clawbacks,” ABA Criminal Justice Section Newsletter, Spring 2023 (with co-authors).

“More Cooperation Please”: DOJ Revises Enforcement Policy to Encourage Even Greater Cooperation,  Volume 31, No. 2, The Corporate Governance Advisor (March/April 2023)

“Proving An Arbitration Agreement Unconscionable: Difficult, But Not Impossible,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, March 2023.

“Crypto Actors Face Increased Enforcement Spurred by DOJ Network,” Bloomberg Law (Jan. 24, 2023) (with co-authors).

“U.S. Supreme Court to Decide When Attorney-Client Communications That Contain ‘Hybrid’ Legal and Business Advice Are Protected by the Attorney-Client Privilege,” Pratt’s Privacy & Cybersecurity Law Report, Vol. 9, No. 2 (February-March 2023) (with co- authors).

“American Arbitration Association Amends Commercial Arbitration Rules,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, January 2023.

“Supreme Court Limits Federal Courts’ Ability to Order Discovery for International Arbitrations,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, October 2022.

“Practice Tip: Beware Individual Criminal Liability for CEOs and CCOs as DOJ Begins Requiring Compliance Certifications,” ABA CJS White Collar Crime Committee Newsletter, Summer-Fall 2022 (with Andrew S. Boutros and David N. Kelley).

“When Silence is Not So Golden: Public Statements Clauses and Interference with a Defendant’s Right to Present a Vigorous Defense,” The Champion, June 2022, at 26 (with Andrew S. Boutros).
“Seventh Circuit Rejects Award Interpretation Allowing Party to Delay Payment Indefinitely,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, July 2022.

“Practice Tip: For Privilege to Attach to Dual-Purpose Messages, the ‘Primary Purpose’ of the Attorney Communications Must be Legal (Rather than Business) in Nature,” ABA Criminal Justice Section Newsletter, Spring 2022, (with Andrew S. Boutros).

“More Bite than Just Bark: Model Rule 4.2’s No-Contact Rule Can Effectively Be Used to Limit the Government From Contacting Current Employees Who Fall Within the Scope of the Corporate Representation,” The Champion, March 2022 (with Andrew S. Boutros).

“Congress Passes Legislation Restricting Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Harassment Claims,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, March 2022.

“Supreme Court Set to Weigh in on Prejudice Requirement for Waiver of Arbitration Rights,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, January 2022.

“Department of Justice Previews Potential Changes to Corporate Enforcement Policies,” Business & Securities Law Forum, December 2021.

“CFTC Files First Complaint Alleging Manipulative Scheme Involving Digital Assets,” Business & Securities Law Forum, October 2021.

“Bankruptcy Court Lifts Automatic Stay to Permit Arbitration of Non-Core Claims,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, October 2021.

“Supreme Court Grants Certiorari on Whether Federal Courts Should Employ ‘Look Through’ Approach to Deciding Subject Matter Jurisdiction over Petitions to Confirm or Vacate Arbitration Awards,” Commercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, September 2021.

“Supreme Court Grants Certiorari on Whether Federal Courts Should Employ ‘Look Through’ Approach to Deciding Subject Matter Jurisdiction over Petitions to Confirm or Vacate Arbitration Awards,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, August 2021.

“International Bar Association Releases Revised Version of Widely-Used Rules on the Taking of Evidence,” The Globe: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on International & Immigration Law, May 2021.

“International Bar Association Releases Revised Version of Widely-Used Rules on the Taking of Evidence,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, April 2021.

“Supreme Court Denies Certiorari in Case Exempting Amazon Delivery Drivers from Federal Arbitration Act,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, March 2021.

“SEC 2020 Annual Report Highlights Enforcement Priorities & Trends,” Business & Securities Law Forum, March 2021.

“Tenth Circuit Provides Guidance on Determining Personal Jurisdiction to Enforce International Arbitration Awards,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, January 2021.

“White House & Congress Signal Potential for Increased Criminal Enforcement of Slave Labor & Trade Law Violations,” The National Law Journal, October 29, 2020 (with co-authors).

“Supreme to Hear Argument on Arbitrability Issues in Henry Schein Matter,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, October 2020.

“The Collision of the Speedy Trial Clock with the Coronavirus’s Slowdown Realities: Justice in the Time of COVID-19,” Criminal Justice, Fall 2020, at 49 (with Andrew S. Boutros and Gregory T. Noorigian).

“Joint Defense Agreements: An Ounce of Prevention Can be Worth a Pound of Cure, Especially When Careful Planning Avoids Conflicts of Interests,” The Champion (Sept.-Oct. 2020) (with Andrew S. Boutros).

“Supreme Court Holds SEC Has Disgorgement Authority, Within Certain Limits,” Business & Securities Law Forum, October 2020.

“Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds Enforcement of International Arbitration Agreements By or Against Nonsignatories,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, August 2020.

“COVID-19 Sparks Renewed Interest in Online Dispute Resolution,” Commercial Banking, Collections & Bankruptcy, May 2020.

“COVID-19 Sparks Renewed Interest in Online Dispute Resolution,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, April 2020.

“Tenth Circuit Affirms SEC Sanctions on Investment Advisor for Conflicts of Interest,” Business & Securities Law Forum, January 2020.

“Northern District of Illinois Casts Doubt on Validity of Disclosure-Only Settlements in M&A Suits,” Business & Securities Law Forum, October 2019.

“Ninth Circuit Overrules 35-Year Old Decision Barring Arbitration of ERISA Disputes,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, October 2019.

“Southern District of New York Holds FAA Preempts State Law Prohibiting Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Claims,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, August 2019.

“Supreme Court Holds Class Arbitration Cannot be Ordered Absent an Express Agreement,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, July 2019.

“New Jersey Legislature Passes Legislation Barring Mandatory Arbitration of Discrimination Claims,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, April 2019.

“First Circuit Declines to Order Arbitration Due to Lack of Evidence Blind Plaintiffs Were Aware of Arbitration Clause,” In The Alternative: The Newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution, April 2019.

“Second Circuit Affirms Denial of Insider Trader’s Habeas Petition,” Business & Securities Law Forum, March 2019.