James S. Montana, Jr.

Shareholder

T: 312-609-7820 F: 312-609-5005

Chicago

James S. Montana, Jr. joined Vedder Price in 2002 as a shareholder. Mr. Montana, former Chief Legal Counsel to Illinois Governor James Edgar and a former Assistant U.S. Attorney, concentrates in complex commercial litigation, immigration regulatory issues, white-collar criminal defense and government relations.

Mr. Montana served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel to Bally Entertainment Corporation. In private practice, he represents casino and supplier licensees before gaming authorities and the legislature and in litigation. He also advises financial services and asset managers and investment banking firms on gaming regulatory requirements, immigration matters and matters related to the financing of and investments in regulated gaming entities.

His years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and in the private practice of law handling complicated commercial litigation make Mr. Montana a well-experienced and seasoned litigator with a varied and diverse background. His commercial litigation experience includes securities act litigation, corporate derivative suits, antitrust litigation, banking & banking regulatory litigation, immigration and a variety of other commercial litigation.

For four years, Mr. Montana served as Assistant United States Attorney and, consequently, he has an active practice in white-collar criminal defense, civil and criminal antitrust matters and parallel civil and administrative proceedings. He has also conducted numerous internal investigations.

Mr. Montana served as Chief Counsel to Governor James Edgar, serving as the Governor’s top legal advisor. He drafted legislation on issues dealing with gaming, consumer fraud, economic development, gaming public safety, criminal law, business and financial regulation, environmental regulation and human services. He also advised Governor Edgar on labor and personnel issues affecting 64,000 state employees and managed all litigation brought by or against the State of Illinois. He also served as Chief Justice of the Illinois Court of Claims. He was appointed to the bench in 1983 by Governor Jim Thompson and confirmed by the Illinois Senate. In 1985, he was appointed Chief Justice.

Mr. Montana plays an active role in civic and charitable affairs. He is a former member of the Board of Directors for the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Center in Chicago, which owns and operates McCormick Place and Navy Pier. He also serves as a member of the Board and Executive Committee of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and is the former Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee. He serves as a Board member for a number of institutions of higher learning, including Lewis University in Illinois and Georgetown University in Washington, D. C. He is also a former member of the Board of Managers of The Chicago Bar Association and is a present member of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Bar Foundation.

Mr. Montana is a frequent speaker and lecturer, having served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Loyola School of Law, where he taught Advanced Trial Practice. For many years he served as an instructor for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), which trains beginning lawyers in trial skills.

Mr. Montana is admitted to practice in Illinois and New York, the federal courts of those states and the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Montana is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (2007 and 2008 editions) and Illinois Super Lawyers  (2007 edition).

• Jim Montana Comments on Internet Gaming Legislation (Video Clip)
• Securities Litigation Trends

• Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Antitrust and Trade Regulation
• Business Immigration
• Commercial Litigation
• Gaming Law
• Governmental Investigations
• Privacy and Data Security
• Subprime Lending and Mortgage Task Force
• White Collar Criminal Defense

• J.D., Northwestern University
• A.B., Georgetown University

• Illinois
• Supreme Court of the United States
• Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• Trial Bar of the Northern District of Illinois
• Northern District of Illinois
• Southern District of New York
• Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• New York

• Past Member, Board of Directors, Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Center
• Member, Board of Directors, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
• Member, Counsel of Regents, Lewis University
• Member, Board of Advisors of The College of Arts & Sciences, Georgetown University
• Member, Board of Directors, Chicago Bar Foundation
• Member, Board of Managers, Chicago Bar Association
• Past President, Chicago Inn of Court