TERRI L. MASCHERIN, Partner Publications · Professional Activities Chicago Office Office: (312) 923-2799 Fax: (312) 840-7799 Email: tmascherin@jenner.com  Add to Outlook Contacts

Terri L. Mascherin is a partner in the Firm's Litigation Department.  She is a member of the Complex Commercial Litigation, International Arbitration, and Unfair Competition, False Advertising and Lanham Act Practices.  Ms. Mascherin is a member of the Firm's Management Committee and serves as Chair of the Associate Retention Subcommittee of the Diversity Committee and Co-Chair of the Marketing and Business Development Committee.  She is also a member of the Firm's Diversity and Women's Forum Steering Committees.  Ms. Mascherin is AV Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell's highest peer recognition for ethical standards and legal ability.

Ms. Mascherin represents businesses in disputes over the corporate transactions, partnerships, joint ventures, licenses, and contracts.  She represents clients in trials, appeals and regulatory appeals in state and federal courts throughout the United States.  Ms. Mascherin has first chaired jury and bench trials and argued appeals in both state and federal court.  Ms. Mascherin’s recent commercial cases have included a $101 million jury verdict in a tortious interference case arising from the acquisition of a REIT, a $75 million verdict in a partnership dispute against a Wall Street investment banking firm, a $75 million arbitration award in a dispute over the breach of a petrochemical supply contract, a jury trial over infringement of a patent for a battery charging device used in uninterruptible power supplies, and an international arbitration over infringement of three patents used in gas-electric hybrid vehicles.  As part of her telecommunications practice, Ms. Mascherin served as lead counsel for WorldCom and its predecessor, MCI, in several actions under the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Ms. Mascherin has an active pro bono practice, which has included successfully challenging death sentences imposed on two men on Illinois' death row and defending challenges to the clemency orders issued by former Illinois Governor George Ryan.  Ms. Mascherin is a past member of the Board of the Chicago Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights. She is a member and past Chair of the Northwestern University Law School Board. She co-chaired the Northwestern University Law School Strategic Planning Working Group in 2007-08 and was the keynote speaker for the 2007 Northwestern University School of Law Commencement Ceremony.  She is a member and past Chair of the Steering Committee of the American Bar Association’s Death Penalty Representation Project.

Ms. Mascherin was recognized in 2007 as one of the “50 Most Influential Women Lawyers in America” by The National Law Journal, and was profiled in Leading Lawyers magazine in 2009.  In 2009, Ms. Mascherin was honored by Northwestern University with its Alumni Service Award.  She also received the 2004 Cunningham Carey Award from the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and the 2002 Outstanding Legal Service Award given by the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty for her representation of those on death row and her work to promote effective representation of defendants in capital cases.  In addition, in 2003 she received the Albert E. Jenner, Jr. Pro Bono Award from Jenner & Block.

Ms. Mascherin is active in the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association.  She serves as First Vice President of the Chicago Bar Association.  She is also a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois.  She previously served as Second Vice-President, Treasurer and a member of the Chicago Bar Association Board of Managers, and as a member of the Executive Council of the Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyers’ Section, Chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Strategic Planning, Finance and Membership Committees and Chair of the Young Lawyers’ Section Committee on Professional Responsibility.  Ms. Mascherin has also served on the Chicago Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Committee.  Ms. Mascherin speaks regularly on topics including Arbitration, Telecommunications and the Enforcement of Employee Restrictive Covenants, and has served as a faculty member for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.

Ms. Mascherin received her A.B. degree, magna cum laude, from Duke University in 1981, completing dual majors in public policy studies (concentration in health policy) and history.  She was among the first recipients of the President’s Senior Leadership Award at Duke.  She received her  J.D. from the Northwestern University Law School, cum laude, in 1984, where she graduated Order of the Coif.  While at Northwestern, Ms. Mascherin served as managing editor of the Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology and as co-chairperson of the Julius H. Miner Moot Court Board.  Ms. Mascherin is a member of the bars of the United States Supreme Court, the State of Illinois, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (including the Trial Bar) and several other federal district courts and courts of appeals.

Over the course of her career, Ms. Mascherin has handled matters in a variety of areas.  Representative cases include:

Complex Commercial Litigation

• Represented Ventas, a S&P 500 healthcare real estate investment trust, in Ventas, Inc. v. HCP, Inc. (W.D. Ky), a suit for tortious interference arising out of Ventas' acquisition of a publicity traded healthcare REIT. The three-week jury trial resulted in a $101 million verdict for Ventas.
  
  
• Represented Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited in Abbott Laboratories v. Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, et al. (N.D. Ill. and 7th Cir.), a joint venture dispute.
  
  
• Represented EMB-NHC, LLC in PAMB-LEMBI, Inc., et al. v. EMB-NHC, LLC, (Newcastle County, DE, Chancery), a dispute with Lehman Brothers-owned entities over control of several real estate limited partnerships tried successfully in Delaware Chancery Court.
  
  
• Represented Honeywell International Inc. in San Benito Consolidated Independent School District v. Coastal Engineering, et al., (Cameron County, TX), a suit claiming mold contamination of eleven school buildings, successfully settled.
  
  
• Represented Bellin Health Systems in Bellin Health Systems, Inc. v. Aurora Health Care, Inc., et al., (E.D. Wis.), an antitrust suit.
  
  
• Represented employer in Bergstein v. Technology Solutions Co., et al. (Cook County, Ill.; 1st Dist. App.), a suit concerning restrictive covenants and breach of fiduciary duty.
  
  
• Represented Walbrook Syndicate, et al. in Walbrook Syndicate, et al. v. Insurance Company of North America, et al. (N.D. Ill., 7th Cir.), a declaratory judgment action, and secured insurance coverage.
  
  
• Represented Acme Steel Co. In Re Acme Steel Co. (Bankruptcy, Del.), a letter of credit dispute.
  
  
•  Represents EXDS, Inc. In Re Exodus Communications, Inc., et al. (Bankruptcy, Del.), as general counsel for the Debtors, defending claims and prosecuting preference actions.
  
  
• Represented ConverDyn in ConverDyn v. Blue, et al. (D. Colo.) a suit for fraud and breach of contract involving a long-term uranium supply agreement.
  
  
•  Represented Midland National Life Insurance Co. in Midland Nat’l Life Ins. Co. v. Ash Brokerage, et al. (N.D. Ind.), a suit to enforce indemnity provisions in two separate stock purchase agreements.

Arbitration 

• Represented Honeywell International Inc. in Honeywell International Inc. v. Sunoco, Inc. (AAA Arbitration and S.D.N.Y), an arbitration and related litigation over the breach of a petrochemical supply agreement.
  
  
• Represented a large industrial business in a series of arbitrations over partnership disputes.
  
  
• Represented an inventor in Ovonic Battery Company, et al. v. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (E.D. Mich., and ICC arbitration, N.Y.), a patent infringement suit, settled successfully after three-week arbitration.
  
  
• Represented SPX Corp. in Clayton Industries, Inc. v. SPX Corp. (AAA Arbitration, Los Angeles), a breach of contract and antitrust arbitration.
  
  
• Represented Medical Emergency Services Associates, comprising over 100 medical groups providing emergency medical services, in Geneva Assurance Syndicate, Inc., et al. v. Medical Emergency Services Associates, et al. (N.D. Ill.), and obtained an injunction enforcing insurance coverage.
  
  
• Represented Allied Mechanical Industries in First National Bank of Cicero v. Allied Mechanical Industries, et al. (Cook County, Ill.), in which Jenner & Block defended suit on note and prosecuted lender liability counterclaim.
  
  
• Represented General Signal Corp. in General Signal Corp. v. American Power Conversion Corp. (W.D. Wis.) in patent infringement case tried to a jury, and settled before verdict.
  
  
• Represented Hermann Hospital, Inc. in Geneva Assurance Syndicate, Inc., et al. v. Hermann Hospital, Inc., et al. (N.D. Ill.), an insurance coverage suit.
  
  
• Represented American Dietetic Association, a professional association, in Lieberman v. American Dietetic Association (N.D. Ill.), in defense of a libel claim.
  
  
• Represented Medical Networks, Inc., a provider of emergency medical service, in Medical Networks, Inc., S.C., et al. v. Geneva Assurance Syndicate, Inc., et al. (N.D. Ill.), an insurance coverage suit.
  
  
• Represented Gallo Wine Distributors, Inc. in MHW, Inc., et al. v. Gallo Wine Distributors, Inc. (Dade County, Fl.), a preliminary injunction action in a breach of contract case involving termination of a distributorship.
  
  
• Represented a beneficiary in Raytheon Engineers and Constructors, Inc. v. Acme Steel Co. (Bkcy. Del.), a letter of credit dispute.
  
  
• Represented a shareholder in Rule v. Reynolds, et al., and Rule v. Bicycle Holdings, Inc., et al. (Del. Ch.), a corporate control dispute.
  
  
•  Represented EXDS, Inc., in defending an arbitration brought by Cable & Wireless seeking a post-closing adjustment to the place that C&W price for the stock of Exodus Communications, Inc.
  

Telecommunications

• Represented MCI Communications Corp. in MCI Communications Corp. v. Matrix Communications Corp. (1st Cir.), an action to enforce arbitration agreement.
  
  
• Represented MCI Corp. in MCI Corp. v. AT&T Corp., an antitrust suit.
  
  
• Represented MCI Telecommunications Corp. in MCI Telecommunications Corp. v. Illinois Bell Telephone Co., et al. (N.D. Ill. and 7th Cir.), an action under Telecommunications Act of 1996.
  
  
• Represented MCI Telecommunications Corp. in MCI Telecommunications Corp. v. Michigan Bell Telephone Co., et al. (E.D. Mich. and 6th Cir.), an action under Telecommunications Act of 1996.
  
  
• Represented MCI Telecommunications Corp. in MCI Telecommunications Corp. v. Ameritech Ohio, et al., Case Nos. C2-97-721, C2-99-074 (S.D. Ohio), an action under Telecommunications Act of 1996.
  
  
• Represented MCI Telecommunications Corp. in MCI Telecommunications Corp. v. Wisconsin Bell Telephone Co., et al., Case Nos. 98-C-153-C, 98-C-11-C, 98-2805 (W.D. Wis. and 7th Cir.), an action under Telecommunications Act of 1996.
  
  
• Represented MCI Telecommunications Corp. in Michigan Bell Telephone Co. v. Strand, et al., (W.D. Mich. and 6th Cir.), an action under Telecommunications Act of 1996.
  
  
• Represented MCI Telecommunications Corp. in U.S. West Communications, Inc. v. Hix, et al. (D. Colo.), an action under Telecommunications Act of 1996.
  
  
• Represented MCI Telecommunications Corp. in U.S. West Communications, Inc. v. Jennings, et al., (D. Ariz. and 9th Cir.), an action under Telecommunications Act of 1996.
  
  
• Represented MCI WorldCom, Inc. in Ameritech Corp. v. MCI WorldCom, Inc., (N.D. Ill.), a Lanham Act suit.
  

Pro Bono

• Represented prisoner in Gaines v. Theiret (N.D. Ill., 7th Cir.) and obtained writ of habeas corpus vacating death sentence
  
  
• Represented prisoner in People v. Thompkins (Ill. Sup. Ct.), a successful post-conviction challenge to death sentence.
  
  
• Represented ten prisoners in People ex rel. Madigan v. Snyder, et al., (Illinois Supreme Court), an original mandamus action challenging clemency orders granted to prisoners by Illinois Governor George Ryan.
  
  
• Prepared amicus brief on behalf of the American Bar Association in Rompilla v. Beard (U.S. Supreme Court), addressing the prevailing professional norms for effective defense of capital cases.