Firm overview
Who We Are: Barack Ferrazzano was founded in 1984 with a vision focused on delivering efficient, team-oriented services of the highest quality. The firm has continued to focus on this vision and has grown and evolved into a sophisticated, first-class legal practice with a diverse client roster of national and international clients. We’ve accomplished this by practicing law in a different way. Our strategic focus is to continue growing organically by helping our clients succeed, by constantly evaluating and implementing ways to better serve our clients, and by recruiting the highest caliber of diverse talent. Our growth has been steady and measured, and we’ve chartered our own unique path to success, which is different than any other firm.
Today, Barack Ferrazzano has more than 120 attorneys in eleven practice groups. The firm regularly serves a wide array of industries, but has particular experience serving: Luxury, Financial Services & Fintech, Manufacturing & Distribution, Motor Vehicle, Private Equity & Venture Capital, and Real Estate.
Barack Ferrazzano represents a wide array of clients, from start-ups to Fortune 50 corporations across all industries. Our clients are sophisticated and located across the globe, from the Midwest to the East and West coasts to Europe and Asia. Our firm is lucky to have nurtured several generational client relationships, where we have served as outside counsel to those clients for many decades and have grown with them through changes, challenges, and triumphs. We also have a mix of new-generation clients that appreciate our creative and customized approach to representation.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Barack Ferrazzano is committed to the establishment, maintenance, and growth of a culture where diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are respected and intentionally valued through the implementation of initiatives and programs that encourage collaboration and connection. We strive to attract the most qualified professionals from all backgrounds, perspectives, and abilities and to create a rewarding and inclusive environment where all individuals feel valued, appreciated, and have the opportunity to grow and advance their careers. The firm’s DEI Committee oversees focused reviews of the firm’s policies and procedures, its participation in and implementation of the Midsized Mansfield Rule program, diversity, equity, and inclusion training, and holistic recruiting procedures on an ongoing and forward-looking basis.
Barack Ferrazzano is proud to have earned Midsize Mansfield Rule Certification Plus for three consecutive years — 2023, 2024, and 2025. The Mansfield Rule, an initiative from Diversity Lab, encourages the design and implementation of practices and processes that will better ensure our paths to leadership are open and transparent to all qualified attorneys. The firm remains dedicated to broadening its network for recruiting highly qualified candidates in the legal profession.
Litigation: Barack Ferrazzano’s Litigation Group attorneys have been selected by some of the world’s most prominent companies to represent them in their most significant legal disputes. Our firm has assembled a group of highly skilled trial lawyers—seasoned partners and well-trained associates—who represent clients both forcefully and efficiently. Unlike some litigators, who spend years engaging in expensive discovery only to recommend settlement on the eve of trial, we are always ready to try cases when necessary but strive to achieve business resolutions early and economically when appropriate.
Barack Ferrazzano is a mid-sized firm that handles many of our clients’ most significant matters. We take pride in our efficient approach to dispute resolution. Even for the biggest matters, our litigation teams are lean, typically comprised of experienced partners and small numbers of associates and paralegals who can manage large amounts of data by leveraging our in-house discovery technology. A litigation team is assembled for each assignment based on the skill and experience required for that engagement.
We represent a diverse group of businesses in resolving these disputes, ranging from the world’s largest luxury goods company to large financial institutions, major telecommunications service providers, REITs, motor vehicle manufacturers, hedge funds, law firms, and consumer goods companies.
Our litigators have extensive experience in state and federal courts throughout the U.S., at both the trial and appellate levels. We understand that we are asked to help resolve business problems, and we recognize that a trial is only one potential solution.
The Litigation Group has again received Illinois Band recognition by Chambers USA and both national and Chicago recognition in The Best Lawyers® in America “Best Law Firms” 2025 report. In 2025, the Litigation Group was also named a “Highly Recommended Firm” by Benchmark Litigation as well as making their shortlist for Illinois Litigation Firm of the Year.
Because our clients' success often rests on our ability to design thoughtful, cost-effective solutions to complex scenarios, a significant part of our time is focused on strategic counseling and alternative dispute resolution.
Alternative Dispute Resolution: Members of our group are experienced in a broad range of alternative dispute resolution techniques, including mediations, binding and non-binding arbitrations, mini-trials, and settlement trials with floors and caps.
Counseling: The Litigation Group also has extensive experience in strategic counseling designed to minimize the likelihood of litigation or reduce the exposure to litigation when potential problems arise. For engagements requiring a certain legal or industry focus, we assemble strong interdisciplinary teams designed to leverage the talents of attorneys in other practice areas. The Litigation Group is often involved in complex corporate and real estate disputes that benefit from the comprehensive experience of our corporate, real estate, and bankruptcy attorneys. Such a cross-functional approach has proved successful in resolving controversies ranging from dissenting shareholders' rights disputes to take-over litigation.
