James W. Hutchison

James W. Hutchison handles complex commercial litigation, with a focus on real estate, corporate and health care matters. He is co-chair of the firm’s Health Care Civil Litigation Practice, which is dedicated to litigating disputes among hospitals, physician groups and other medical providers, payors and managed care organizations relating to the delivery of and payment for medical services, credentialing, provider relations, and the purchase and sale of medical assets. He also works closely with the firm's Real Estate and Corporate practices, representing lenders and developers in litigation, foreclosures and workouts, and handling contract and governance disputes arising from corporate mergers and acquisitions.

Mr. Hutchison’s success in litigation begins with his knowledge of corporate transactions in their many forms, which enables him to strategically attack and efficiently resolve sophisticated commercial disputes, identify business solutions to contain costs, and aggressively litigate those disputes that cannot be satisfactorily resolved out of court. He has gained the respect of his colleagues, clients and courts by pursuing a two-pronged litigation philosophy—first, litigation should be undertaken after creative business solutions have been explored and rejected; second, when applied in an intelligent, aggressive and thorough manner, litigation can be a highly effective tool.

In addition to his 15 years of experience in health care and real estate matters, Mr. Hutchison has handled a range of complex contract disputes and has developed substantial experience in contract drafting, interpretation and enforcement. He has made numerous CLE presentations on contract drafting to in-house counsel and fellow attorneys at nationally recognized law firms. His article on boilerplate contract provisions was the most widely read article on Lexology and ACC Newsstand in 2009, and appeared in the February/March 2010 issue of Executive Counsel magazine. His periodic newsletter, A Pound of Cure, addresses issues in commercial litigation and appears regularly in high-profile legal publications. Mr. Hutchison also serves as a consultant to the firm’s information manager on issues relating to contract drafting and forms.

Mr. Hutchison has litigated in the state and federal courts of numerous jurisdictions, the American Health Lawyers Association Arbitration Panel, JAMS and the American Arbitration Association, including the International Division. 

Mr. Hutchison earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University in 1991 and fulfilled the requirements for a double major in economics and political science while earning Dean’s List honors eight times. In 1995, he graduated from New York University School of Law, where he was a member of the Review of Law & Social Change. During the summer of 1994, he was selected for an internship in the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. He is a member of the American Bar Association’s Section on Litigation, the Healthcare Liability and Litigation Practice Group of the American Health Lawyers Association, and the Chicago Bar Association. Mr. Hutchison also serves on the Board of Directors of the Center for Disability and Elder Law (CDEL), a Chicago association of lawyers that provides pro bono legal services to the elderly and people with disabilities. He was previously recognized as CDEL’s Pro Bono Attorney of the Year.