JIM DUCAYET is a co-head of the firm’s Securities and Shareholder Litigation practice. He regularly advises public and private companies, corporate boards and individual directors and officers in high-stakes litigation, corporate governance and disclosure matters, and government and internal investigations.
Jim is an experienced trial lawyer and commercial litigator with a particular focus on corporate and securities litigation, D&O and derivative litigation, internal investigations and complex bankruptcy and financial litigation. He has tried numerous cases involving commercial disputes, regulatory, and bankruptcy matters, and has appeared in federal and state trial and appellate courts across the country. Jim has also handled a range of regulatory investigations, including investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice.
Jim’s work has earned him recognition from clients, peers and in leading legal industry publications. In 2019, 2020, and 2021, Chambers ranked Jim in Band 1 of the Litigation: Securities – Illinois category, saying he is recognized as a “highly credible name” and is described by clients as an “experienced securities litigator” who is “very knowledgeable on the law, has a very calm demeanor and has very good judgment that you can rely on.” The Legal 500 says clients describe Jim as an “all-round great litigator” who “ensures all pieces of a defense strategy fit together” (2014–2017). In 2019, Jim was a runner up as “Litigator of the Week” in the American Lawyer’s Litigation Daily for his role in leading a trial team representing a debtor in a six-day trial before U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas that resulted in the approved of the debtor’s Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization.
Jim is a global co-head of the firm’s Committee on Compensation and Evaluation of Associates. In addition, Jim is actively involved in the firm’s pro bono activities and serves on the board of Center for Independent Futures, an organization that helps individuals with disabilities through community living options, personal networks and lifelong planning and education.