Practices

• Business & Commercial Litigation
  • Securities & Corporate Disputes
• Corporate Law
  • Startups & Emerging Businesses
• Litigation
  • Trial Work

Biography

Alan has more than 35 years of experience litigating and trying cases in state and federal courts and has extensive experience in arbitration and mediation. He has tried and arbitrated matters to judgment for plaintiffs and defendants relating to contract interpretation and breach; long-term supply agreements; force majeure; tortious interference; UCC Article 2; lending liability; state and federal banking regulations; state and federal RICO; restrictive covenants; trade secrets; breach of fiduciary duty; environmental damage and waste to real property; corporate ownership, control and governance; and will, trust and probate disputes.

Alan chaired FBT’s business litigation group, the firm’s largest practice group, for six years. He has argued cases to the Indiana Court of Appeals, Indiana Supreme Court, and 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, and has had primary responsibility for appellate briefs for the winning sides in key decisions involving contract formation (Mays v. Trump Indiana, 255 F.3d 351 (7th Cir. 2001)); lender liability (Wabash Grain, Inc. v. BankOne, 713 N.E.2d 323 (Ind.Ct.App. 1999)); foreign currency exchange and employer codes of conduct (Interactive Intelligence, Inc. v. KeyBank, 546 F.3d 897 (7th Cir. 2008)); trade secrets and RICO (AGS Capital Corp. v. Product Action Int’l. 884 N.E. 2d 295 (Ind.Ct.App. 2008)); promissory estoppel (Classic Cheesecake v. JPMorgan Chase, 546 F.3d 839 (7th Cir. 2008)); dissenting and minority shareholder rights (Fleming v. International Pizza, 676 N.E.2d 1051 (Ind. 1997)); and fiduciary duties among members and managers of LLCs (Purcell v. S. Hills Investments, LLC, 847 N.E.2d 991 (Ind.Ct.App. 2006)).

Alan is recognized as one of Indiana’s leading business litigators, receiving annual recognition in publications including Martindale-Hubbell® (AV rated); Best Lawyers in America®; Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business®; Benchmark Litigation®– Local Litigation Stars; and Indiana Super Lawyers®.

In addition to his litigation work, Alan counsels companies and entrepreneurs regarding contract terms and conditions, and the development of general business, litigation and litigation-avoidance strategies.  Alan works with growing companies to help them identify their contract, tort and insurance risks and institutionalize systems and practices to manage those risks.