Partner
Kenneth J. Vanko joined Clingen Callow & McLean in 2001. His practice focuses on business transitions and unfair competition litigation, particularly in the areas of restrictive covenants, trade secret misappropriation, employee raiding, fiduciary duty compliance, partnership dissolution and dissociation, deceptive trade practices, and shareholder direct and derivative actions relating to deadlock, oppression and freeze-outs.
Mr. Vanko coordinates and manages the firm’s chancery litigation practice and has extensive experience prosecuting and defending proceedings for injunctions and other equitable relief in state and federal courts. Mr. Vanko also drafts and negotiates contracts related to employment, professional services, licensing, distribution, and intellectual property protection.
Representative Legal Matters:
● Successfully defended and obtained summary judgment on $5 million trade secrets dispute involving retail insurance brokerage industry, excluding all expert testimony related to lost profits and royalty damages
● Achieved complete defense judgment and obtained attorneys’ fees from plaintiff in non-competition dispute involving auto glass service business
● Obtained jury verdict in favor of technology services firm against multiple employees for misappropriation of corporate opportunity, including award of punitive damages
• Second-chaired trial in Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois to successful jury verdict for plaintiff on claim involving breach of executive employment agreement
● Obtained complete dismissal of vertical non-competition claims brought by print brokerage company against manufacture of adhesive labels
● Secured full dismissal of employee non-competition claim brought by office equipment manufacturer against designer and salesperson
• Obtained temporary restraining order against former executive for misappropriation of company assets and commercial bribery, resulting in favorable seven-figure settlement and incarceration of defendant through separate criminal proceedings
● Obtained temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction for commercial landlord against business tenant for creating public and private nuisance
• Acted as lead counsel for national technology company to obtain temporary restraining order against former employee who posed threats of violence to co-workers and who interfered with customer relationships, resulting in final judgment against defendant
● Negotiated departure of high-level corporate executives faced with threatened litigation over “inevitable disclosure” of trade secrets in insurance brokerage, high-frequency trading, banking and wireless services industries
• First-chaired defense of public university in defense of class action employment discrimination case and obtained summary judgment for university on all claims
Mr. Vanko publishes a national blog dedicated to the law concerning restrictive covenants and other unfair competition claims, which can be found at www.non-competes.com. He also has authored articles on employment restrictive covenants in The DePaul University Business and Commercial Law Journal (Fall, 2002) and the Illinois Bar Journal (May, 2007).
Prior to joining the firm in 2001, Mr. Vanko was an associate in the chancery litigation practice at Baker & McKenzie. Mr. Vanko received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, cum laude, from The Ohio State University in 1994. While at Ohio State, he was a member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, Beta Gamma Sigma Honorary Fraternity and The Ohio State University Golf Team. Mr. Vanko received his Juris Doctorate degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1997. While in law school he was the Editor of the 1997 Moot Court Board and Associate Editor of the University of Illinois Law Review. |
Kenneth J. Vanko