Rami Fakhouri
Partner / Chicago

P: 312-881-5964

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An accomplished trial and appellate litigator, Rami brings strong critical reasoning and communication skills to the table for a diverse set of clients in products liability and complex commercial matters. His keen interest in complex legal issues and creative use of procedural strategies have led to winning results, including a successful motion for judgment on the pleadings in a multimillion-dollar patent ownership dispute, a string of dismissals on preemption grounds in nationwide product liability cases, and a rare grant of rehearing and reversal of summary judgment en banc before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Rami’s broad skill set has enabled him to excel whether he is preparing and examining witnesses at trial, taking and defending depositions, drafting and arguing dispositive motions, or coordinating and implementing strategy in complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country.

Zantac Litigation
Represents GSK in products liability litigation consolidated in Cook County, Illinois involving over-the-counter heartburn medication. Second-chaired first two Zantac trials for GSK nationwide, both resulting in defense verdicts. Cross-examined Plaintiff and laboratory testing experts and conducted direct examinations of medical and toxicology experts.
Tenofovir Product Liability Litigation
Represents Gilead Sciences, Inc. in multidistrict litigation involving claims alleging kidney and bone injuries related to HIV medications. Deposed bellwether plaintiffs, treating physicians, and expert witnesses, defended depositions of Gilead experts, and represented Gilead in federal summary jury trial proceedings.
Gardasil Litigation
Represents Merck in all aspects of multidistrict products liability litigation involving the HPV vaccine, Gardasil.
Xarelto Litigation
Represented Janssen in a case tried in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas claiming personal injuries allegedly caused by Xarelto, an anticoagulant developed by Janssen and Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals (Russell v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.). The jury returned a complete defense verdict for Janssen and Bayer in April 2018. Also served on MDL case work-up team tasked with taking depositions of plaintiffs and treating physicians in cases across the country.
SynchroMed Litigation
Represented Medtronic, Inc. in products liability cases nationwide involving the SynchroMed® II Programmable Drug Infusion System. Argued and won dispositive motions on preemption and other grounds at the trial and appellate levels, took numerous depositions of plaintiffs and treating physicians, and defended a multitude of company witness depositions.
Sports Technology Applications, Inc. v. MLB Advanced Media, L.P.
Represented MLB Advanced Media in licensing dispute concerning a trademark license for a mobile predictive gaming application. Second-chaired jury trial in New York Supreme Court, Commercial Division, in June 2021; cross-examined founder of plaintiff firm.
Behaviour Interactive, Inc. v. MLB Advanced Media, L.P.
Represented MLB Advanced Media in litigation regarding the development of a baseball-themed video game.
Air Line Pilots Association, International
Represented ALPA, the world’s largest pilot union, as local counsel in several matters pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Lyles v. McNeil-PPC, Inc. et al.
Defended manufacturer of Extra Strength Tylenol in product liability action in New Jersey Superior Court. The matter settled for a nominal sum on the first day of trial.
Saybrook Tax Exempt Investors LLC et al. v. Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians et al.
Represented bondholder in federal, state, and tribal courts in a complex commercial dispute stemming from a tribal bond issuance.
Howard v. City of Detroit, et al.
Lead counsel in putative class action brought pro bono on behalf of Detroit homeowners whose due-process rights were violated in connection with their residential property tax notices resulting in overassessments, delinquencies, and foreclosures. Secured reversal of dismissal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; case is pending in federal district court.
Petties v. Carter
Lead counsel for an indigent prisoner plaintiff in pro bono Section 1983 litigation alleging deliberate indifference to serious medical needs. Secured rehearing en banc and reversal of summary judgment before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Successfully opposed defendants’ petition for a writ of certiorari before U.S. Supreme Court. Favorably settled the case on remand. More information on the case is found here.
Northern District of Illinois Settlement Assistance Program
Represented multiple clients pro bono in court-ordered settlement conferences in Section 1983 litigation. Negotiated favorable resolutions of claims for national-origin discrimination, retaliation, false arrest, unlawful restraint, and malicious prosecution.
- Partner, Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP
- Associate, Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP
- Associate, Grippo & Elden LLC (now Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P.)
- Northwestern Pritzker School of Law (J.D., cum laude)
  - Order of the Coif
  - Northwestern University Law Review, Senior Articles Editor and Staff Member
  - Winner and Outstanding Speaker, 2010 Julius Miner Moot Court Competition
- College of William & Mary (B.A., Government, magna cum laude)
  - Minor in Middle Eastern Studies
  - James Monroe Scholar
- Honorable Matthew F. Kennelly, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Current Topics in Medical Device Preemption, American Bar Association, Products Liability Winter 2023 Newsletter (membership required)

The Most Dangerous Blot in Our Constitution: Retiring the Flawed Electoral College “Contingent Procedure,” 104 Nw. U. L. Rev. 705 (2010).
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service (2021)
- Selected as an Emerging Lawyer by Leading Lawyers (2019-2021)
- Selected by Super Lawyers as an Illinois Rising Star (2019-2023)
- Selected for Benchmark Litigation’s 40 & Under Hot List (2019-2023)
- Selected by Lawdragon as among the “all-star litigators” “who excel at representing principally corporations and other organizations” in complex litigation, including product liability, IP, and appellate, in the 500 Leading Litigators in America guide
- Seventh Circuit Bar Association, John Paul Stevens Pro Bono and Public Service Award (2018)
- Adjunct Professor of Trial Advocacy, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law (2018-present)
- President (2015-2018) and Member, Justice Council of the Center on Wrongful Convictions
- Member of Associates Board and Scholar Coach, One Million Degrees: The Community College Project
- Chair, Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP pro bono committee
- Contestant, Jeopardy! (TV broadcast, Dec. 15, 2015)
- State of Illinois
- Supreme Court of the United States
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

Rami Fakhouri Partner / Chicago

Rami Fakhouri
Partner / Chicago