Trials & Appeals

Mr. McGuinness is an experienced trial attorney who understands the importance of preparing the case to be trial ready, regardless of whether the case is ever tried to completion.  Examples of Mr. McGuinness trial experience include:

  • Obtained favorable determination denying class certification for international consumer goods and pharmaceutical company after multi-day evidentiary hearing;
  • Tried multiple civil rights cases, including test familial discrimination claim (pro bono) sponsored by The Chicago Lawyers’ Committee on Civil Rights Under Law;
  • Favorable awards for individual investors, registered representatives, and financial services clients in multiple NASD/FINRA contested arbitrations; and
  • Representative clients include Lincoln Financial, Middleby Corp., Comshare Corp., Federal Kemper Life Insurance, Edwards Brothers, Abbott Laboratories, Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Honeywell International, and various individual clients.

Mr. McGuinness has deep experience in appellate advocacy, beginning with his first full-time job as a lawyer: Law Clerk to the Hon. Frank M. Coffin of the U.S. Court off Appeals for First Circuit.  Drew has argued appeals before some of the nation’s top appellate judges, and appreciates the significant differences between trial and appellate advocacy.  While at Dykema, Drew was privileged to work closely with one of the country’s very best appellate lawyers, Kathleen McCree Lewis (1947-2007), who reminded him continually of the importance that each argument be sound and well supported.  Drew has argued appeals in class and non-class cases, and advocated for clients including consumers, Honeywell, Middleby Corp. , Best Buy, Comshare Corp., and others. He recently obtained a reversal of the dismissal of a consumer class action against UPS.

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(Photo: The Forecaster, with permission)

Judge Frank M. Coffin (1919-2009) of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has been a powerful influence on me as a lawyer.  From this POV—where my fellow law clerks and I sat for hours debating cases with the judge in my first job as a lawyer—I learned lasting lessons of critical thinking, clarity of thought, persuasion, pragmatism, integrity and humor.