When you need solutions.

Bennett Lasko has over 30 years of experience litigating and resolving business disputes for a range of clients—from international accounting firms and Fortune 500 corporations to small companies, individual business owners, and investors.

After earning his J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School, Bennett practiced for more than two decades at the top of the legal profession as a commercial litigation partner at Mayer Brown and Drinker Biddle & Reath (now Faegre Drinker). Bennett’s practice focused on federal securities litigation, accountants’ and auditors’ defense, contested mergers and acquisitions, and other types of accounting, valuation, financial markets, and financial statement disputes. His experience also includes mass torts, bankruptcy-related litigation, shareholder rights, business contract disputes, and business torts.

At Lasko Legal Services, Bennett continues to represent clients in a wide range of business litigation matters in state and federal trial and appellate courts across the United States. He also regularly represents clients in arbitration and mediation.

Since 2013, Bennett has been peer-selected as an Illinois Leading Lawyer® in Commercial Litigation and Civil Appellate Law. He is an invited Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and has received the highest available Martindale-Hubble AV® Peer Rating Review.

Small Firm, Big Value

“I started Lasko Legal Services so that I could serve a wider range of clients, give each matter the personal attention that it deserves, and charge a fair price for the value I deliver.”

After a stint in government and 25 years in “Big Law,” Bennett Lasko decided to start his own law firm. The mission of Lasko Legal Services in 2016 is to give each client and each case the personal attention that they deserve at a reasonable cost.

At Lasko Legal Services, Bennett draws from a career-long track record of litigation success to resolve business disputes that demand strong advocacy, sound judgment, and deep experience, but don’t require the resources of a large law firm. He offers a level of professionalism and the quality of lawyering of the top-shelf firms where he spent the bulk of his career with the flexibility, personal attention, and dramatically lower cost structure of a sole practitioner.

Bennett represents clients ranging from individuals and small businesses to Fortune 500 companies in state and federal courts, domestic and international arbitration, and mediation. His matters include business contracts disputes, post-acquisition financial statement representation and warranty claims, breach of fiduciary duty, “business divorces,” shareholder rights, and business torts such as defamation and tortious interference, among other things.

For larger or more complex matters, Bennett draws on a network of other attorneys and professionals to assemble the right team for each client.

Bennett takes the time to understand the business context for each matter and, even more importantly, to understand each client’s unique circumstances and goals. There is no “color by numbers” or TTWWADI (“that’s the way we always do it”) at Lasko Legal Services. Every decision and every recommendation is tailored to the unique needs of each client.

Solutions-Oriented

Business disputes are problems. Clients come to Lasko Legal Services for solutions. Litigation is stressful, uncertain, and expensive. Clients need a lawyer that thinks ahead and has their back. Bennett is more than a zealous advocate; he is also a seasoned advisor that has helped his clients navigate nuance and shades of gray for decades.

Strong, smart, and patient advocacy creates the solutions to legal problems. With decades of experience distilling complex issues into clear, straightforward arguments that persuade judges and juries and win cases, Bennett prepares your case to win. And, it turns out, preparing your case to win is the best way to position your case for a favorable out-of-court settlement. More often than not, Bennett finds an out-of-court resolution that spares his clients the burdens, risk, and expense of protracted legal proceedings.

“My mission is always to find creative, business-driven solutions that resolve disputes as efficiently and effectively as possible, so my clients can get back to running their businesses and living their lives.”

A Record of Success

Bennett has a thirty-five year track record of success, winning cases in the trial courts, defending those wins on appeal, and crafting settlements to avoid the costs, risks, and burdens of protracted litigation. Click here to see examples of Bennett’s experience and client successes.

Representative Cases

  • Led an international litigation team that recovered more than $13 million on behalf of a Fortune 500 company in an International Court of Claims arbitration arising from financial statement misrepresentations and related rep/warranty insurance claims following a $200 million business acquisition.

  • Defended a global payroll services firm in an ICC arbitration against its U.S. joint venture partner, including counterclaims against the partner for breach of fiduciary duty, and negotiated a successful settlement and business separation.

  • Represented a minority investor group against pharmaceutical start-up executives and a controlling investor who diverted funds to research projects in which they had conflicting interests; coordinated with corporate co-counsel to negotiate and document a separation into two companies.

  • Brought successful breach of contract and breach of warranty claims against the seller of automated metal finishing equipment that failed to meet performance specifications, resulting in a full refund of the $539,000 purchase price plus incidental damages.

  • Achieved a $1.75 million settlement in a shareholder oppression action on behalf of a minority shareholder who was “frozen out” by the controlling shareholder of an Illinois corporation.

  • Successfully represented a commodities broker defrauded by an international commodities trading firm in responding to a federal criminal investigation, including subpoena responses and a formal FBI/DOJ interview.

  • Defended a publicly held company against a $5 million claim seeking to enforce a stock certificate reported as lost or stolen in the late 1980s.

  • Obtained a $40,000 settlement of a travel insurance claim against a broker that incorrectly processed a family’s request for “cancel for any reason” travel insurance.

For more examples of Bennett’s experience and record of success, click here.

Notable Clients

Since establishing Lasko Legal Services in 2016, Bennett has represented notable clients including

  • Motorola Solutions, Inc.
  • Woodward, Inc.
  • Lam Research Corp.
  • Genie Energy, Ltd.
  • Expatriate Management Services, Ltd. (UK)
  • Opinel USA

For more examples, click here.