William M. Sweetnam
William M. Sweetnam
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Phone: 866-726-1092
Fax: 312-726-1093
Contact: Contact Me
William M. Sweetnam concentrates his practice class action and complex litigation and appeals, having prosecuted hundreds of consumer, shareholder and antitrust class action in federal and state courts across the country. In addition to representing both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of cases involving both economic and non-economic injuries, Mr. Sweetnam has acted as lead counsel, co-lead counsel and has been a member of the executive and steering committees in consumer, antitrust and other class action, complex and multidistrict litigation matters.
Notably, Mr. Sweetnam was appointed sole lead counsel in Kelly v. Old National Bank, 82C01-1012-CT-627 (Cir. Ct Vanderburgh Cty, Ind.), in which he obtained a settlement valued at more than 90% of the class’ damages incurred as a result of the unlawful overdraft fee scheme alleged therein, far exceeding the results obtained by much larger firms against some the countries’ largest banks, resulting in individual consumers receiving several thousand dollars in refunded overdraft fees.
Before joining Keogh Law, Ltd., Mr. Sweetnam ran a successful class action litigation boutique, Sweetnam LLC, established in 2008. Prior to that, Mr. Sweetnam was a partner at a Chicago class action litigation boutique, where he perfected his skills representing victims of consumer fraud and deceptive and anti-competitive practices. Mr. Sweetnam has extensive litigation experience in a variety of nationwide class actions in state and federal courts alleging violations of consumer fraud and deceptive trade practices statutes, breach of warranty and violations of federal securities laws, shareholder derivative suits and appeals.
Mr. Sweetnam began his career as a class action and complex litigation practitioner with what is now known as Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP, one of the largest class action law firms in the United States, where he was part of a team of lawyers involved in prosecuting class actions challenging abusive marketing practices in several areas involving life insurance and annuities. These cases led to class settlements valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, and sometimes even billions of dollars, with such major life insurance companies as Prudential, Met Life, John Hancock, New York Life, State Farm, American Express/IDS, Transamerica, and many others, as well as to numerous changes in industry sales practices.
Mr. Sweetnam continued his career at one of Chicago's oldest and most respected class action litigation firms, Krislov & Associates, Ltd., where he represented consumers and investors engaged in an array of nationwide class actions in state and federal courts involving everything from consumer fraud to breach of warranty and securities and shareholder derivative lawsuits and appeals.
Mr. Sweetnam began his career as a lawyer representing plaintiffs in catastrophic injury cases in 1994. In 1995, he began defending corporate, insurance industry and insurance policyholder clients.
Mr. Sweetnam is a graduate of The University of Michigan and the De Paul University College of Law where he received the American Jurisprudence Award in Constitutional Law and was a member of the Journal of Art and Entertainment Law. He has written and lectured on class actions and class action litigation reform.
Mr. Sweetnam was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is married with three children, and resides in Lake Forest, Illinois.
EDUCATION
The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (B.A., 1990)
De Paul University College of Law, Chicago, Illinois (J.D., 1994)
AREAS OF PRACTICE
Litigation and Appeals
Class Actions
Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Trade Practices
Breach of Warranty
Securities Fraud
Shareholder Derivative Actions
False Claims
Antitrust
BAR ADMISSIONS
Illinois Supreme Court
United States Supreme Court
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
United States District Court for the District of Colorado
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Trial Bar)
United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois
United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
ASSOCIATIONS
Federal Bar Association, Chicago Chapter
The Chicago Bar Association
The Catholic Lawyers Guild of Chicago
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Of Counsel, Keogh Law, Ltd., Chicago, Illinois (2020 – Present)
Managing Member, Sweetnam LLC, Chicago, Illinois (2008 – 2020)
Partner, Freed & Weiss, LLC, Chicago, Illinois (2002-2008)
Senior Associate, Krislov & Associates, Ltd., Chicago, Illinois (1999-2002)
Associate, Schiffrin, Craig & Barroway, LLP (now Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP), Chicago, Illinois (1997-1999)
Associate, Merlo, Kanofsky & Brinkmeier, Ltd. (now Merlo Kanofsky & Gregg, Ltd.), Chicago, Illinois (1995-1997)
Associate, Peter D. Kasdin, Ltd., Chicago, Illinois (1994-1995)
LECTURES
Law of Remedies: Damages, Equity and Restitution, Chicago-Kent College of Law, February 2019
Law of Remedies: Class Actions and Complex Litigation, Chicago-Kent College of Law, February 2018
The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005: Selecting a Forum and Keeping It, Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, Chicago, Illinois, June, 2008
Federalization of Consumer Class Action Litigation: The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, The John Marshall Law School, Chicago, Illinois, March, 2006
REPORTED DECISIONS
Jett v. Warrantech Corp., ---F.Supp.3d---, 2020 WL 525045 (S.D. Ill. 2020)
Old Nat. Bank v. Kelly, 31 N.E.3d 522 (Ind. App. 2014)
Nava v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 995 N.E.2d 303 (1st Dist. 2013)
Cappuccitti v. DirecTV, Inc., 623 F.3d 1118 (11th Cir. 2010)
Pella Corp. v. Saltzman, 606 F.3d 391 (7th Cir. 2010)
In re Digitek Prod. Liab. Litig., 264 F.R.D. 249 (S.D. W. Va. 2010)
Aleman v. Park West Galleries, Inc., 655 F. Supp. 2d 1378 (J.P.M.L. 2009)
In re Park West Galleries, Inc. Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., 645 F. Supp. 2d 1358 (J.P.M.L. 2009)
In re Digitek Prod. Liab. Litig., 648 F. Supp. 2d 795 (S.D. W. Va. 2009)
Vernon v. Qwest Communs. Int'l, Inc., 643 F. Supp. 2d 1256 (W.D. Wash. 2009)
Stachurski v. DirecTV, Inc., 642 F. Supp. 2d 758 (N.D. Ohio 2009)
In re Comcast Corp. Set-Top Cable TV Box Antitrust Litig., 626 F. Supp. 2d 1353 (J.P.M.L. 2009)
In re Refrigerant Compressors Antitrust Litig., 626 F. Supp. 2d 1320 (J.P.M.L. 2009)
Saltzman v. Pella Corp., 257 F.R.D. 471 (N.D. Ill., 2009)
Coneff v. AT&T Corp., 620 F. Supp. 2d 1248 (W.D. Wash. 2009)
Hoving v. Lawyers Title Ins. Co., 256 F.R.D. 555 (E.D. Mich. 2009)
In re Nissan N. Am., Inc. Odometer Litig., 664 F. Supp. 2d 873 (M.D. Tenn. 2009)
Hoving v. Lawyers Title Ins. Co., 256 F.R.D. 555 (E.D. Mich. 2009)
In re Digitek Prods. Liab. Litig., 571 F. Supp. 2d 1376 (J.P.M.L. 2008)
In re BP Prods. N. Am., Inc., 560 F. Supp. 2d 1377 (J.P.M.L. 2008)
Hoving v. Transnation Title Ins. Co., 545 F. Supp. 2d 662 (E.D. Mich. 2008)
In re Nissan N. Am., Inc. Odometer Litig., 542 F. Supp. 2d 1367 (J.P.M.L. 2008)
Berry v. Budget Rent a Car Sys., 497 F. Supp. 2d 1361 (S.D. Fla. 2007)
Cook v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc., 62 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (Callaghan) 197 (S.D. Ohio 2007)
Womack v. Nissan N. Am., Inc., 550 F. Supp. 2d 630 (E.D. Tex. 2007)
Knudsen v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 435 F.3d 755 (7th Cir. 2006)
Knudsen v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 411 F.3d 805 (7th Cir. 2005)
Knudsen v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 405 F. Supp. 2d 916 (N.D. Ill. 2005)
Enzenbacher v. Browning-Ferris Indus. of Ill., 774 N.E.2d 858 (Ill. App. 2002)
In re Nat'l Life Ins. Co., 247 F. Supp. 2d 486 (D. Vt 2002)
Kaskel v. N. Trust Co., 45 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (Callaghan) 827 (N.D. Ill. 2001)
Wardrop v. Amway Asia Pac. Ltd., Fed. Sec. L. Rep. (CCH) P91,346 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 20, 2001)
Grove v. Principal Mut. Life Ins. Co., 14 F. Supp. 2d 1101 (S.D. Iowa 1998)
