Daniel Becka

OF COUNSEL

Daniel Becka has over 25 years of complex, commercial litigation experience, representing companies and individuals in class actions, corporate derivative actions, securities/commodities litigation and arbitration, Internet defamation litigation, employment litigation and contractual matters, landlord/tenant matters, consumer fraud and deceptive practices litigation, corporate law, real estate, professional malpractice, trade secrets, insurance/reinsurance defense, corporate and securities transactions, and state and federal appellate practice.

Dan received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Case Western Reserve University in 1985, graduating cum laude. In 1988, he received his Juris Doctorate from University of Pennsylvania and was an Associate Editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.

Prior to opening his own firm and becoming Of Counsel to Gaido & Fintzen in February 2011, Dan practiced for ten years with a Chicago litigation firm, specializing in commercial litigation. While working for that firm, Dan was responsible for the firm's largest litigation recoveries. In his most renowned case, Dan represented a NYSE listed healthcare company against one of the oldest, most prestigious law firms in the country in a legal malpractice case, involving corporate reorganization and the refinancing of approximately $1 Billion in corporate bonds. After defeating various pre-trial motions and completing the depositions of thirteen different expert witnesses, the case ultimately settled for approximately $26 million. It is believed to be one of the largest recorded legal malpractice settlements.

In 2007, the U.S. District Court appointed Dan to the Northern District of Illinois to represent a group of approximately 2,200 senior United Airlines pilots in a class action suit against their union. It was only after the plaintiffs defeated the defendants' summary judgment motions and motion to reconsider that the defendants agreed to a settlement of $44 million in 2009. This is possibly the largest recovery in a breach of fair representation to date.

 Dan faced Centrum Properties, Inc. in 2011, representing a client who had not been paid what she was due under her employment agreement with the company. The trial occurred in the Circuit Court of Cook County and lasted a month. Dan obtained a judgment of more than $11.5 million against the company.

Dan is admitted to practice in Illinois, California, Florida, and before numerous federal courts