Wade Thomson

Practice Areas

Wade A. Thomson is a Co-Chair of the firm’s Business Litigation Practice and is an elected member of the firm’s Policy Committee. He is Chambers ranked and has significant experience in high-stakes commercial disputes and government investigations around the world, practicing out of both the Chicago and London offices.

In particular, he has substantial experience in complex commercial disputes across industries and fora, including international arbitrations and domestic courts. In addition to serving as an advocate in arbitrations, Wade serves as an arbitrator.

Much of Wade’s work involves cross-border disputes. For example, in 2024 Wade led a team that secured an exceedingly rare vacatur of an international arbitration award against Meleveetil Damodaran, the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which is akin to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The team’s work on the case earned them a shout out in The American Lawyer’s Litigator of the Week.

As another example of his international practice, in 2020, Wade co-led a team in a three-week federal trial involving trade secret, Lanham Act, and contract claims involving companies from several countries in Europe, which resulted in a jury verdict of approximately $114 million on behalf of his radio remote control manufacturer client (Click here for Reuters coverage). The American Lawyer named him a “Litigator of the Week” runner-up for the victory.

Wade also works closely with the firm’s Investigation, Compliance, and Defense Practice and has significant experience with white collar and workplace investigations and compliance, including preparing submissions, presentations and witnesses for the DOJ, EPA, IRS, Department of State, grand juries and gaming commissions. He has counseled many companies in Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Bank Secrecy Act matters and is a certified anti-money laundering specialist.

Wade recently served as one of the team leaders that conducted a significant internal review and produced a public report for the Chicago Blackhawks, investigating allegations that in 2010 a player was sexually assaulted by an assistant coach. As detailed in the report’s executive summary, over the course of four months, the Jenner & Block team investigated the conduct of the former coach as well as the Blackhawks internal response after learning, during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoff run, of certain allegations raised by the former player. The investigation involved interviews with 139 people, including current and former players. The investigation and report were widely covered by myriad news outlets internationally, including The New York Times, The Guardian, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and others, with widespread praise for the report’s independence, objectivity, and thorough fact-finding.

Highly active in the civic community, Wade serves on several prominent boards, including World Business Chicago, the Chicago Public Library Foundation, and the National Immigrant Justice Center, among others. He is a recent Fellow of Leadership Greater Chicago, and he was named a 2021 “Notable Nonprofit Board Leaders” by Crain’s Chicago Business.

Wade is a member of several firm committees, including the Policy Committee and Pro Bono Committee. He has dedicated thousands of hours to pro bono representation in a wide variety of matters and received several awards for his work.