Mr. Ermer is a litigation partner who specializes in complex business litigation, including intellectual property litigation, trade secret litigation, insurance coverage litigation and construction litigation. Mr. Ermer has a vast range of experience in business litigation, having litigated cases involving patent infringement claims, theft of trade secret claims, trademark infringement and copyright claims, aviation disputes, antitrust investigations, bankruptcy claims, business torts, contract disputes, class action disputes, wrongful termination and other employment claims, administrative law claims, insurance coverage claims, environmental claims, defamation claims, construction defect and delay claims, real estate disputes and white collar criminal claims.

Mr. Ermer has successfully represented several high technology companies in the semiconductor, biotechnology and hard drive industries in intellectual property disputes.  He successfully represented a policyholder in trial and through appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court, resulting in over $25 million in coverage for a claim involving the largest PCB contaminated site in the United States. He has had multiple successes in obtaining preliminary and permanent injunctions in trade secret cases and has coordinated criminal prosecution of defendants. He has obtained summary judgment in various cases, including several wrongful termination disputes with summary judgment upheld on appeal. He obtained a preliminary injunction against the California Department of Corporations concerning invalid regulation of escrow agents. Mr. Ermer also won dismissals of federal court litigation and antitrust investigations in cases involving satellite television decryption technology. And he has successfully represented a professional football franchise, major real estate developers, airlines, and a number of other businesses and individuals in a wide range of disputes.

Active in the legal community, Mr. Ermer has given numerous lectures on issues relating to his practice areas. He presented "The Trial of an Environmental Insurance Case" for the Chicago Bar Association in November 1995 and "The Do’s and Don’ts of Experts and Demonstrative Evidence" at the Third Annual California Environmental Trial Academy in 1996. He lectured on "Protecting Trade Secrets Before and During Litigation" for a Continuing Education of the Bar program in January 1997, and he lectured on "Preparing for, Taking and Using Depositions" in several 1997 and 1998 Continuing Education of the Bar programs. In June 1998, Mr. Ermer was a panelist at the Continuing Education of the Bar program "Advanced Course of Study: Federal Practice." In May 1999, Mr. Ermer lectured on "The Discovery and Admissibility of Electronic Evidence" for another Continuing Education of the Bar program. He was also a lecturer in March 2000 for the American Bar Association Spring 2000 Title Insurance Claims and Litigation Seminar.  Mr. Ermer has been a trade secret subcommittee chairperson for the Intellectual Property Section of the American Bar Association, and in April 2005, lectured on trade secret issues at the American Bar Association's 20th Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference in Arlington, Virginia.  In June 2005, Mr. Ermer was a Panelist for a Lorman Educational Services program on "Expert Witnesses: Procedures, Discovery and Trial Issues in California."  In May 2006, Mr. Ermer was the moderator of two day -long Continuing Education of the Bar programs on E-Discovery.

Maintaining family and business ties to the Midwest, Mr. Ermer is a co-owner of a nationally known blues and jazz club in St. Louis.

Professional Activities

• Orange County Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Association of Business Trial Lawyers, and numerous federal bars

Bar & Court Admissions

• 1983, California