James W. Hutchison

James W. “Wells” Hutchison is co-head of Katten's Health Care Civil Litigation practice and serves as outside general counsel to Delta Dental Plans Association, having advised Delta Dental for more than 10 years on litigation, regulatory, corporate governance and general business matters.

Wells provides litigation management and risk mitigation for a wide variety of companies, from accounting firms to real estate developers to parking companies to national sports teams. Wells has a two-pronged litigation philosophy—first, litigation should be undertaken only after creative business solutions have been explored and rejected. Second, when applied in an intelligent, aggressive and thorough manner, litigation can be an effective tool for leveraging desired business outcomes. Wells has litigated in the state and federal courts of numerous jurisdictions and before the American Health Lawyers Association Arbitration Panel, JAMS and the American Arbitration Association, including the International Division.

Clients seek his counsel on a range of complex contract disputes, as Wells has substantial experience in contract drafting, interpretation and enforcement. He frequently writes and speaks on the topic of drafting contracts to avoid and manage risk. His article “Getting Burned by Boilerplate: The Risks of Repeatedly Using Standard Contract Provisions Without Investigating Their Continuing Usefulness” has been widely read in various media, and his periodic newsletter, “A Pound of Cure,” addresses issues in commercial litigation and contracting issues He is regularly quoted in high-profile legal publications.

In his health care practice, Wells regularly counsels Delta Dental and other sophisticated business clients on strategies to manage risk for associations, hospitals, physician groups and other medical providers, payers and managed care organizations, and he litigates hospital-physician disputes, including credentialing and peer review matters, as well as disputes relating to the delivery of and payment for medical services and disputes relating to the purchase and sale of medical assets.

He also works closely with the firm's Corporate and Real Estate practices on litigation relating to construction, commercial foreclosures, mergers and acquisitions, borrower-lender matters, corporate valuations, stockholder disputes and breaches of fiduciary responsibilities.

Wells performs pro bono work for the Center for Disabled and Elder Law (CDEL) and was twice recognized as CDEL’s Pro Bono Attorney of the Year.

Good to know

Areas of Practice 1) Corporate Governance, 2) Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation, 3) Consumer Finance Litigation, 4) Entrepreneurial Ventures, 5) Private Equity, 6) Private Funds, 7) Financial Services Litigation, 8) Real Estate Litigation and 9) Fiduciary Litigation
Law School New York University School of Law (J.D.)
Education Northwestern University (B.A.)
Bar Member / Association Illinois State Bar Association
Most recent firm Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
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