INSIGHTS

Mike Hutcherson joined Goodman Law Group | Chicago in January 2025. A skilled litigator who has achieved favorable outcomes for clients as first and second chair in jury trials, Mike draws on his experience to evaluate claims, develop strategies, and implement those strategies proactively to advance his clients’ interests. Outside the courtroom, he is an avid runner who recognizes the similarities between the diligence required to train for a race and the preparation required for litigation. Read our Q&A below to learn more about Mike. What sparked your

A federal court recently delivered a significant victory for our client—a leading construction company that builds and repairs large-scale public infrastructure projects across the United States—in a high-stakes insurance coverage dispute involving millions of dollars in losses tied to a tunnel flooding event. Our client was retained to repair, improve, and expand a major water reclamation facility designed to manage overflow stormwater and sewage. During the construction of a tunnel intended to connect untreated sewage to a reservoir, a 20-foot-thick concrete barrier separating raw sewage from the tunnel

Recently, I had the opportunity to present to the Commercial Litigation Committee of the Chicago Bar Association on a topic that frequently arises in commercial disputes but is often misunderstood in practice: the distinction between material and partial breaches of contract. Titled “Materiality Matters: Material vs. Partial Breaches of Contract,” the presentation explored how courts distinguish between different types of contractual breaches and why that distinction is critical in commercial disputes and, more specifically, in insurance coverage disputes. You might reasonably ask what makes a breach “material” and why “materiality”

Walking into a courtroom for jury duty, I felt immediately out of place—in the best way possible. It was my first time sitting in a courtroom, and I was clearly the youngest person in the room. Many people complain about jury duty, but as a recent college graduate working at a law firm and planning to attend law school, I looked forward to it. I was not disappointed because serving on this jury was one of the most educational experiences I have had outside a classroom. The case

Recently, I had the pleasure of judging moot court competitions at the University of Chicago Law School (my alma mater) and the DePaul College of Law. At UChicago Law, six groups of two competitors grappled with Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections and Public Safety, et al., currently pending before the United States Supreme Court. Landor addresses whether an individual may sue a government official in his individual capacity for damages for violations of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. The students at DePaul College of

We often hear from frustrated businesses when they are pursuing insurance claims that are seemingly stuck in limbo or when a claim has been denied that they were sure was within the insurance coverage they purchased. We tell them that they are not alone in their experiences—that the insurer’s business model of “delay and deny” is designed to cause policyholders to abandon claims. Insurers recognize that many businesses do not have personnel devoted exclusively to handling insurance coverage issues when they arise. Further, most businesses never understood the

In South Capitol Bridgebuilders v. Lexington Insurance Company (SCB), Goodman Law Group | Chicago (GLG) secured a major win for policyholders in the first published decision in the world to address the meaning of the LEG3 endorsement to builders risk insurance policies. This 2023 decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia caused an earthquake in the world of builders risk insurance coverage that continues to cause aftershocks, including an October 2025 article published in Law360 describing the outcome of the case as “a nuclear

Far too frequently, policyholders miss the opportunity to get the benefit of the insurance coverage they purchased by accepting a “no” from the insurer that should have been a “yes.” We see this scenario play out over and over: An insurer rejects a claim that is covered, with the expectation that the policyholder will be frightened off by a densely worded denial letter filled with exclusionary language. If the policyholder persists, the insurer often files a lawsuit, hoping that the expense and delay associated with litigation will deter

We are pleased to announce that four members of the GLG team have been included in the 2026 editions of The Best Lawyers in America® and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America. Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on a peer review methodology. Designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services, the process is highly selective, with only 5% of U.S. lawyers earning this honor. “The GLG team and I are grateful to be recognized by Best Lawyers for our commercial litigation capabilities,