Yazinski, Jeffrey

Having practiced law for 25 years, John Wylie became Of Counsel to Guin, Stokes & Evans, LLC in 2009, opening the firm's Chicago office. He is a former name partner in the Chicago firms Futterman Howard Watkins Wylie & Ashley, Chtd., and Susman, Watkins & Wylie. Mr. Wylie's practice has emphasized complex class litigation, in such areas as ERISA, antitrust, securities and shareholder rights, consumer fraud, and constitutional claims, in state and federal courts throughout the country.

Mr. Wylie has acted as lead or co-lead counsel, or in other leadership roles, in more than 30 reported cases, including 14 appeals, as well as in numerous other, unreported cases.

Among his notable decisions are:

• Dept. of Revenue of Kentucky v. Davis, __ U.S. __, 128 S. Ct. 1801 (2008)
• Davis v. Dept. of Revenue of Kentucky, 197 S. W. 3d 557 (Ky. App. 2006)
• Canel v. Topinka, 212 Ill. 2d (2004)
• Canel v. Topinka, 342 Ill. App. 3d 65 (Ill. App. 2003)
• Sogg v. Zurz, 121 Ohio St. 449 (2009)
• Rowlette v. State, 362 N.C. 474 (2008)
• Dunn v. State, 362 N.C. 80 (2007)
• Dunn v. State, 179 N.C. App. 753 (2006)
• In re PNB Holding Co. Shareholders Litigation, No. Civ. A 28-N, 2006 WL 2403999 (Del. Ch. Aug. 18, 2006)
• In re Xerox Corporation ERISA Litigation, Civ. No. 3:02 cv 01138, 2008 WL 918539 (D. Conn. March 31, 2008)
• In re Xerox Corporation ERISA Litigation, 483 F. Supp. 2d 2006 (D. Conn. 2007)
• Babcock v. Computer Associates, No. 00-cv-1648, 2007 WL 526601 (E.D.N.Y. Feb. 9, 2007)
• In re Bank One Securities Litigation, First Chicago Shareholders Claims, 209 F.R.D. 418(N.D. Ill. 2002)
• Cokenour v. Household Intern. Inc., No. 02 C 7921, 2004 WL 725973 (N.D. Ill. March 31, 2004)
• Alexander v. Phoenix Bond & Indem., 149 F. Supp. 2d 989 (N.D. Ill. 2001)
• O'Malley v. Boris, No. Civ. A 15735-NC, 2002 WL 453928 (Del. Chan. March 18, 1992)
• Nelson v. Brinson Partners, Inc., No. 03 C 6446, 2004 WL 178180 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 16, 2004.

Mr. Wylie graduated cum laude from Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin, in 1977, with a B.A., and from the UCLA School of Law with a J.D. in 1984. He is a member of bars of Illinois and California (currently on inactive status). During law school, he was a member of the Federal Communications Law Review, and he served as a law clerk/extern with the Honorable Joan Dempsey Klein, Presiding Justice of the California Court of Appeals, Second District, in Los Angeles.

Mr. Wylie's legal work has been the subject of favorable comment from several courts. For example, Judge Richard Frye of the Ohio Court of Common Pleas wrote of Mr. Wylie's work, "The professionalism of counsel throughout this case … reflects the best traditions of the bar." Sogg v. White, 139 Ohio Misc.2d 58, 860 N.E.2d 163 (2006). Judge Wayne Andersen of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois stated on the record of Mr. Wylie's efforts, "I think you did a very substantial public service in this case. … So I want to personally thank you for the efforts that you and your colleagues undertook under very difficult circumstances to carry on this litigation." Alexander v. Q.T.S. Corporation, et al., No. 98 C 3234 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 9, 2004). In addition, Mr. Wylie has been recognized by his peers in the Illinois Bar as a Leading Lawyer in the categories of Class Action/Mass Tort Plaintiff's Law and Investor Protection/Securities Class Action Litigation, a distinction earned by fewer than 5% of all Illinois lawyers.

Mr. Wylie has been active in civic and bar-related activities throughout his legal career. Currently, he is a member of the Legal Advisory Committee of Access Living, a Chicago-based not-for-profit disability rights advocacy organization, a member of the Board of Directors of the Prairie Crossing Charter School in his home town of Grayslake, Illinois, and a member of the Chicago Bar Association's Class Action Committee. He formerly served as a member of the Chicago Bar Association's Judicial Evaluation Committee, and he was a member of the editorial board of the Police Misconduct and Civil Rights Law Report, a publication of the Clark-Boardman Company.