Tom Hanekamp is Co-Chair of the Insurance Coverage Group at Aronberg Goldgehn. He is an accomplished litigator and trial lawyer who focuses his practice on major commercial litigation on a nationwide basis on behalf of insurers in coverage matters involving general liability, management liability and professional liability.

In addition, Tom regularly counsels clients with respect to insurance coverage issues associated with D&O, E&O, EPL, ERISA and general liability claims, including those involving allegations of bad faith.

For more than 20 years, Tom’s general liability experience includes matters alleging bad faith, environmental, asbestos, and other long tail exposures. Tom also has experience defending toxic tort, products liability, premises liability, and other such litigation involving bodily injury and property damage.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

• Won summary judgment in federal court on behalf of D&O and general liability insurer where insured sought more than $3 million for defense of lawsuit alleging misappropriation of trade secrets.

• Obtained temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction as lead trial counsel in matter involving fraudulent transfer of assets.

• Won summary judgment on behalf of insurer in a federal court lawsuit between insurer and corporation concerning insurance coverage under D&O policy for shareholder class-action litigation arising from restatement of corporation’s financials.

• Won summary judgment dismissing insurer client from lawsuit over E&O insurance coverage for a title company.

• Represented insurer in response to claim for coverage presented by securities firm facing multiple lawsuits arising from a Ponzi scheme.

• Won summary judgment on behalf of insurer in a lawsuit involving issues of successor corporation’s rights to insurance coverage for environmental liabilities.

• Represented insurer in response to a claim for coverage under a D&O policy where underlying matters involve FDIC failed bank litigation.

• Obtained a jury verdict in favor of client in a lawsuit involving alleged defective design of commercial vehicle.

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

Tom joined Aronberg Goldgehn as a member in August 2016. Previously he was a partner at Tressler LLP, where he had practiced since 1987. 

He holds an AV® Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, which is a testament to the fact that a lawyer’s peers rank him at the highest level of professional excellence for his legal knowledge, communication skills and ethical standards. Since 2022, Tom has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America, a peer-review based publication in which attorneys complete detailed evaluations of fellow lawyers. He is recognized for his advancements in Litigation - Insurance. Since 1983, Best Lawyers has annually chosen the top six percent of attorneys within the United States to be recognized with this title.

Since 2011, he has been recognized annually as a Leading Lawyer in Insurance Coverage by Illinois Leading Lawyers. He has also been named a Super Lawyer in Insurance Coverage law by Illinois Super Lawyers since 2005.

In 2020, Tom was elected a Fellow in the prestigious American College of Coverage Counsel, which is composed of preeminent coverage and extracontractual counsel in the United States and Canada.

SPEECHES AND PUBLICATIONS

Tom is a frequent author and speaker on a variety of topics, such as failed bank litigation, the subprime mortgage crisis, the proper use of experts in litigation, presenting the corporate witness for deposition and electronic discovery. Additionally, he is a long-time author and editor of a monthly e-newsletter and subsequent blog providing insight into recent case law in the specialty lines arena and their potential impact on insurers’ coverage determinations and claims handling.

He is an editor of and a contributor to Aronberg Goldgehn’s Insurance Coverage Update, including:

• "Products and Services Exclusion Bars Coverage Under D&O Policy," Sept. 29, 2020.

• "Investigative Subpoena Not a D&O "Claim," Aug. 17, 2020.

• "Prior Notice Exclusion Applies to Class Actions Filed Eight Years Apart," July 28, 2020.

• “Risky Lending Practices Trigger Prior Acts Exclusion,”July 10, 2017.

• “Lawsuit Demanding Withheld Premiums Falls Outside of ‘Damages’,” Feb. 2, 2017.

• “Suits By Same Creditor on Same Debt Deemed Unrelated, But Late Notice Bars Coverage,” April 7, 2017.

He has also published:

• "Application of the Insured v. Insured Exclusion in FDIC Failed Bank Litigation,” Mealey’s Emerging Insurance Disputes, Vol. 18, #20, October 24, 2013

• “From Subprime Crisis to Credit Crunch to Recession: The Liability and Coverage Implications for Professional Liability and E&O Insurers,” a proprietary paper, February 2009

• “Insurance Policy Rescission,” The Risk Report, June 2008

• “Recent Developments Affecting the Right of Rescission,” Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel Quarterly, December 2007

A sampling of his presentations includes:

• "Recent Developments in Insurance," Chicago Bar Association, Insurance Law Committee, May 5, 2021

• "New Developments in Bad Faith Law," a private client seminar, June 2018.

• "Multiple Claimants, Multiple Insureds and Consent Requirements - Settlement Considerations for Insurers," a private client seminar, April 2018

• “Consent Judgments – Considerations Before and After Entry” in the D&O/E&O context, private client seminar, April 2017.

• “Current Issues – What Is a Claim?” in D&O context, private client seminar, April 2016

• "Insurance Coverage for Governmental Investigations," private client seminar, April 2015

• "Insurance Coverage for Governmental Investigations," private client seminar, July 2014

• "Application of the Insured v. Insured Exclusion in FDIC Failed Bank Litigation,” private client seminar, April 2014

• “FDIC’s Investigation of Failed Banks and Litigation Against Directors & Officers: An Overview of Coverage Issues and Playing the IvI Exclusion Card,” New World Insurance Issues seminar, Los Angeles, October 2013

• “Insurance Coverage for Subprime Mortgage Litigation,” Chicago Bar Association/Young Lawyers Section’s Insurance Law Committee meeting, Chicago, April 2009

• “Cutting Edge Claims Issues – 2009,” proprietary seminar, New York, February 2009

• “How to Manage Insurance Coverage in the Subprime Crisis,” DRI Insurance Law Committee webinar, January 2009

• “E-Discovery Update: Managing Costs and Managing the Process,” FDCC Corporate Counsel Symposium, Dallas, September 2008

• “Subprime Mortgage to Credit Crunch: An Overview of the Litigation,” Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel’s Annual Meeting, Alberta, Canada, July 2008

• “Facts Impacting Coverage,” Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel‘s Litigation Management College, Atlanta, June 2008

• “E-Discovery,” Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel’s E-Discovery Task Force, April 2008

LEADERSHIP ROLES

• Co-Chair, Insurance Coverage Practice Group, Aronberg Goldgehn

• Chicago Bar Association, Insurance Law Committee, Co-Chair (2021-2022 and 2022-2023) & Legislative Liaison (2020-2021)

• Co-Chair, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, Aronberg Goldgehn (2021)

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Tom serves as a Director of Deliverance Manor Housing Corporation, subsidized apartments for the elderly on Chicago’s South Side; volunteers at Breakthrough, a women’s shelter in Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood; participates in the Lawyers in the Classroom program at Chicago Public Schools; served on his local school board for three years; volunteered at Hesed House, a homeless shelter in Aurora, Illinois; and is a member of the Grant Park Advisory Council in Chicago.

RELATED NEWS

• Super Lawyers' 2023 Lists Honor Aronberg Goldgehn Attorneys

• Thomas K. Hanekamp Continues Role as Co-Chair of the CBA's Insurance Law Committee for Second Year in a Row

• Best Lawyers® Honors Nine Aronberg Goldgehn Attorneys in 2023 List

• 2022 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists Recognize Aronberg Goldgehn Attorneys

• Insurance Coverage Alert – Court Finds Law Firm's Policy Void Due to Misrepresentations Regarding Prior Knowledge

• Five Aronberg Goldgehn Attorneys Named in The Best Lawyers in America 2022 Edition

• Tom Hanekamp Speaks to Chicago Bar Association Insurance Law Committee on Underwriting Topics

• 35 Aronberg Goldgehn Attorneys Honored as Leading and Emerging Lawyers in 2021 Lists

• Eighteen Aronberg Goldgehn Attorneys Named 2021 Illinois Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

• Thomas K. Hanekamp Elected a Fellow in the Prestigious American College of Coverage Counsel

• Twenty-Nine Aronberg Goldgehn Attorneys Named Illinois Leading Lawyers

• Eight Aronberg Goldgehn Members Named Super Lawyers By Illinois Super Lawyers

• Twenty-Three Aronberg Goldgehn Attorneys Named Leading Lawyers in Illinois

• Chris Bannon, Jay Frank, Tom Hanekamp, Julie Johnson, John Sciaccotta, Blooma Stark and Michael Zaslavsky Named Super Lawyers By Illinois Super Lawyers

• Twenty Aronberg Goldgehn Attorneys Named Leading Lawyers By Illinois Leading Lawyers

• Eighteen Aronberg Goldgehn Attorneys Named Leading Lawyers By Illinois Leading Lawyers