Stuart Chanen
Stuart Chanen is an experienced trial lawyer, who has tried more than 25 cases to verdict. In addition, because he represents both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide array of litigation, he has a unique perspective on what it takes to win at trial.
For Plaintiffs, Stuart has obtained jury verdicts of $5.7M, $13.4M, $17.3M, and $25M and settlements of $10M and $16M.
For Defendants he has obtained numerous no-liability verdicts and/or nuisance value settlements.
Stuart is a 1985 graduate of Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, where he was an editor of the law review. After law school, Stuart clerked for the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court in Chicago, followed by 15 years as an associate and then partner at Sachnoff & Weaver, Ltd.
In 2000, Stuart upended a developing career as a business litigator to become a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorneys’ Office in Chicago. There, he learned both criminal law and how to really try cases, taking 13 cases to verdict in just four years. This experience has proven to be invaluable as his practice today is focused heavily on both prosecuting and defending criminal and civil fraud cases.
Stuart’s leadership in the Chicago legal community has been repeatedly acknowledged. The Illinois Supreme Court appointed Stuart to serve as a hearing officer for the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), where he served for six years, four as a panel Chair. For sixteen years, he served on the Advisory Board of the Center on Wrongful Convictions, five as Chairman. In addition, he also served on the Advisory Board to Northwestern Bluhm Legal Clinic and on the governing board of the Chicago Council of Lawyers. Over many years, Stuart has taught Trial Practice and Legal Ethics at Northwestern University, University of Chicago, and University of Iowa law schools, and at the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (“NITA”).
Stuart has been rated an Illinois Super Lawyer since 2005 and has a 5-star rating on Martindale-Hubbell. He was also recently added to a list of the Best Lawyers in America.
Stuart is the proud husband of Julie Fenton and father of Elliot and Emma Chanen. He and Julie have two dogs, Tucker and Pie, and Stuart is also “grandfather” to Elliot’s cat Momo and Emma’s cats Bates and Carson.
Ariel Olstein
Ariel graduated magna cum laude from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2016, where he was a member of the Moot Court team, won several national and local awards for his writing and oral advocacy skills, and was elected to the Order of the Coif.
As a law student, Ariel was fortunate to serve as a student-clerk for two judges, Timothy A. Barnes of the United States Bankruptcy Court and Justice Robert E. Gordon of the Illinois Appellate Court, experiences that allowed him to gain valuable knowledge of both civil and criminal law.
Before founding Chanen & Olstein, Ariel practiced at an insurance defense firm, MK Counsel, and Valorem Law Group, where he was mentored by several highly regarded lawyers, including Ari Kirshner, Pegi McCabe, Nicole Auerbach, and Pat Lamb.
At Valorem, Ariel handled a variety of criminal and civil matters, second chairing a trial in federal court involving a commercial real estate dispute, securing a judgment in favor of plaintiff in a sexual assault case in state court, helping negotiate several favorable pre-trial settlements in contract disputes and fraud actions, securing a favorable plea for a defendant in a criminal matter in state court, and successfully drafting and arguing numerous motions in federal and state trial and appellate courts. More recently, Ariel successfully presented oral argument in the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, tried a breach of contract and Wage Claim Act in the Cook County Circuit Court, as well as tried a civil rights case in federal court.
Based on Ariel’s vast experience in a very short time, Ariel was named in the 2021, 2022, and 2023 Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Star lists, which recognize no more than the top 2.5 percent of young attorneys in each state.
Outside of practicing law, Ariel is a proud father of four young and “energetic” boys. When he’s not arguing in court, writing a brief, or speaking with a client, Ariel, together with his wonderful wife, Devora, is trying to teach his boys dispute resolution techniques that do not involve throwing things at each other. That remains a work in progress.
