Catherine A. Cooke

Combining deep banking and finance experience with equally robust courtroom advocacy skills, Catherine Cooke provides tailored, cost-effective representation in a wide range of complex transactions and disputes. She brings a litigator’s perspective to commercial financing matters that helps her minimize client risk and exposure, while her common-sense, business-centric approach to commercial disputes leads to creative, favorable resolutions that spare her clients from the cost and disruption of protracted litigation whenever possible.

In her banking and finance practice, Catherine represents financial institutions and private lenders in a broad range of commercial financing matters, including asset-based lending, real estate financing, equipment leasing, and other financing transactions. She also has extensive experience handling business representation, creditors’ rights, and bankruptcy matters. Catherine’s unwavering focus in every aspect of her practice is on accomplishing her clients’ goals and exceeding their expectations.

A seasoned litigator, Catherine handles diverse and complex disputes in federal, state, and appellate courts, including mortgage, security interest, and mechanics lien foreclosures, construction litigation, commercial leasing matters, breach of fiduciary duty claims, shareholder and limited liability company member disputes, trust and estate litigation, secured creditors’ rights, and adversary proceedings in bankruptcy.

Catherine has authored numerous columns published in the IDC Quarterly, the flagship publication of the Illinois Defense Counsel, and served on its Editorial Board beginning in 2015, including as the Editor-In-Chief in 2019-2020. She also served as the Editor-in-Chief of the 2020 IDC Survey of Law. When not serving her clients, Catherine enjoys traveling internationally as often as possible and spending time with her husband and their golden retriever.

Education

• University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, J.D., 2006
• Indiana University Bloomington, B.A., 2003

Admissions

• Illinois, 2006
• Indiana, 2009
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana 

Professional Affiliations

• Chicago Bar Association
• Illinois State Bar Association