James A. Cherney retired from the partnership in June 2007. He joined the firm in 1982, after having been a partner at Hedlund, Hunter & Lynch, which merged at that time with Latham & Watkins to form the Chicago office. His practice involved a broad range of commercial litigation including representation of secured lenders in restructuring matters and lender liability litigation, defense of consumer actions and healthcare litigation, including antitrust litigation and counseling. Most recently, he successfully represented 34 lenders in bankruptcy proceedings and a contested plan of reorganization of the two largest natural gas generation facilities in the United States. Mr. Cherney has represented a national retailer in over 15 actions relating to late fees and he has represented numerous clients in defense of actions under various state and federal statutes. He has represented national healthcare organizations at trial in antitrust cases, in internal investigations, and he has defended physicians and healthcare organizations in a variety of complex litigation.
At the time of his retirement, Mr. Cherney was a member of the Antitrust Law and Litigation Law Sections of the American Bar Association and a member of the Chicago Bar Association. He has written a chapter on “Antitrust Considerations” in Representing Health Care Institutions, published by the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education. He is widely quoted in health care publications regarding antitrust issues and has published articles on those subjects in National Law Journal, Legal Times and several publications of national physician organizations, including the American Medical Association. An active speaker, Mr. Cherney has spoken and lectured on antitrust healthcare topics before Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Northwestern University Health Law School Institute, National Health Lawyers Association, Practicing Law Institute and elsewhere.
In the civic and not-for-profit realm, Mr. Cherney has been on the Board of CommunityHealth, a community-based health care provider on the West Side of Chicago. He is on the Board and is a Past President of Temple Sholom of Chicago. Mr. Cherney also has served on the Board and as President of the Saddle & Cycle Club of Chicago. He has been active in Chicago in fund-raising and student admissions for Tufts University.
Mr. Cherney served on the Board of the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago. He had substantial experience representing pro bono clients of Latham & Watkins. He had also been appointed as counsel in prisoner civil rights cases and as a Panel Attorney in the Capital Litigation Division of the Illinois Appellate Defender's office.