Meet The Team
Brian C. Konkel, JD
Brian is a partner in the Firm’s litigation, corporate, and entertainment and sports law practice groups. Brian’s civil litigation practice covers a wide array of civil matters including commercial/business disputes, shareholder disputes, contract disputes, construction, intellectual property, and employment. As a member of the firm’s sports law practice group, Brian counsels players, coaches, teams, schools, and other athletic entities on a wide array of legal issues, including disappointment lawsuits, eligibility questions in the collegiate and high school context, drug testing and doping, recreational immunity, social media policy concerns, Olympic issues, and matters seeking injunctive relief. Brian also serves as outside general counsel to a number of entrepreneurs and businesses. In his entertainment practice, Brian counsels numerous music and art festivals, and other events on matters including contract formation and negotiation, risk management, insurance needs, and intellectual property.
Brian also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at DePaul University College of Law, where he teaches a course in sports law.
Prior to joining the Firm, Brian was with the firm SmithAmundsen LLC. Brian has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Michigan, and a Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law (Cum Laude). Brian is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, Young Lawyers Section, and the Defense Research Institute (DRI), Young Lawyers Committee. Brian is also a frequent columnist for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. Brian has also been selected as an Emerging Lawyer in the fields of commercial litigation and arts, entertainment & sports law each year since 2018, a distinction received by less than 2% of all lawyers in Illinois.
Publications
Congratulations to our 2023 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars!
The Illinois Super Lawyers and Rising Stars is an honor reserved for those lawyers who exhibit excellence in practice. Only 5% of attorneys in Illinois receive this distinction. Attorneys are selected through a patented selection process involving nominations, research, and peer reviews. In addition to our numerous prior and existing award recipients, DUGGAN BERTSCH, LLC […]
FTC Proposes Rule Prohibiting Non-Compete Clauses for Workers
On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) proposed a new rule that would prohibit non-compete provisions for workers and require employers to rescind existing non-competes. The proposed rule would apply to all employees, independent contractors, and consultants. The broad proposed rule would apply even to senior level executives and could potentially implicate agreements […]
Timothy Liam Epstein was referenced in the Pitchfork article entitled, “How the Music Community Is Fighting the Drug Overdose Epidemic” that was published on December 16, 2022
“But there are legal considerations around actually using it that depend on city and state rules. According to the Prescription Drug Abuse Policy System, a database of prescription drug laws operated by Temple University’s Beasley School of Law, in 13 states, including Virginia, Arizona, and Florida, someone who administers the medication to another person does […]
2022 Year End Newsletter
Dear Clients and Colleagues, As the fourth quarter of 2022 is drawing to a close, we recommend that you review your comprehensive wealth planning and business structures to ensure that it is consistent with your long-term objectives. While the recent mid-term election results are still not final, with a Senate run-off left in Georgia, it […]
Estate & Gift Tax Planning 2022 Review
As indicated above, the recent changes to congressional control following the mid-term elections will likely mean a stalemate in Congress for the next 2 years with respect to any meaningful tax legislation. This means that from an estate planning perspective, the increased lifetime exemptions enacted as part of TCJA will continue to be available for […]
Pass-Through Business Tax Planning 2022 Review
The relationship between individual taxpayers and their businesses continue to offer opportunity for effective tax savings, including the use in certain circumstances of C corporation structures to arbitrage tax rates, allow for greater deductions and potentially offer savings on an exit. However, much tax planning continues to focus on accessing these benefits before they sunset […]
Salt & Local Tax Planning 2022 Review
The TCJA imposed a $10,000 limitation on individual’s deduction for payment of state and local taxes in itemizing their deductions. For many high taxed states, this resulted in significant limitations on state income and property tax deductibility and resulted in an effort to find a workaround from the legislation to allow for deductibility. Most states […]
Timothy Liam Epstein and industry experts joined forces at this year’s IEBA Annual Conference
The conference took place in Nashville from October 11-13, 2022. Tim spoke on the Terms & Conditions Power Panel. CLICK HERE for a recap on part 1 of the Terms & Condition Power Panel: https://www.ieba.org/2022panelrecaps/terms-amp-conditions-power-panel-part-1-insurance-and-employment-practices CLICK HERE for a recap on part 2 of the Terms & Condition Power Panel: https://www.ieba.org/2022panelrecaps/terms-amp-conditions-power-panel-part-2-contracts-and-yet-another-discussion-of-cois CLICK HERE for a […]
The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin Published Timothy Liam EPSTEIN’s Article Entitled, “The plot thickens in players’ defamation suit over PEDs report.”
When a professional baseball player is accused of using performance-enhancing drugs (“PEDs,” inclusive of hormones for purposes of this article), the implications can be catastrophic.