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
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.
Sports Law Group Named Among Nations Best
DUGGAN BERTSCH, LLC is proud to announce that our Sports Group has once again been recognized as one of the top Sports Law practices in the US by Hackney Publications. Click here to learn more
Contract Cancellation and Force Majeure – Know your Rights and Consider the Consequences
As the world copes with COVID-19 and the necessity of social distancing, individuals and businesses must contemplate the legal ramifications of their contracts, and what happens when those contracts cannot or are not being performed. Most contracts contain termination and remedies provisions that may be implicated given the current health crisis.
Workers’ Compensation & Remote Employees
As stay-at-home orders are being extended throughout the country, a significant population of the US workforce is and will continue to work remotely. Because employers cannot actively monitor and supervise their employees, employers are exposed to additional risks of liability. One significant risk is the potential for employees to sustain accidental injuries while working remotely. […]
Non-deductibility of Expenses Funded with PPP Loan Proceeds
Late last week, the IRS issued Notice 2020-32 which states that no deduction will be allowed for an expense that would otherwise be deductible by a small business if the payment of such expense results in forgiveness under the provisions of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of the CARES Act, and the income associated with […]
DB Alert: CARES Act Tax Relief
As we’ve outlined in our previous Newsletters, President Trump signed into law on March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act or the Act). In addition to the Paycheck Protection Program offered to businesses to further support employee retention and maintenance of the business (See March 30th, CARES Act and Paycheck […]
Alert: Qualified Opportunity Zone Funds
Summary As part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), a new community and economic development program was enacted under Section 1400Z-1 & 1400Z-2 that garnered little attention at the time of passage, but which now appears to be causing high net worth investors and the investment community at large to take […]
IRS TO ALLOW MOST TAXPAYERS TO DEFER PAYING 2019 TAXES ON APRIL 15, 2020 DUE TO COVID-19
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, speaking at a coronavirus news conference today, announced that individuals who owe taxes to the IRS can defer up to $1 million, and corporations can defer up to $10 million in payments, for a period of 90 days from the April 15th deadline. At this point, the deferral applies to the income taxes owed, and there does not appear […]
DB Alert: 2019 Payment and Filing Deadlines
As we previously alerted our clients and friends, the Internal Revenue Service has postponed the tax payment deadlines for calendar year taxpayers until July 15, 2020 provided that the amounts owed did not exceed certain levels (prior alert); however, the tax filing deadline itself was not automatically extended under this prior guidance Recent guidance just […]
All Cook County Properties to be Re-Assessed in 2020 Due to COVID-19
The Cook County Assessor’s Office recently announced updates to its assessment and appeal process in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Normally, one-third of Cook County is reassessed in any given year, but due to the projected impact of COVID-19 on property values, the Assessor announced adjustments are planned across the entire county. To make assessments […]