D.L. Morriss concentrates his practice in commercial litigation and professional liability litigation.

Mr. Morriss is involved in all stages of litigation, including drafting motions, memoranda and briefs, preparing witnesses, conducting research; attending depositions, motion hearings and court appearances; arguing motions; and negotiates settlements.

In his commercial litigation practice, Mr. Morriss handles UCC litigation, fidelity claims, contract disputes, promissory notes, collections, mortgage foreclosures, bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, as well as labor and employment matters, including labor disputes. His clients in this area include both large and small local and national banks and other financial institutions.

Mr. Morriss’ professional liability practice includes the defense of accountants and accounting firms, and lawyers and law firms in their professional liability matters. He also handles director and officer liability claims. A selection of Mr. Morriss’ representative includes:

• Obtained million dollar judgments in large, contested, commercial foreclosure actions.
• Defends and has obtained dismissal of lender liability cases involving claims of tort, contract and UCC violations.
• Represented a pro se criminal defendant and argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit in a case involving allegations of mail fraud and arson.

Mr. Morriss joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP as an associate in September 2008. Previously he was a summer associate with the firm during the summer of 2007 and a law clerk since September 2007.

In addition to clerking at Hinshaw, Mr. Morriss was a law clerk for one year with the Office of the General Counsel at DePaul University.

Among his law school achievements, Mr. Morriss was a member of the Black Law Student Association and a recipient of a CALI Award for Judicial & Scholarly Writing.

During his undergraduate studies, he was a teaching assistant in the areas of social and cross-cultural psychology. He was also the 2002-2003 President of the William Osborne Society, a minority student organization.

Prior to his legal career, Mr. Morriss was a teacher at the Outreach Community Center in Carol Stream, Illinois. He also worked with computer systems during the summers of 2000 to 2003. Mr. Morriss has assisted in writing several Hinshaw Employment Law Alerts. He is a co-author of “Key Issues With Employee Dishonesty and Employee Theft Coverage,” a paper that was presented at the Fidelity Bond & Crime Coverage Conference in New York, in December 2004. His presentations include “Checks, Fraud and the UCC,” an in-house client presentation in Dallas, Texas in February 2012. Mr. Morriss is active with the Chicago Public School program, Real Men Read, reading to and discussing stories with inner-city middle school students. He is a member of the board of directors for the Boys & Girls Club Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Club. Mr. Morriss is also a member of the Christian Legal Society, and a supporter of Children's Relief International.