Ed Gower is a trial lawyer and mediator. He concentrates his practice in the areas of construction and business litigation; employment litigation; governmental affairs; and transportation, trade association and administrative law.
Mr. Gower has represented business clients in disputes concerning the design and performance of manufacturing and other capital equipment; contract litigation; construction and transportation related litigation; rehabilitation and insolvency proceedings; reinsurance and insurance coverage disputes; employment litigation; and product liability and personal injury claims. He has also successfully represented clients in a broad variety of state and federal administrative agency proceedings.
In matters of labor and employment law, Mr. Gower counsels and advises employers in a number of areas. He has successfully represented clients in investigations involving the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Prevailing Wage Act.
Reflecting more than a decade as Chief Counsel for the Illinois Department of Transportation, Mr. Gower has extensive experience with highway design and construction litigation; environmental litigation; constitutional challenges; employment and civil rights litigation; and personal injury and property damage litigation. He also advises business clients on all aspects of state and municipal governance and services.
Mr. Gower joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in April 2003. He is the co-chair of the firm’s construction sub-specialty group. Mr. Gower previously served as Chief Counsel for the Illinois Department of Transportation for 12 years. His tenure also included one year as Acting Director of the Illinois Division of Aeronautics. As Chief Counsel, Mr. Gower supervised all litigation involving a state agency with an annual budget in the range of $3 billion to $4 billion. He also was involved in every major piece of legislation proposed by or affecting the Department.
Prior to his time with Department of Transportation, Mr. Gower spent 11 years in a
Chicago commercial litigation practice, first with the law firm of Isham, Lincoln & Beale and later as a partner at Keck, Mahin & Cate. He also served as Special Counsel to the Illinois House Minority Leader in 1986-87.
Mr. Gower is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Sangamon County Bar Association. He has been recognized by his peers as a Leading Lawyer in the categories of Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, and Governmental, Municipal, Lobbying & Administrative Law.
In the Fall of 2005, Mr. Gower completed intensive training in mediation from the faculty of Pepperdine University School of Law’s top-ranked Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution.
Mr. Gower is the author of “Recent Change in Illinois Law,” published in the Construction Law Update section of
Real Estate Finance, June 2006.
His presentations include:
- “Getting the Lead Out,” Design Professionals Risk Control Group (DPRCG) Loss Prevention Convocation, Montreal, Canada, October 2007.
- “Pay Up or Else: Fee Collection from Contract to Court,” Hinshaw and Euclid Insurance Agency seminar, “The Annual Review: A 2004 Design Firm Check-up” Chicago, Illinois and again in Oak Brook, Illinois, November 2004.