217-544-3403 info@feldmanwasser.com

Stanley N. Wasser

Partner

Contact Stan

Phone: 217-544-3403
Fax: 217-544-1593
Email: swasser@feldmanwasser.com

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Areas of Practice

Construction Law
Criminal Law
Employment Law: Employee
Employment Law: Employer
Labor Law: Employer

Stanley N. “Stan” Wasser is a partner of FeldmanWasser in Springfield, Illinois. He  served as a staff counsel to the Illinois State Comptroller from 1975 to 1976; as an Assistant Attorney General in the Illinois Office of Attorney General in 1977; as an Assistant, then Deputy Chief Counsel of the Illinois Department of Transportation from 1977 to 1984; and as General Counsel to the Illinois Bureau of the Budget in 1984-1985. Stan returned to the Illinois Department of Transportation where he served as its Chief Counsel from 1985 to 1986. In 1987, he joined with Howard Feldman in private practice.

Stanley Wasser has tried civil and criminal trials to verdict in both state and federal courts. He has tried state and federal civil jury trials involving the following types of cases: construction defects, breach of contract, Fair Labor Standards Act, illegal union picketing, civil rights claims, fraud, tortious interference, and eminent domain.

Stan has represented over 40 companies in construction law matters, 20 companies in labor law matters and over a dozen owners in residential and commercial construction matters.

Since commencing in private practice on January 1, 1987, Stanley Wasser has been a panel attorney accepting CJA appointments in federal criminal cases from the U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois. He has continued as a panel attorney to date, following the creation of the Federal Public Defender Office for the Central District of Illinois. In addition, through his firm, Stan has been retained privately to represent persons charged with state and federal criminal offenses.

He has tried to verdict federal criminal cases involving the following types of charges: felon in possession of firearm; drug distribution and drug distribution conspiracy; possession of firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking; obstruction of justice/conspiracy to obstruct justice; and perjury. He has tried to verdict state criminal cases involving the following types of charges: unlawful use of a weapon; damage to property; prostitution solicitation; unauthorized control (theft) of governmental property; official misconduct; home invasion; aggravated battery; and sexual assault on a minor. In addition, Stan has been involved in numerous federal cases involving pleas and sentencing. He has also been involved in state criminal cases involving disadvantaged business fraud and federal cases involving false claims.

ISBA      SOICA      AIC      SCBA      Leading Lawyers      Super Lawyers

Honors and Awards

  • Leading Lawyers, Construction Law, 2004-present, profiled in 2014
  • Super Lawyers, Construction Litigation, Construction Defects, 2006-present

Bar Admissions

  • Illinois, 1976
  • U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois
  • 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
  • 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
  • U.S. Supreme Court

Education

  • Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, J.D., 1975
  • Pennsylvania State University, B.A., political science, 1972

Cases and Results

  • Defended a construction client over seven years from a series of union challenges that were noteworthy in the central Illinois construction community. He guided clients through unfair labor practice charges before the NLRB, prevailing wage investigations by the Illinois Department of Labor, during picketing and leafleting, and against challenges affecting the contractor’s ability to be awarded contracts. Twice he brought union opponents to federal trial for unlawful picketing and won money from juries for his client.
  • Obtained a favorable jury verdict against a subcontractor after the subcontractor revoked its bid, causing Stan’s contractor client to pay more for the intended work. The client relied on the subcontractor’s bid to secure the contract award. The subcontractor refused to honor its bid, however, after learning that Stan’s client would not include the subcontractor on a second project the subcontractor quoted at the same time.
  • After a long, difficult litigation process ending in a week-long federal jury trial, Stan successfully defended a contractor client in a Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit brought by three former employees alleging a failure to pay overtime wages. Evidence in the case established that the employees were assisted in bringing the lawsuit by a union organizing committee. The jury refused to award the plaintiffs a penny.
  • Stan and partner Howard Feldman successfully guided a construction client through a difficult dispute with the State of Illinois involving the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and Library, buildings their client constructed. The State of Illinois wrongfully blamed their client for significant delay damages, which it sought to recover, and it wrongfully withheld payment of contract balances, forcing their client to nearly go out of business. Through their persistence, Stan and Howard recovered a significant sum from the State of Illinois without resorting to litigation, preventing their client from going out of business.
  • Stan has defended criminal cases in state and federal court, handling drug, firearm, and mail fraud cases, among others, and securing several “not guilty” verdicts. He secured a “not guilty” verdict in federal court on a firearms charge even though the client had just served a felony sentence for a similar offense in Missouri and despite photographic evidence linking the client to the firearm. In another case, Stan and Howard Feldman secured “not guilty” verdicts in a state court for a client charged with two Class X home invasion charges and an aggravated battery charge.
  • Stan has handled business transactions, employment issues, estate administration and real estate matters for numerous members of his community. His clients include a funeral home, a public television station and a non-profit community organization.

Professional Memberships

  • Illinois State Bar Association; Section Council on Construction Law, chair, 2016-2017; Section Council on Federal Practice and Procedure, chair, 2017-2018  
  • Society of Illinois Construction Attorneys; president, 2018-2019
  • Lincoln-Douglas Inns of Court; current board member
  • Sangamon County Bar Association

Employment

  • Feldman Wasser, 1987-present
  • Illinois Department of Transportation, chief counsel, 1986-1986
  • Illinois Bureau of the Budget, general counsel, 1984-1985
  • Illinois Department of Transportation, assistant/deputy chief counsel, 1977-1984
  • Office of the Attorney General, assistant attorney general, 1977
  • Office of the Illinois Comptroller, staff counsel, 1975-1976

Publications

Chapter co-author, “Liens on Public Funds and Claims Against Statutory Bonds,” Turner on Illinois Mechanics Liens, Second Edition, ISBA, 2019

Chapter co-author, “Labor Issues in the Transactional Side of the Project,” Construction Law: Transactional Considerations, IICLE 2010 Practice Handbook

Chapter co-author, “Representing the Public Owner,” Pre-Construction Issues, IICLE 2009 Practice Handbook

Presentations

Stan’s seminar presentations on construction law include the following:

  • Illinois Public Contract Code and Competitive Public Bidding in Illinois Covering the Subjects of Competitive Bidding, Bid Protests, Public Contract Requirements, Suspensions and Debarments, Key Contract Clauses and Issues, Contract Claims and Design-Build
  • Laws and Regulations Bearing on Public Contracting, Including State and Federal Prevailing Wage Laws, DBE/MBE/WBE Requirements and Project Labor Agreements
  • Ethics and Criminal Risk Issues in Public Contracting
  • Illinois Mechanics’ Lien Claims
  • Change Orders, Extras Work and Differing Site Conditions in Illinois Construction Projects
  • Contractor Liability for and Risk Management of Residential Construction Defects
  • Construction Damages
  • Construction Bonds and Suretyship
  • Alternative Dispute Resolution of Construction Claims
  • Ethics Issues Arising From Insurance, Surety Bonds and Bankruptcy Construction Issues
  • Illinois Public Procurement Laws Bearing on Public-Private Partnerships

Stan has also made presentations on federal court law practice, including the following:

  • Federal Court Jurisdiction
  • Federal Removal Practice
  • The Federal Arbitration Act
  • FRCP Rule 56 Summary Judgment Motions
  • Federal Jury Instructions
  • FRCP Rule 12(c) Motions
  • FRCP 30(b)(6) Discovery Practice
  • FRCP Rule 50 and 59 Post-Trial Motions
  • Federal Court Appointments for Prisoner Litigation
  • The Effect of the Federal Removal Laws When Securing Testimony From Federal Officials and Employees
  • Boilerplate Discovery Objections
  • Handling the 2255 Case Involving Ineffective Assistance of Counsel