Nicholas H. "Nick" Callahan

Nick wins cases for clients and helps them favorably resolve disputes, including complex partnership, corporate governance, finance, and deal disputes. As a first-chair trial lawyer who has tried more than 30 jury trials, bench trials, and arbitrations, when a rare business case goes to trial, other law firms and clients ask him to join or lead the trial team.

Nick splits his time between BFKN’s Minneapolis and Chicago offices, although he regularly appears in courts across the country. Nick's trial experience and litigation style make him well-suited to represent plaintiffs. In recent years, he has recovered more than $125 million for his clients. He also represents defendants; for example, he has defeated by early motion practice numerous class actions seeking to stop M&A transactions involving more than $1 billion in aggregate transaction value. He also defends individuals against government agencies in administrative hearings and civil trials.

Nick frequently represents clients in the financial industry, including hedge funds, private equity funds, and banks, as well as their owners or partners. In line with BFKN’s reputation as a nationally pre-eminent real estate firm, many of these clients focus on commercial real estate.

Nick is passionate about the legal profession and trial practice. He has served on the faculty of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), which is the country’s leading organization for trial skills training for practicing attorneys. Through other continuing education legal programs for attorneys, he has presented with judges and other attorneys on picking juries, examining witnesses, and litigation issues surrounding shareholder and deal disputes. He also teaches a law school class on litigation practice. Committed to pro bono work, his favorite trial story is when he defeated a slumlord and the judge cleared the courtroom because of the raucous cheering by the group of tenants and neighbors.