Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP announced today that Terance A. Gonsalves has joined Katten as a partner in the firm’s Litigation practice, where he will focus on complex litigation, regulatory and compliance matters.
“Tery has broad experience as a litigator, having worked in both private practice for a number of years and as in-house counsel in the for-profit education space,” said Vincent A. F. Sergi, Katten’s chairman. “He will play an integral role in the firm’s litigation and regulatory practice focusing on this growing educational services space.”
Gonsalves was formerly vice president and deputy general counsel of litigation for Career Education Corporation (CEC), one of the world’s leading educational services companies that provides post-secondary education options for more than 70,000 students in the United States and internationally. While at CEC he oversaw all commercial and employment litigation pending in state and federal courts at the trial and appellate levels, including class actions, qui tams, shareholder litigation, individual student suits, employment discrimination, wage and hour litigation and other business disputes. He also managed CEC’s response to several state and federal government investigations.
Prior to working at CEC, Gonsalves spent a decade in private practice litigating complex commercial cases in state and federal courts, including contract, trademark, trade secret, unfair competition, securities, fiduciary duty, employment, covenants not to compete, wrongful death, negligence and toxic tort cases.
“Tery is exceptionally skilled in regulatory and investigative matters and has great trial experience,” said Sheldon Zenner, national head of Katten’s Litigation practice. “His knowledge and diverse work background will be a great asset to our team.”
Before entering the field of law, Gonsalves served as a police detective for a number of years, conducting investigations of felony and misdemeanor offenses including homicides, criminal sexual assault, child abductions and forgeries. He earned certifications as a Gang Crime Specialist, Field Training Officer and Asset Forfeiture Coordinator, and was given three department commendations and seven letters of honorable mention.
In 2012, Gonsalves was named Top Assistant General Counsel by First Chair magazine and was given an award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service by the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.
He received his JD with honors from DePaul University College of Law and his BA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
