Chicago attorneys David Wise and Francis Morrissey have formally ended their longtime law partnership as part of a deal to end heated lawsuits against one another, in which they each accused the other of personal and professional misconduct and breaches of contract.
In early 2023, Morrissey launched the court fight by suing Wise in Cook County Circuit Court.
The two men had been partners for years at the Chicago personal injury firm of Wise Morrissey LLC. According to information supplied by Wise, the firm was founded in 2002, and has since obtained more than $1 billion in settlements from personal injury lawsuits, including claims for medical malpractice, product liability, and construction and transportation injuries.
According to Wise, the firm obtained more than $110 million in settlements in 2021 alone, including a $90 million settlement of a work injury case.
However, in recent years, the relationship between the firm's principals appeared to have quickly degraded, according to court documents, leading ultimately to the public falling out in court.
In a lawsuit filed Jan. 5, Morrissey accused Wise of conspiring with another Chicago lawyer, John Nisivaco, to conceal from him a multi-million dollar personal injury settlement. Morrissey asserted this cost him his share of a $5 million legal fee coming to the Wise & Morrissey firm.
Both Wise and Nisivaco denied the claims, and called the lawsuit "baseless" and "unfounded."
Wise, however, responded a month later by countersuing Morrissey, accusing his estranged partner of filing a "malicious" and "incendiary" lawsuit to allegedly obscure Morrissey's own alleged personal and professional failures to live up to his obligations to the firm.
According to the lawsuit, Wise accused Morrissey of being "inexplicably absent from work for substantial periods, causing more work for Wise and other attorneys at the firm.
Further, Wise drew attention to personal incidents which Wise said brought embarrassing attention to the firm, including an incident in which Morrissey was allegedly a passenger in a vehicle driven by a drunken Cook County judge that crashed into a parked van in April 2022.
In a statement following the filing of that lawsuit, Morrissey's attorney, Eugene Geekie, said Wise's countersuit amounted to a "desperate public relations effort to salvage his reputation."
Proceedings in the dueling suits simmered in the months that followed until this month.
On Oct. 11, a Cook County judge granted an order noting that Wise and Morrissey had reached a settlement ending Wise's countersuit.
That was followed on Oct. 12 by an order from a different judge also ending Morrissey's action against Wise. That order was styled as an order dismissing the case with prejudice, meaning Morrissey would be prohibited from attempting to sue Wise again over the same claims.
Terms of the settlement were not made public.
Neither Morrissey nor Geekie replied to questions from The Cook County Record about the settlement.
A public relations representative for Wise, however, issued a statement, saying the two lawyers had "resolved all their legal disputes and have both dismissed all pending litigation."
The spokesperson said, "Wise and Morrissey will practice law separately in the future."
Wise will practice through the existing firm, now known as the Wise Law Offices, while Morrissey will practice as Morrissey Legal Group LLC.
“I wish Frank the best with his future endeavors," Wise said in a prepared statement. "I look forward to working with our outstanding legal team at Wise Law Offices and continuing the firm’s long track record of success obtaining justice for our clients."
Wise was represented in the litigation against Morrissey by attorneys Martin J. O'Hara and Steven P. Blonder, of the Chicago firm of Much Shelist.
Nisivaco was defended by attorneys Daniel F. Konicek and Amanda J. Hamilton, of Konicek & Dillon, of suburban Geneva.