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General Liability and Casualty Defense
Transportation
Product Liability
Commercial Litigation
Illinois
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois
Loyola University Chicago School of Law
(J.D., cum laude, 2007)
United States Naval War College
(M.A., with distinction)
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
(M.A., B.S.)
Seth Howard joins Chartwell Law with a diverse and accomplished background in both the legal field and military service. He earned his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where he was an Associate Editor of the International Law Review and a Lisle Scholar. Seth also holds a Master of Arts in Defense and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College, specializing in Europe-Russia Security, and a Bachelor of Science in Cell & Molecular Biology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Seth’s legal career spans over 15 years, during which he has been the primary handling attorney on multiple high-stakes, eight-figure cases. His areas of expertise include transportation law, product liability, commercial litigation and small business law. He has successfully conducted and defended over a hundred depositions, led mediations, arbitrations, bench trials, federal and state jury trials, and provided strategic counsel to regional and national corporations on business formation, acquisitions, commercial real estate, and corporate reorganization.
In addition to his legal practice, Seth serves as a Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) in the U.S. Navy Reserve, where he held critical military intelligence roles for over 14 years. In 2017-2018 he deployed to Kuwait in support of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), where he led a branch in the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Division in the war against ISIS (Islamic State). He also spent 2023-2024 on active-duty as the Branch Chief of the Target System Analysis Branch at the U.S. European Command's Joint Intelligence Operations Center in support of the Ukraine crises. Seth's military experience also includes leadership roles and contributions to national security law analysis and counterterrorism efforts in Europe. He is currently assigned to a Reserve Indo-Pacific Command Unit, with a focus on East Asia.
Outside of his professional life, Seth is an avid musician, playing lead guitar and singing in various rock and blues bands in the Chicagoland area. His diverse interests and experiences make him a well-rounded and dynamic addition to the Chartwell Law team.
Illinois State Bar Association
American Bar Association
Transportation Lawyers Association
Joint Service Commendation Medal (2018, 2024)
Selected to Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® (2020)
Selected to Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Stars® (2016-2017)
Kentucky Colonel
“Blood-Alcohol Evidence and ‘Driving While Impaired’ in Illinois Civil Cases,” Illinois Bar Journal, May 2018, Volume 106, No. 5
“Navigating Spoliation of Evidence,” Illinois Defense Counsel Quarterly Monograph, 2013
“Extending the Conditional Privilege of Corporate Officers to an LLC,” Commercial Law Newsletter, Illinois Defense Counsel, Editor, 2012
“The Commercial Loss Doctrine: Recent Trends,” DRI Commercial Litigation Issue, 2011
“Preparing a Motion for Summary Judgment: When a Plaintiff Passes Away Before Giving Causation Testimony,” DRI The Voice, Issue 9, Volume 46, 2011
“The Contract Specifications Defense,” DRI Whisper, 2011
“Does the Automatic Stay of the Bankruptcy Code Trigger the Illinois Savings Statute: Why the Illinois Supreme Court Needs to Address the Issue,” Southern Illinois University Law Journal, 2011
“The Student Loan Bubble and the Race to Princeton Law School,” George Mason Journal of Law, Economics and Policy, Spring 2011
“International Manufacturers Beware,” DRI, Think Globally Section, 2010
“The Commercial Loss Doctrine: Ladies and Gentleman of the Jury…Look at This Tangle of Thorns,” DePaul Business and Commercial Law Journal, Summer 2010; republished by Thomson/Reuters/West 2011 treatise entitled “Issues in Construction and Technology”
“Post-Trial Motions and Remittitur,” Presented in Denver, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando, 2017
“Mock Trial,” Presented in Denver Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando, 2016
“Beware of Hidden Litigation Exposure,” Presented in Denver, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando, 2015
Seth Howard joins Chartwell Law with a diverse and accomplished background in both the legal field and military service. He earned his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where he was an Associate Editor of the International Law Review and a Lisle Scholar. Seth also holds a Master of Arts in Defense and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College, specializing in Europe-Russia Security, and a Bachelor of Science in Cell & Molecular Biology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Seth’s legal career spans over 15 years, during which he has been the primary handling attorney on multiple high-stakes, eight-figure cases. His areas of expertise include transportation law, product liability, commercial litigation and small business law. He has successfully conducted and defended over a hundred depositions, led mediations, arbitrations, bench trials, federal and state jury trials, and provided strategic counsel to regional and national corporations on business formation, acquisitions, commercial real estate, and corporate reorganization.
In addition to his legal practice, Seth serves as a Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) in the U.S. Navy Reserve, where he held critical military intelligence roles for over 14 years. In 2017-2018 he deployed to Kuwait in support of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), where he led a branch in the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Division in the war against ISIS (Islamic State). He also spent 2023-2024 on active-duty as the Branch Chief of the Target System Analysis Branch at the U.S. European Command's Joint Intelligence Operations Center in support of the Ukraine crises. Seth's military experience also includes leadership roles and contributions to national security law analysis and counterterrorism efforts in Europe. He is currently assigned to a Reserve Indo-Pacific Command Unit, with a focus on East Asia.
Outside of his professional life, Seth is an avid musician, playing lead guitar and singing in various rock and blues bands in the Chicagoland area. His diverse interests and experiences make him a well-rounded and dynamic addition to the Chartwell Law team.
Illinois State Bar Association
American Bar Association
Transportation Lawyers Association
Joint Service Commendation Medal (2018, 2024)
Selected to Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® (2020)
Selected to Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Stars® (2016-2017)
Kentucky Colonel
“Blood-Alcohol Evidence and ‘Driving While Impaired’ in Illinois Civil Cases,” Illinois Bar Journal, May 2018, Volume 106, No. 5
“Navigating Spoliation of Evidence,” Illinois Defense Counsel Quarterly Monograph, 2013
“Extending the Conditional Privilege of Corporate Officers to an LLC,” Commercial Law Newsletter, Illinois Defense Counsel, Editor, 2012
“The Commercial Loss Doctrine: Recent Trends,” DRI Commercial Litigation Issue, 2011
“Preparing a Motion for Summary Judgment: When a Plaintiff Passes Away Before Giving Causation Testimony,” DRI The Voice, Issue 9, Volume 46, 2011
“The Contract Specifications Defense,” DRI Whisper, 2011
“Does the Automatic Stay of the Bankruptcy Code Trigger the Illinois Savings Statute: Why the Illinois Supreme Court Needs to Address the Issue,” Southern Illinois University Law Journal, 2011
“The Student Loan Bubble and the Race to Princeton Law School,” George Mason Journal of Law, Economics and Policy, Spring 2011
“International Manufacturers Beware,” DRI, Think Globally Section, 2010
“The Commercial Loss Doctrine: Ladies and Gentleman of the Jury…Look at This Tangle of Thorns,” DePaul Business and Commercial Law Journal, Summer 2010; republished by Thomson/Reuters/West 2011 treatise entitled “Issues in Construction and Technology”
