Blake Sercye

Blake uses his trial, commercial, and legal operations experience to provide efficient and impactful results to businesses and individuals in state and federal court, and alternative dispute resolution. He is a business-focused litigator who tailors his guidance to accomplish his client’s business goals.

Blake is a trusted advisor to the C-suite executives, corporate directors, and senior leaders in private equity, commercial real estate, hospitality and retail, manufacturing, and science and technology. He counsels clients in disputes involving antitrust laws, business torts, business partnerships, representations and warranties, real estate finance and zoning, and employment matters. Clients benefit from Blake’s business-focused legal advice, honed through his experience as both outside and in-house counsel.

Blake previously served as Chief of Staff to the Chief Legal and Administrative Officer at a Fortune 500 materials science company. Blake provided legal counsel regarding domestic and international disputes involving intellectual property, antitrust laws, and commercial agreements in the company’s most significant matters. He also led efforts to reduce operational expenditures companywide by helping set cost reduction targets for corporate functions and aiding function leaders in developing plans to meet their reduction goals. After serving as Chief of Staff, Blake worked as the lead commercial counsel for one of the company’s business units with more than $800 million in annual revenue.

In addition to his Fortune 500 in-house experience, Blake served as General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer for a startup software-as-a-service company that was later acquired by private equity. There, he negotiated sales and supply agreements, set and measured company performance objectives, and crafted investor communications.

Blake began his legal career at an Am Law 100 firm representing clients in complex commercial litigation across private equity, financial services, and hospitality and retail sectors. Blake also represented corporate and individual clients in white-collar matters involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, False Claims Act, and anti-kickback laws.

Blake’s civic leadership includes serving as Chairperson of Chicago’s Zoning Board of Appeals, a quasi-judicial body charged with reviewing variance and special use requests, and appeals to the City’s zoning code. He also served as President of the Illinois Medical District Commission, a board charged with making zoning and land-use decisions in the nation’s second-largest medical district.