Tinos Diamantatos
Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP
White collar litigation, government investigations

When his peers describe Morgan Lewis attorney Tinos Diamantatos, they use one word in particular: “formidable.”

As in, few trial attorneys in the Chicago area are as formidable when fighting for their clients.

Amarjeet Bhachu, an assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Illinois, is a good example. Bhachu points to the work that Diamantatos turned in during the eight years when he, too, worked at the United States Attorney’s office. During this time, Diamantatos tried a variety of complex federal criminal cases, including RICO conspiracy cases involving the Latin Kings street gang and a made member of the Chicago Mob.

“Tinos demonstrated his mastery of the art of direct and cross examination, and received across-the-board guilty verdicts against the charged defendants,” Bhachu said. “It can be safely said that Tinos is one of the most formidable trial attorneys of his generation here in Chicago.”

Today, Diamantatos is a partner at Chicago’s Morgan Lewis, working in the firm’s litigation, regulation and enforcement practice.

Morgan Stogsdill, an attorney with Chicago’s Beermann Pritikin Mirabelli Swerdlove, describes Diamantatos as a top trial attorney above all else.

Stogsdill pointed to Diamantatos’ selection to be the next Chicago Inn of Court president as evidence that this attorney has developed a reputation as one of the most talented trial attorneys in the area. The Chicago Inn of Court is a prestigious and selective group of Chicago’s top lawyers and judges. Each meeting of this group is attended by the heads of top law firms, respected attorneys, and lauded members of the judiciary.

Stogsdill, though, said that anyone who has worked with Diamantatos would not be surprised that he has been elected to run this invitation-only group.

“Tinos will work until midnight just to help someone in need,” Stogsdill said. “He will do whatever it takes to help a potential client find clarity.”

Marny Zimmer with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office said that Diamantatos’ career is decorated with impressive legal victories. Zimmer points to the case in 2008, just before Thanksgiving, involving a plot to assassinate an assistant U.S. state’s attorney by a defendant.

“Tinos gave up many nights and holidays to achieve justice in this case,” Zimmer said. “Everyone involved in the case, including the assistant U.S. attorney who was one of the targets of the threat (the other was a federal agent), the agents investigating the crime and the presiding judge praised Tinos, his management of the investigation, his communication of difficult messages and the preparation of the case for trial.”

Diamantatos’ successes have continued at Morgan Lewis. Last September, he co-led a team that secured a complete dismissal for a publicly-traded corporation in the managed-services industry against allegations that the company and others conspired to submit false claims and statements relating to government contracts with the City of Chicago and State of Illinois.

In December of last year, Diamantatos was second chair on a trial team defending a former public official in a federal criminal case in Los Angeles. Following a three-week trial, a mistrial was declared after an 11-1 jury deadlock for acquittal on conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges.

Because of his legal successes, Diamantatos is a sought-after commentator on high-profile white crime and government corruption. He has appeared on camera in prime-time news segments covering police brutality in the city, the alleged sexual misconduct by former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert and the Department of Justice’s investigation into the Chicago Police Department.

In his spare time, he mentors aspiring attorneys, coaches law school trial teams, and serves as an adjunct trial advocacy professor.