Charles V. Muscarello has practiced law for over 25 years and is the principal of Muscarello Law, LLC. Mr. Muscarello represents both well-established and emerging businesses, ranging in size from closely held businesses and start-ups to large, multi-national conglomerates, in a broad spectrum of industries and backgrounds. Generally, Mr. Muscarello acts as an outside general counsel and trusted strategic adviser to privately held companies and the owners of such companies in both transactional and litigation matters. Mr. Muscarello is principal in his own law firm both at Muscarello Law, LLC and its predecessor Denker & Muscarello, LLC. In addition to Mr. Muscarello being an attorney, he is a Certified Public Accountant, receiving his CPA designation for the University of Illinois Board of Examiners in 1997.
Previously, Mr. Muscarello worked at Bochte, Kuzniar & Marrese, P.C., from 2001 through 2003, where he similarly focused on corporate transactional matters, civil litigation and governmental representation.
In 1999, Mr. Muscarello rejoined on a full-time basis a venture capital funded company for which Mr. Muscarello had worked prior to his completion of law school. Commerx, Inc. was a forerunner to today’s cloud-based architecture, then operating a business-to-business internet portal ("B2B") which sought to electronically integrate the procurement, auction and supply chain management functions of buyers and sellers of industrial raw materials, indirect materials and services. Commerx's flagship portal, PlasticsNet.com, was recognized as the first of its kind by the Smithsonian Institute in 2000. While at Commerx, Mr. Muscarello operated as corporate counsel where he was responsible for creating and negotiating strategic partnerships with leading software and technology partners, creating strategic partnerships with industry specialists and contributed to prospectuses used for raising investment funds.
Mr. Muscarello started his legal career at Drendel, Tatnall, Hoffman & McCracken, P.C. where he concentrated in governmental matters, civil litigation and corporate transactions from 1995 through 1999. During this time, Mr. Muscarello served as a Director and Vice-President of the Batavia Community Chest/United Way, was a Director of the Fox Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross and served as the Pro Bono Counsel of the Batavia Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Muscarello attended the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Missouri, where he received his Juris Doctor in 1995. In his final semester of law school, Mr. Muscarello interned in the United States Senate in Washington, D.C. during what most consider the most active legislative tenure in American history (the first hundred days of the Contract for America in the 104th Congress). As a legal intern for the Governmental Affairs Committee, Mr. Muscarello worked with the Senators to draft proposed Constitutional amendments and legislation, as well as participated in subcommittee hearings on governmental powers, authority, and abuse matters. Working in such a dynamic and partisan environment taught Mr. Muscarello many experiences in both social interaction and consensus building. In 1992, Mr. Muscarello graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he received his Bachelor of Science and majored in accounting.
Mr. Muscarello is admitted to practice law before the Illinois State Courts (1995), the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (1995), the Trial Bar, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (2006) and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Seventh Circuit (2007).
Certification
Certified Public Accountant, 1997
Honors and Awards
Lawyers of Distinction, 2018-21
AVVO Top Rated Lawyer, 2017-21
America’s Most Honored Professionals, 2018-21
Selected Accomplishments
• Advising numerous closely-held and start-up businesses in corporate governance, ownership rights and general business matters, including acting as outside general counsel for numerous entities.
• Representation of leading technology companies in contract negotiations, mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures and the acquisition and procurement of intellectual property.
• Drafting of successful private placement memorandum, limited partnership agreements, limited liability company operating agreements, subscription agreements, management agreements, and all necessary regulatory filings for private equity funds, venture capital funds and portfolio companies.
• Preparation of various prospectuses used for acquisition of investment capital into both portfolio companies seeking venture capital/private equity funds and venture capital/private equity funds seeking to invest into portfolio companies.
• Participation in the drafting of a S-1 registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange.
• Representation of both commercial lenders and corporate borrowers with respect to equity, debt, mezzanine and secured asset financing.
• Representation of buyers and sellers of commercial, agricultural and personal real estate, including §1031 tax-free exchanges.
• Successful representation of corporate entities, individuals and governmental authorities in litigation and arbitration at trial and in appeals, both in state and federal court.
• Successful representation of corporate entities and individuals in litigation involving breaches of contracts, ownership disputes, removal of owners and officers of various types of entities, both for cause and other reasons, as well as other similar matters.
• Litigation of an arbitration in over 90 days of hearings involving substantial breach of contract, fraud and lien claims.
• Representation of a number of governmental entities as outside general counsel.
• Representation of governmental entities in the acquisition of infrastructure loans backed by bond offerings.
• Representation of governmental entities negotiating development deals involving over 1,000 development units.
• Successfully challenged the constitutionality of certain actions by governmental authorities.
• Successful representation of governmental authorities in disputes with other governmental authorities.
• Successfully litigated numerous land use, takings, zoning, trespass and nuisance disputes with large scale electricity generating wind turbine developments involving hundreds of land owners.
