Theodore Poulos

Partner

Theodore “Ted” Poulos has over 35 years of experience as a trial lawyer, focusing his practice on federal white-collar criminal defense matters and complex business litigation. He has tried dozens of criminal and civil cases in federal and state courts around the country. A former Assistant United States Attorney, Mr. Poulos brings impeccable, seasoned judgment and investigative skills to each client, enabling him to identify the key issues, uncover and recognize the import and effect of each piece of evidence, and to properly assess the strengths and weaknesses of any case, civil or criminal, regardless of its complexity.

He has guided well over 100 clients through the harrowing experience of a federal criminal prosecution and hundreds more involved in criminal investigations. Mr. Poulos knows what is possible, and just as importantly, what is not. He has a well-established record of achieving the best possible results for his clients.

Mr. Poulos is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, an honor granted by invitation only, and only to the most highly qualified trial lawyers—representing less than one percent of the profession in the United States and Canada. For many years Mr. Poulos has been recognized in numerous publications, such as Chambers & Partners, Super Lawyers and many others, as one of the most highly skilled and highly regarded white-collar criminal defense attorneys in the Midwest. In June 2025, Forbes named Mr. Poulos the best lawyer in Illinois for white-collar defense. And for nearly three decades, his peers have given Mr. Poulos an AV rating in Martindale-Hubble, the highest rating possible.

Mr. Poulos handles all aspects of federal and state criminal prosecutions, representing witnesses, targets, and defendants from the investigative phase through trial, and, if necessary, sentencing and appeals. While his primary focus is the representation of individuals, Mr. Poulos also has extensive experience counseling corporations and closely-held businesses, municipalities, and labor unions and assisting in-house cou