Daniel T. Burley Associate

Named a “Rising Star” by Illinois Super Lawyers for three straight years (2021 – 2023), Dan handles all aspects of commercial disputes, from discovery through appeal. He has assisted various clients—from Fortune 10 companies to emerging startups—with a wide range of matters, including product liability actions, class action defense, trade secret claims, trademark infringement claims, alleged breaches of restrictive covenants, and other business torts. Dan has experience litigating in federal and state trial and appellate courts across the country, particularly in Illinois state courts. Dan’s litigation experience includes drafting complaints, dispositive motions, and other filings in complicated disputes; managing e-discovery in large-scale litigations; and taking and defending depositions of corporate witnesses. He has also participated in all phases of high-stakes jury trials, including drafting and arguing evidentiary and expert motions, preparing witnesses for direct and cross-examinations, and supporting lead lawyers in opening and closing arguments.

Dan maintains an active pro bono practice. He has successfully represented asylum seekers from Cameroon, Guatemala, Honduras, and Togo. He has also handled claims before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). For his work on asylum and immigration-related matters, he was named a “Rising Star” by the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) at the 2022 Human Rights Awards. He also has extensive experience with gun safety litigation, including recently drafting a successful brief before the U.S. Supreme Court that led to a Chicago suburb being allowed to continue enforcing its prohibition on the sale of assault rifles.

Prior to joining Perkins Coie, Dan received his J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law. He served as an articles editor for The Elder Law Journal, where he won  "Best Note" for his article. While in law school, Dan was a teaching assistant for Legal Writing and Analysis and Introduction to Advocacy courses. He won the CALI Excellence for the Future Award for earning the top grade in Legal Writing and Analysis and the school’s Foreclosure Law Clinic.

In law school, Dan externed for U.S. Magistrate Judge Eric I. Long for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois and for Judge Daniel Gillespie of the Circuit Court of Cook County. He also clerked in the public housing department of Louisiana’s largest legal aid organization.

Before law school, Dan earned his B.A. in history and his Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri, where he graduated in the top 10% of his class. After graduating, he worked as a reporter for several newspapers in the Southeast, where he wrote about business development, criminal trials, environmental issues, and local and state government. His work received state and national awards for investigative reporting.