Theodore R. Eppel

Theodore R. Eppel (T.R.) is a Shareholder and practices in Butzel’s Troy office. Mr. Eppel is a former state court prosecutor with almost twenty years of criminal and civil litigation experience. Mr. Eppel is licensed to practice in Michigan and Illinois.

Mr. Eppel has defended various high-profile federal and state white-collar criminal cases, involving business offenses, health care fraud, public corruption, regulatory offenses, criminal antitrust matters, tax offenses, securities-related offenses and alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He also represents clients in criminal appeals, civil RICO cases and complex civil litigation and he has conducted numerous internal investigations for corporate clients of all sizes.

Mr. Eppel’s past clients have included: executives for large automotive manufacturers in investigations into vehicle recalls and sales reporting practices; employees of an international oil company involved in a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico; employees of auto parts suppliers accused of anti-trust violations; an executive for a pharmaceutical company alleged to have provided kickbacks to doctors; employees of a medical device manufacturer accused of violating FDA regulations; various healthcare providers accused of healthcare fraud; companies accused of violating the False Claims Act; politicians and business owners accused of bribery; an in-house attorney at a multi-national corporation accused of public contracting fraud; the owner of a meat processing plant accused of immigration fraud; an international honey processing company and its owner accused of violating anti-dumping tariffs and mislabeling honey imports; an international flavoring company accused of violating shipping regulations; employees of a multi-national company accused of paying bribes to foreign officials in Brazil, Mexico and India; and employees of construction companies accused of bid rigging.

Upon earning his law degree, Mr. Eppel practiced federal and state litigation in Chicago with the law firm of Seyfarth Shaw. He then became an Assistant State’s Attorney for Cook County and later participated in drafting Illinois criminal legislation as a Staff Attorney for the Illinois Rewrite and Reform Commission. That position culminated in his service as co-author of the Final Report of the Illinois Criminal Code Rewrite and Reform Commission (2003). After leaving the State’s Attorney’s office, Mr. Eppel practiced white collar criminal defense and civil litigation at Monico & Spevack and Katten Muchin Rosenman, LLP.

Mr. Eppel is a graduate of Indiana University (J.D., 1997, cum laude) and the University of Michigan (B.A., 1993, with honors).

All Related Practice Areas

Education

Indiana University 1997, J.D.

University of Michigan 1993, B.A.

Admissions

Memberships

• Seventh Circuit Bar Association
• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
• Chicago Bar Association

Awards & Recognitions

DBusiness Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit, Legal Malpractice Law, 2020; Litigation – Antitrust, 2020 & 2021; White-Collar Criminal Defense, 2021-2023