Overview

Rachel C. Agius is a litigation attorney in Holland & Knight's Chicago office and a member of the firm's Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice. Ms. Agius represents businesses in commercial disputes at the trial and appellate levels and in arbitrations, including matters pending in international tribunals, foreign courts and U.S. courts. Ms. Agius focuses her practice on complex business disputes, class action defense and arbitration. She advocates for clients through all phases of litigation from pre-suit counseling to appeals across a range of industries, including financial services, energy and natural resources, real estate, media and healthcare.

In the energy and natural resources sector, Ms. Agius has represented energy and energy-related companies in a variety of commercial, product liability and regulatory disputes. She also handles complex business disputes, data privacy litigation, cybersecurity, breach of contract, business torts, fraud, breach of fiduciary duties, commercial landlord-tenant actions and product liability claims.

In addition, Ms. Agius' data privacy practice includes defending clients in class actions involving biometric privacy laws such as the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), as well as advising clients on compliance with data privacy laws nationwide. Ms. Agius also defends clients facing mass arbitration claims, in which a plaintiff's firms gather hundreds or thousands of claims and assert them simultaneously as individual arbitration demands. Holland & Knight uses artificial intelligence (AI) and automation technology to defend large volumes of claims, which can number in the hundreds of thousands, at scale. Her mass arbitration defense practice also includes advising clients on revising privacy policies and terms of use to address mass arbitration.

Ms. Agius is an active community volunteer and serves as a member of the associate board of directors of Chicago HOPES for Kids, a nonprofit organization that provides academic and literacy support to children living in Chicago's homeless shelters.

During law school, Ms. Agius externed for the Judicial Trial Chambers at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands.

Representative Experience

  • Successfully defended a South American bank in $27 million dispute seeking to set aside arbitration agreement and revive previously settled claims
  • Represented shareholders in business valuation-related litigation
  • Represented a property management firm against real estate fraud allegations
  • Represented a client against breach of contract, fraud and trade secret violation claims asserting more than $12 million in damages in federal court in Illinois
  • Advised a client on litigation involving insurance coverage disputes
  • Successfully defended against Anti-SLAPP claims on behalf of corporate clients
  • Prosecuted commercial evictions on behalf of a global investment management firm

  • Represented natural gas companies in litigation and regulatory matters, including before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)
  • Defended a natural gas company against a consumer class action involving claims under California's consumer protection and recording laws
  • Represented an energy sector client in pursuing claims against a utility company for violations of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), Sherman Act, misrepresentation and breach of fiduciary duty
  • Navigated a natural gas client through an investigation brought by the CPUC and District Attorney's Office for alleged regulatory violations resulting in a conclusion of the investigation without charges

  • Representation of multiple Illinois employers in defense of class action litigation brought under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA)
  • Defended against a class action involving claims brought under the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA)
  • Defended multiple domestic and foreign airlines against personal injury and wrongful death claims
  • Defended a car rental company against class action alleging violation of consumer protection laws

  • Assisted in representing a broker in a matter involving U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigations for alleged white collar criminal offenses, including accusations of securities and wire fraud
  • Assisted in representing a banking institution with a private securities class action relating to residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS)

  • Defended private equity firm in trade secret and noncompetition claims
  • Defended a client against former employer for claims of breach of noncompetition and nondisclosure agreements and theft of trade secrets

Credentials

Education
  • UCLA School of Law, J.D.
  • University of California, Berkeley, B.A.
Bar Admissions/Licenses
  • California
  • Illinois
Court Admissions
  • All State Courts in California
  • U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
Memberships
  • Chicago Bar Association
  • Federal Bar Association
  • Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago
Honors & Awards
  • Excellence in Pro Bono Service, Federal Bar Association, Chicago Chapter, 2018
  • Pro Bono All-Star, Holland & Knight, 2016-2017, 2020
  • Chicago Bar Association, Leadership Institute Graduate, 2018
Spoken Languages
  • English
  • Italian

Publications

News