Chicago Options Associates

Chicago Options Associates (COA) is a finance company incorporated in Chicago, Illinois, whose stated business specialization is the trading of options and futures contracts. The company was established in 1987 by Michael E. Davis and Oliver R. W. Pergams, both of whom had University of Chicago backgrounds. Its early operations included offices in Chicago and Philadelphia, reflecting a business focused on financial markets rather than a consumer-facing brand. The company became publicly notable partly through its association with Jimmy Wales, who later co-founded Wikipedia. In 1994, Michael Davis was serving as COA's chief executive and hired Wales, then a graduate student in economics, to analyze the firm's pricing-model strategy. Wales left his graduate program and worked for COA as research director from 1994 through 1998. His work involved analyzing financial markets, including movements in foreign currencies and interest rates, and Davis encouraged him to take a more aggressive approach to trading. Davis, Wales, and Tim Shell later collaborated on the Internet company Bomis, and Davis and Shell subsequently became involved with Wales in the initial board of the Wikimedia Foundation. COA's business identity is therefore tied to two different aspects: derivatives trading in Chicago's financial sector and its historical connection to the early professional career of Jimmy Wales. The available reference material does not establish the company's current ownership, leadership, website, financial performance, or operating status. A 2013 reference placed the company on LaSalle Street in Chicago, but no current location is confirmed here. The company and Michael E. Davis were also defendants in litigation that ultimately reached the Illinois Supreme Court. In the underlying dispute, Brian Dowling obtained a judgment of $817,830.45 against COA and Davis. After the judgment, Davis transferred funds connected with an attorney retainer to DLA Piper, a law firm that had assisted him with the purchase of a Florida home. Dowling argued that the retainer should be available to satisfy the judgment. Lower courts ruled in Dowling's favor, but the Illinois Supreme Court reversed those decisions and ruled for DLA Piper. The case, Dowling v. Chicago Options Associates, became significant in Illinois legal practice because the court recognized the advance-payment retainer and distinguished it from other forms of attorney retainers. The court's treatment was later reflected in Illinois Rule of Professional Conduct 1.15(c), effective in 2010.

Chicago Options Associates was founded in 1987 in Chicago by Michael E. Davis and Oliver R. W. Pergams. Both founders had ties to the University of Chicago, and the company developed as a financial-market business specializing in options and futures contracts. Its early footprint included Chicago and Philadelphia offices. The available historical account describes the firm as having established a successful reputation in Chicago by the mid-1990s. Michael Davis was the company's chief executive officer in 1994. That year he recruited Jimmy Wales, then a graduate student in economics, to examine COA's pricing-model strategy. Wales left his graduate studies and joined the company as research director. From 1994 to 1998, he analyzed market behavior, including foreign-currency and interest-rate movements. Davis reportedly mentored Wales in more aggressive financial trading. This period later became notable because Wales went on to co-found Wikipedia and became a central figure in the Wikimedia movement. Davis, Wales, and Tim Shell formed the Internet company Bomis in 1996. When Wales moved toward establishing a nonprofit organization to manage Wikipedia in 2003, Davis, Shell, and Wales formed the initial three-member Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees. These relationships gave COA a place in the early professional history of one of the Internet's best-known nonprofit projects, although COA itself remained a derivatives-trading company rather than an Internet brand. The most consequential legal episode associated with the company was Dowling v. Chicago Options Associates, Inc. The underlying litigation involved creditor Brian Dowling's claim against Chicago Options Associates and Michael Davis. Dowling obtained a judgment of $817,830.45. Following entry of the judgment, Davis placed funds connected with a $100,000 retainer into a trust arrangement controlled by DLA Piper. The law firm had assisted Davis with the purchase of a home in Florida. Dowling argued that the retainer should be recovered for satisfaction of the judgment. The circuit court ruled for Dowling, and the appellate court affirmed. The Illinois Supreme Court subsequently reversed those decisions and ruled in favor of DLA Piper, holding that the advance-payment retainer became the law firm's property when paid under the relevant arrangement. The Illinois State Bar Association and Chicago Bar Association submitted amicus briefs supporting the law firm's position. The decision was important beyond the parties because it was the first Illinois Supreme Court recognition of the advance-payment retainer as a distinct arrangement. The court distinguished it from a classic retainer, which compensates an attorney for availability or a defined period, and a security retainer, which remains segregated as client-related funds. The legal principles from the decision were later incorporated into Illinois Rule of Professional Conduct 1.15(c), adopted in 2009 and effective January 1, 2010. The case consequently became a reference point for Illinois lawyers and legal commentators discussing the classification and treatment of retainers. A reference cited the company as being located on LaSalle Street in Chicago in 2013. No reliable current information in the supplied materials confirms whether COA remains active, who owns it, who manages it, or whether it maintains a public website. Its documented historical identity is that of a privately held Chicago financial company with expertise in options and futures trading and a notable connection to Jimmy Wales and the early Wikimedia Foundation.

• 2013

  LaSalle Street location reported

  [1]Chicago Options Associatesen.wikipedia.org

  A reference account placed Chicago Options Associates on LaSalle Street in Chicago; current occupancy and operations are not confirmed.

• 2009

  Illinois adopts related retainer rule

  [1]Chicago Options Associatesen.wikipedia.org

  Illinois codified the retainer principles developed in the case through Rule 1.15(c), which became effective in 2010.

• 2007

  Illinois Supreme Court decision in Dowling litigation

  [1]Chicago Options Associatesen.wikipedia.org

  The Illinois Supreme Court ruled for DLA Piper in the dispute over a retainer connected with Michael Davis, reversing lower-court decisions favoring creditor Brian Dowling.

• 2003

  Initial Wikimedia Foundation board connection

  [1]Chicago Options Associatesen.wikipedia.org

  Davis, Wales, and Shell formed the initial three-member Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees when Wales established the nonprofit organization to manage Wikipedia.

• 1998

  Wales's COA tenure ends

  [1]Chicago Options Associatesen.wikipedia.org

  Jimmy Wales's documented period as Chicago Options Associates research director concluded.

• 1996

  Bomis founded by associated principals

  [1]Chicago Options Associatesen.wikipedia.org

  Michael Davis, Jimmy Wales, and Tim Shell formed the Internet company Bomis, extending the professional association that began at COA.

• 1994

  Jimmy Wales joins as research director

  [1]Chicago Options Associatesen.wikipedia.org

  Chief executive Michael Davis hired Jimmy Wales to study pricing-model strategy. Wales left graduate school and joined COA as research director.

• 1987

  Company founded

  [1]Chicago Options Associatesen.wikipedia.org

  Michael E. Davis and Oliver R. W. Pergams established Chicago Options Associates as a Chicago finance company focused on options and futures trading.

A Chicago financial-market trading firm focused on derivatives, particularly options and futures, with a historically research-driven profile.

• Derivatives trading · 1987

  Options trading

  Trading in options contracts was one of COA's principal documented activities. The company operated as a financial-market participant rather than as a retail brokerage brand, and its work included analysis of pricing models and market movements.

• Derivatives trading · 1987

  Futures trading

  COA specialized in futures contracts alongside options. The supplied historical material does not identify particular exchanges, asset classes, contract volumes, or current product offerings.

• Financial research · 1994

  Pricing-model research

  The company employed research personnel to analyze trading and pricing strategies. Jimmy Wales was hired in 1994 to study pricing-model strategy and market behavior, including foreign currencies and interest rates.

• 2007

  Illinois Supreme Court ruling on the Davis retainerOther

  Background

  After Brian Dowling obtained a judgment against Chicago Options Associates and Michael E. Davis, he sought access to a $100,000 retainer paid to DLA Piper in connection with Davis's legal representation.

  Action taken

  The Illinois Supreme Court reversed the lower courts and held that the advance-payment retainer belonged to DLA Piper rather than being available to Dowling as a judgment creditor.

  Aftermath

  The decision recognized advance-payment retainers in Illinois and later influenced Rule 1.15(c), which codified the relevant classifications for legal practice.

  Judgment against Chicago Options Associates and Michael E. Davis. US$817,830.45 (2007 litigation)

  Source

1. 1Chicago Options Associatesen.wikipedia.org