Kirkland & Ellis’ Mark Filip Will Speak at Inaugural Chicago Forum on Global Cities Event

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is proud to sponsor the inaugural Chicago Forum on Global Cities, hosted by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the Financial Times, taking place May 27-29. Mark Filip, a litigation partner and member of Kirkland’s Global Management Executive Committee, will be a panelist at the event.

The Chicago Forum on Global Cities will provide a critical venue for advancing innovative thinking around how global cities—those cities with the most significant concentrations of global business and services, education, arts and tourism—can be agents of change.

Forum sessions will focus on the key pillars of urban life—commerce and the economy; education; civics and society; and arts, architecture and culture—and the search for solutions to growing issues such as global warming, inequality, terrorism, immigration, infrastructure and cybercrime. 

“As a global law firm operating and representing clients with business interests in many of the world’s largest cities, we welcome the opportunity to participate in this important discussion and to offer our unique perspective on global business and regulation,” said Jeffrey C. Hammes, Chairman of Kirkland’s Global Management Executive Committee.

Mr. Filip will speak on the “Safer Cities: Security and Vulnerability” panel at 3:30 p.m. CT on May 28. The panel will address the future of safety for global cities and what unique security threats exist for them in such areas as terrorism, cybersecurity and violence. They will discuss how these cities work to prevent or respond to threats with their community outreach and education efforts, as well as their police and security forces, technology, and communication systems. They will also talk about how global cities collaborate and share best practices and how they are preparing for the next possible threat.

Mr. Filip will be joined on the panel by Khoo Boon Hui, former president of Interpol and senior advisor to the Ministry of Home Affairs of Singapore; Keith Williams, president and CEO of UL LLC, a global independent safety science company; and Wong Chun-Kau, Jolly, adjunct professor at the Institute of Smart City at Shanghai University and Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications. Gillian Tett, U.S. managing editor of Financial Times, will moderate the panel.

“Kirkland & Ellis works with some of the largest multinationals in the world, helping them navigate an increasingly complex and multijurisdictional enforcement environment, and security is a topic that is top of mind in discussions of how to avoid vulnerability and protect their assets, including intellectual property and proprietary information,” Mr. Filip said. “The world’s great cities and governments are facing many of the same security concerns and challenges at the highest levels, and there is much we can learn from bringing together leaders across all facets of urban life to encourage discussion, cooperation and collaboration critical to improving safety and security across the board.”

Mr. Filip leads the Firm’s government enforcement defense and internal investigations group and helps lead its litigation practice. Prior to joining Kirkland, Mr. Filip was Deputy U.S. Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice and oversaw all of its criminal and civil enforcement efforts. He also served as a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and, earlier in his career, as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois. Last year, he was appointed to a four-person panel charged with conducting a review of the U.S. Secret Service and White House security after several security breaches.

The Chicago Forum, which is led by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs in partnership with the Financial Times, will address key questions throughout its various panels, such as: Are global cities competitors or collaborators? Can cities solve problems countries can’t? How will cities shape the future? How will the future shape cities? Cities drive the world. What drives cities?

A list of confirmed speaks and panel topics are available at www.chicagoforum.org. The opening and closing sessions are open to the public.

About The Chicago Council on Global Affairs

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs (www.thechicagocouncil.org), founded in 1922, is an independent, non-partisan organization committed to educating the public — and influencing the public discourse — on global issues of the day. The Council provides a forum in Chicago for world leaders, policymakers, and other experts to speak to its members and the public on these issues. Long known for its public opinion surveys of American views on foreign policy, The Chicago Council also brings together stakeholders to examine issues and offer policy insight into areas such as global agriculture, the global economy, global energy, global cities, global security, and global immigration.