Former Chicago Corporation Counsel Steve Patton Returns to Kirkland
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is pleased to announce that Steve Patton has returned to the Firm as of counsel in the Litigation Practice Group, after working as Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago.
“Steve is an accomplished trial lawyer with significant experience handling large-scale, complex litigation matters, often spanning jurisdictions and involving many parties and interests. He is also a skilled crisis manager, and a great leader and mentor for young lawyers. We are delighted to welcome him back to Kirkland,” said Jeffery C. Hammes, Chairman of Kirkland’s Global Management Executive Committee.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed Mr. Patton as his senior legal advisor and the City’s Corporation Counsel six years ago and he left the position in February. Prior to that, he spent over 30 years at Kirkland as a litigator. A past chair of the Firm’s Client Development and Litigation Management committees, his practice as a senior litigator involved advising clients in connection with a number of “bet-the-company” matters. He has extensive trial and appellate experience in a wide variety of complex commercial litigation areas, including antitrust, breach of contract, product liability and ERISA cases.
“We are excited to have Steve back at Kirkland,” said Mark Filip, a litigation partner and a member of Kirkland’s Global Management Executive Committee. “Steve is a superb technical lawyer, and he also can counsel clients on all of the related aspects of high-stakes courtroom litigation, including board governance, communications and crisis management.”
“Returning to Kirkland is like returning home,” Mr. Patton said. “It’s where I began and grew my practice. I have many great friends at the Firm and I look forward to working with them again and using my experience to help clients with their litigation needs.”
Mr. Patton is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers and served on the college’s selection committee for Illinois. He has also been active throughout his career in a number of civic causes and legal aid organizations, including serving as president of the Chicago Bar Foundation and chairman of the board of advisors to the Chicago Legal Services Foundation. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and his J.D., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center.
