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Fitzgerald joins Skadden's Chicago officehttp://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... 0907.storyFormer U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald plans to join a corporate law firm that is native to New York but has an established presence in Chicago, just like him.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP announced Monday that Fitzgerald will become a partner in the firm's Chicago office on Oct. 29.
Skadden has long been among New York's most prestigious law firms, but hiring Fitzgerald is still a coup. After leaving his post as U.S. attorney at the end of June after nearly 11 years, Fitzgerald, 51, became the most sought-after lawyer in recent Chicago history.
He is widely recognized for leading investigations into terrorism, organized crime and public corruption, successfully prosecuting two Illinois governors, murderous crime syndicate thugs and an ex-Chicago police commander accused of torturing suspects. Fitzgerald burnished a reputation that he brought with him from New York for being tough and unafraid to stand up to powerful interests.
In going into private practice, he follows in the footsteps of previous U.S. attorneys in Chicago, such as Dan Webb, Anton Valukas and Scott Lassar, whom Fitzgerald succeeded in 2001.
In an interview, Fitzgerald said he is not interested in defending the sort of accused criminals he once prosecuted, a line of work that many former prosecutors move into after leaving government. Rather, he said, he will focus on corporate investigations, an increasingly lucrative area for law firms.
"I'm not changing who I am," Fitzgerald said. "I'm just changing who my client is."
Fitzgerald said he chose Skadden over other large firms because of its extensive international business, comfort level with its lawyers and the opportunity to do some public-interest work.
Skadden Arps, with about 1,800 lawyers in 23 offices around the world, was founded in Manhattan in 1948. Though it has a broad-based practice, the firm is best known for representing large public companies in mergers, takeovers and other financial transactions.
In 1984 it opened an office in Chicago, which now has about 170 lawyers. Its Chicago lawyers have had a hand in some big deals, including representing Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. in its $23 billion sale to Mars Inc. in 2008 and advising the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in its $10.6 billion merger with the Chicago Board of Trade in 2007. (Skadden represented the special committee of the board of directors of the Tribune Co., Chicago Tribune parent, in a transaction that took the company private in 2007.)
Skadden's access to corporate chieftains and boards of directors will make it easier for Fitzgerald to build an investigations practice. Scandal is big business for the country's biggest law firms. Companies that investigate internal wrongdoing often receive lighter penalties for cooperating with authorities. Lawyer also are hired to oversee compliance with enforcement actions.
Skadden's three largest offices are in New York, Washington and Chicago, cities where Fitzgerald, a New York native, has a large network of contacts. Before his appointment in Chicago, he was an assistant U.S. attorney in New York for 13 years. The Justice Department in 2003 appointed him to investigate the unauthorized disclosure of a CIA officer's identity.
Brian Duwe, head of Skadden's Chicago office, is excited to bring Fitzgerald aboard.
"This is a guy who is an incredibly talented trial lawyer," Duwe said. "I'm sure he would be on the short list for anyone looking at a difficult issue and needing to do an internal investigation."
With Fitzgerald, there always will be speculation about his returning to another high-level government post, but he said he intends to practice at Skadden for a long time.
As a partner, Fitzgerald is in line for a big raise. He earned $155,500 as U.S. attorney. Skadden's average profit per partner in 2011 was $2.48 million, according to American Lawyer magazine.
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