Mr Mark Filip > Kirkland & Ellis LLP > Chicago, United States > Lawyer Profile

Kirkland & Ellis LLP fields a host of civil trial lawyers and appellate specialists, with one of the largest government facing and white-collar practice groups in the US. The team is well-equipped to represent clients in DOJ, SEC, Congressional, and State Attorney General proceedings across the country, and is proficient in securities litigation and class action claims, and bolsters its trial-focused litigation practice with crisis management services. In New York, Sandra Goldstein is well regarded for her expertise in fraud class actions, securities, and commercial disputes. Mark Filip, who splits his time between Chicago and Washington DC, has a strong reputation for handling civil cases for numerous Fortune 100 companies. Chicago-based Diana Watral is regularly trusted by high-value healthcare clients to handle their trade secrets, FCA and contract disputes, while Aaron Marks focuses on financial institutions in New York. Other prominent lawyers include Andrew Kassof in Chicago, Craig Primis and Daniel Donovan in Washington DC, Mark Holscher  in Los Angeles and Anna Rotman in Houston. James Hurst returned to the firm in November 2023, and is based in Chicago.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP concentrates its financial services disputes practice on securities class actions, shareholder derivatives, M&A and structured finance litigation as well as regulatory investigations by the DOJ, SEC and CFTC. The firm also has a recognized accountant liability practice, defending major clients in this space. The firm broadly focuses on securities law and private litigation alleging misleading shareholders, insider trading and other types of financial fraud, as well as developing its concentration in the fintech sector. Sandra Goldstein has a range of litigation experience relating to securities, M&A and commercial disputes for large companies. Goldstein also works alongside Zachary Brez, former SEC attorney, who concentrates on securities and exposures under the FCPA. Both are based in New York. Mark Filip, former federal judge, and Reginald Brown are key contacts in the firm’s government regulatory enforcement defense and investigations group. Filip is based across the firm’s Chicago and Washington DC offices, while Brown is in DC.

At Kirkland & Ellis LLP, ‘the depth and breadth of knowledge and experience is exceptional’. Clients remark that the firm is ‘highly strategic and tactical, achieving excellent and practical outcomes’. The team is led by Sandra Goldstein in New York and Mark Filip in Chicago. Goldstein is among the most successful securities litigators in the country, and she is currently handling more than twelve 10b-5 stock drop and derivative suits, as well as a substantial volume of M&A-related cases. The firm’s New York office is home to outstanding talent, including Stefan Atkinson who has been particularly prominent in the wave of SPAC-related cases. Atkinson and Goldstein achieved a major victory for Textron Inc., which was accused of deceiving the market about the growth and earnings prospects of Arctic Cat, a recreational vehicle business that it had acquired. The case settled favourably in 2022. Rachel Fritzler handles a broad range of matters for Fortune 500 companies, including antitrust and securities cases. She worked with Goldstein on numerous cases, among the defense of Honeywell International in a multibillion-dollar securities class action concerning the company’s asbestos-related liabilities. Matthew Solum is ‘highly responsive and even-keeled’. Joshua Rabinovitz in Washington DC acted for Boeing Company in a derivative suit arising out of Boeing’s 737 MAX jet aircraft’s October 2018 Lion Air Flight crash into the Java Sea and the March 2019 Ethiopian Flight crash minutes after takeoff.

With a deep bench of former senior enforcement officials among its attorneys, Kirkland & Ellis LLP covers the full gamut of corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense. The practice is popular with corporations and their C-suite executives alike, and enjoys a strong market reputation for matters such as securities and futures enforcement, anti-corruption, environmental crimes, and sanctions enforcement. Practice heads Mark Filip and Asheesh Goel split their time between Chicago and Washington DC and are both a popular choice for clients within the financial services sector. In Washington DC, Brigham Cannon‘s strengths lie in FCPA and False Claims Act matters alongside securities law. The firm bolstered its expertise in the first half of 2022 with the arrival of Lindsey Beran and Steve Fahey in Dallas, who both previously served as Assistant US Attorneys for the Northern District of Texas, as well as former Eastern District of New York US Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis in New York.

Centered around its Chicago, New York and Washington DC offices, in particular, Kirkland & Ellis LLP has forged a strong reputation in the space, as a result of its representation of a varied array of consumer-facing manufacturers across a myriad product liability and mass tort matters. Many of these have taken the form of large aggregate disputes. As well as the firm’s technical expertise in often highly scientific issues under dispute and its procedural prowess, it is also able to call upon the proficiency of a slew of accomplished first-chair trial lawyers, ensuring that clients are vigorously defended in jury trials, as well as providing a degree of leverage in the context of early settlements. A fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Washington DC-based partner Mike Brock is a formidable practitioner in high-stakes product liability litigation, and has handled jury trials across a multitude of high-profile product liability matters, including in the automotive and pharmaceuticals industries. Drawing upon a storied career in private practice, as well as by dint of his former positions as a federal judge and high-ranking Justice Department official, Chicago-based Mark Filip has an excellent perspective of big-ticket litigation, and offers experience to defendants seeking representation at a trial stage.

With extensive bipartisan expertise, Kirkland & Ellis LLP‘s state attorneys general team draws on the experience of former senior government officials, including Chicago-based Lisa Madigan, who served as Illinois state attorney general. In Washington DC, Jennifer Levy leads on multistate litigation involving product liability cases on behalf of pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and automotive companies. Also in Washington DC is Reginald Brown, whose practice focuses on assisting financial institutions, energy companies and tech firms with regulatory and reputational matters. Another key name is former federal judge Mark Filip, who splits his time between Chicago and Washington DC and has been particularly active in representing multinational pharmaceuticals and life sciences companies in civil and criminal investigations.