Katten Names Gil M. Soffer As Its Next Chair

(CHICAGO) Katten announced today that the firm's Chicago office managing partner and former federal prosecutor Gil M. Soffer has been tapped to serve as the firm's new Chair, effective July 1, 2024.

"Gil's excellence and achievement as an attorney and a leader are indisputable. I have seen him at work for many years and believe wholeheartedly he is the right person to help successfully steer the firm into the future," said current Chair Roger P. Furey, who will step down when he completes his second four-year term in the role in June.

"I have no doubt the next chapter of the firm will be in very capable hands with Gil and Noah," Furey added, referring to Katten CEO Noah Heller.

Soffer has been managing partner of Katten's Chicago office for a decade. He co-chairs the Litigation department, is a member of the firm's Executive Committee and Board of Directors, and manages a thriving White Collar and Internal Investigations practice.

Before joining Katten in 2000, Soffer served as a federal prosecutor for six years in Chicago. In 2008, he left the firm briefly to serve as Associate Deputy Attorney General at the Department of Justice (DOJ). During that time, he oversaw the President's Corporate Fraud Task Force and was a key drafter of DOJ's Corporate Monitor Principles and Corporate Charging Principles.

During his time at Katten, Soffer has been tapped for several high-profile positions, including global corporate compliance monitor in 2016, and a member of the Racial Justice Diversity Committee for the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 2020. The next year, Soffer was selected as adjudications officer — an unusual appointment — in the United Auto Workers monitorship, and in 2022 he was named independent monitor for a five-year term in a global opioid settlement agreement.

Soffer and Furey will work together in the coming months on the leadership transition.

During his tenure as Chair since assuming the position in 2016, Furey has fostered a culture of resilience and fortitude in addressing challenges stemming from the global pandemic, widespread social unrest and geopolitical instability, and has helped strengthen and grow the firm in areas of strategic importance. Furey played a leading role in establishing Katten's Dallas office in 2018, which has grown from seven founding partners to more than 65 attorneys in a range of practices aligned with Katten's strategic focus.

"Roger and Noah have been a top-notch team, growing the firm, recruiting the best talent and guiding Katten through unprecedented times," Soffer said. "I aim to help build on the progress the firm has made, continuing to deliver the highest levels of client service despite the hurdles cleared and those to come."