CHICAGO – Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP is pleased to announce that Gil M. Soffer, co-chair of the firm’s national White Collar Criminal and Civil Litigation and Compliance Practice, has been appointed by Governor Pat Quinn to serve on the Illinois Executive Ethics Commission (EEC). In the wake of recent scandals that have tainted Illinois politics, the nine-member EEC was formed to promote ethics in the executive branch of public service and to ensure that state business is conducted with fairness and integrity.

A former U.S. Associate Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Soffer spent 2008 with the Department of Justice, advising the Deputy Attorney General on criminal matters with a particular emphasis on corporate fraud prosecutions. He played an integral role in drafting the DOJ’s Corporate Monitor Principles and Corporate Charging Principles, and provided training on the latter policy to U.S. Attorneys’ Offices nationwide. Mr. Soffer also managed the President’s Corporate Fraud Task Force and briefed members of Congress on criminal matters within the DOJ.

Mr. Soffer originally joined Katten in 2000 after spending six years as a federal prosecutor. Upon his appointment to the DOJ in 2008 he resigned from the firm, pursuant to the requirements of the government position, but returned to Katten in 2009 after completing his service.

Mr. Soffer concentrates his practice in white collar criminal litigation, insurance litigation, corporate investigations, and anti-fraud counseling and litigation. He has also been involved in a wide range of matters involving reinsurance, health care and alternative dispute resolution.

Katten’s White Collar Criminal and Civil Litigation and Compliance Practice is composed of highly respected former prosecutors, law enforcement officers and federal defenders with broad investigative, trial and appellate experience. The depth of the practice is key to its ability to devote the appropriate resources to a client’s matter, even on a moment’s notice. Knowing firsthand about the manner in which criminal or quasi-criminal actions are handled by “the other side” gives Katten a clear advantage in developing and implementing litigation strategies.