Congratulations to Chicago Mayor and Former Mayer Brown Partner Lori Lightfoot

From the firm’s very first days, Mayer Brown lawyers have honored their profession’s call to serve others. Dozens of talented lawyers have left the firm for—or come to it from—high-ranking positions in local, state and national government, including the judiciary.

Chicago Mayor and former Mayer Brown litigation partner Lori Lightfoot, who was elected in a landslide to serve as Chicago’s new mayor and took office in May 2019, embodies this tradition. Lori began her legal career at Mayer Brown as an associate in 1990. She left the firm in 1996 to join the US Attorney’s Office, where she helped coordinate a variety of large-scale investigations. Starting in 2002, she was a high-ranking official in the Chicago Police Department Office of Professional Standards and, later, the Chicago Department of Procurement Services. After rejoining Mayer Brown as a partner in 2005, Lori continued to serve the city of Chicago, leading the Chicago Police Board and the Police Accountability Task Force, which issued a closely followed report on police misconduct. After resigning from Mayer Brown in May 2018, she ran a hard-fought mayoral race and achieved a landslide electoral victory to become Chicago’s new mayor.

As noted by Crain’s Chicago Business, Lori’s victory “burnishes the reputation of a law firm with a history of lawyers leaving for government work.” We are confident that Lori’s integrity, intelligence and passion will serve her well as Chicago’s mayor, just as those qualities benefitted the Firm’s clients during Lori’s time at Mayer Brown. We congratulate her and wish her much success.