Holland & Knight Partner Mark A. Flessner Named Chicago Corporation Counsel
CHICAGO (May 16, 2019) – Holland & Knight Partner Mark A. Flessner has been appointed corporation counsel for the City of Chicago by Mayor-Elect Lori Lightfoot. Mr. Flessner will take office on Inauguration Day, May 20.
Mr. Flessner, who joined Holland & Knight in 2012, is a trial attorney with more than three decades of professional legal experience, including substantial experience investigating wrongdoing within the corporate world. His practice focuses on representing clients facing government scrutiny for criminal, civil and regulatory matters. Mr. Flessner advises clients with respect to complex commercial litigation, internal corporate investigations, grand jury inquiries and issues involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He also represents the firm's local government clients in federal civil rights actions. Prior to entering private practice, he was a federal prosecutor at the United States Attorney's Office in Chicago, where he led major investigations involving sophisticated and complex financial fraud.
Mr. Flessner donates significant legal time to pro bono activities and is the pro bono partner for Holland & Knight's Chicago office. He was a lead attorney on a death penalty habeas corpus petition in Alabama and on a high-profile immigration case in Chicago. He also served as a member of the Federal Defender Panel in the Northern District of Illinois, providing legal representation to the indigent.
"I can think of no better attorney to serve as Chicago's chief legal officer than Mark Flessner," said Steve Elrod, president of the Chicago Bar Association and a partner at Holland & Knight. "Mark's experience as a government civil rights attorney will be well valued at the Corporation Counsel's office. Everyone at Holland & Knight is extremely proud of Mark and thank him for his many contributions to the firm. We wish him nothing but the very best as he embarks on the next stage of his impressive legal career."