Mark Filip

Mark Robert Filip is an American attorney who has held several high‑profile positions within the federal judiciary and the Department of Justice. Born on June 1, 1966, he earned a distinguished academic record that led to clerkships with both a United States Court of Appeals judge and a Supreme Court justice. After practicing law in private firms and serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Filip was appointed by President George W. Bush as a district judge for the Northern District of Illinois. In 2008 he became Deputy Attorney General, and when President Barack Obama’s nominee for attorney general was awaiting Senate confirmation, Filip served as acting United States Attorney General from January 20 to February 3, 2009. He later returned to private practice as a partner at Kirkland & Ellis.

Early life and career

Mark Filip was born in Chicago, Illinois, on June 1, 1966. He attended Maine South High School in Park Ridge, a school that has educated several prominent public figures. After high school he enrolled at the University of Illinois at Urbana‑Champaign, where he completed Bachelor of Arts degrees in economics and history in 1988. While an undergraduate he joined the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.

Following his bachelor's studies, Filip received a Marshall Scholarship to study abroad. He attended Christ Church, Oxford, where he earned a first‑class Bachelor of Arts in law in 1990. He then returned to the United States for graduate legal education at Harvard Law School, graduating with a Juris Doctor magna cum laude in 1992 and serving as an editor on the Harvard Law Review.

Upon completing law school Filip was selected for prestigious clerkships. From 1992 to 1993 he worked as a law clerk for Judge Stephen F. Williams of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The following year, from 1993 to 1994, he served as a clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court of the United States.

After his clerkships Filip entered private practice as an associate at Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago (1994–1995). He then joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago as an Assistant United States Attorney, where he prosecuted a wide range of cases, including violent crimes, corruption involving public officials and police officers, health‑care fraud, and international narcotics trafficking. His performance earned him a Department of Justice Director’s Award for Superior Performance.

In 1999 Filip became a partner at the Chicago office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, where he handled civil and criminal matters and participated in pro bono work representing indigent defendants before the Federal Defender’s Office. He remained with Skadden until 2004, when President Bush nominated him to serve as a United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois.

Filip was confirmed by the Senate on February 4, 2004, by a unanimous vote of 96–0, and received his commission on February 8, 2004. He took the oath of office in March 2004 and served as a federal judge until resigning on March 9, 2008 to accept the role of United States Deputy Attorney General. During his judicial tenure he presided over cases involving criminal law, antitrust disputes, securities fraud, immigration matters, and other civil and criminal issues. He also taught at the University of Chicago Law School as the Bustin Lecturer from 2004 until March 2008, instructing courses in advanced criminal law and first‑year civil procedure.

Cabinet tenure

On March 3, 2008, Filip was confirmed by the Senate to become Deputy Attorney General and was sworn into office on March 10, 2008. In that capacity he oversaw the Department of Justice’s policy and administrative functions. On August 28, 2008, he issued a memorandum concerning federal prosecution of business organizations; the memo reversed an earlier Justice Department stance that had aggressively pursued white‑collar crime. The change came amid scrutiny over a case involving KPMG, one of the Big Four accounting firms, for its role in facilitating fraudulent transactions by AIG Financial Products that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.

When President Barack Obama was inaugurated on January 20, 2009, Filip was asked to serve as acting Attorney General while the Senate confirmed the president’s nominee. He led the Department of Justice during this interim period until Eric Holder was confirmed by the Senate on February 2, 2009 and sworn in the following day. Filip’s brief tenure as acting attorney general lasted from January 20 to February 3, 2009.

After concluding his service in the cabinet, Filip returned to private practice. He became a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, where he continues to specialize in class action litigation and white‑collar criminal and regulatory defense matters.

Legacy

Mark Filip’s career reflects a trajectory that spans the judiciary, executive branch leadership, and high‑level private legal practice. His appointment as a federal judge by President Bush and his unanimous Senate confirmation underscore the bipartisan respect he earned for his legal acumen. As Deputy Attorney General, Filip was instrumental in shaping prosecutorial policy during a period of significant scrutiny over corporate accountability. The memorandum he issued on August 28, 2008, marked a notable shift in the Department’s approach to white‑collar crime and demonstrated his willingness to reassess established strategies.

During his brief stint as acting Attorney General, Filip maintained continuity within the Justice Department while the new administration prepared for the confirmation of its nominee. His leadership during this transitional period ensured that the department remained operational and that ongoing investigations and prosecutions proceeded without interruption.

In private practice, Filip’s focus on class action defense and regulatory matters has positioned him as a prominent figure in complex litigation involving corporations. His experience across multiple facets of the legal system—clerkships at the appellate and Supreme Court levels, prosecutorial work, judicial service, executive leadership, and corporate defense—provides him with a comprehensive perspective that informs his current practice.

Overall, Filip’s professional journey illustrates a blend of public service and private sector expertise. His contributions to federal jurisprudence, prosecutorial policy, and legal education have left an imprint on the American legal landscape, particularly in the areas of criminal law, corporate accountability, and the administration of justice.