September 29, 2026
Law360 has profiled Willkie Chicago as a 2026 “Regional Powerhouse” in Illinois, spotlighting its success in high-profile disputes and transactions as well as the marquee client base and culture that have helped drive the office’s ongoing growth.
Willkie Chicago has grown steadily since its launch in 2020 to achieve powerhouse status, with more than 130 attorneys across a full-service platform. In recent years, the office has expanded its transactional practices – including its private equity, mergers and acquisitions, asset management, finance, private funds, capital markets and restructuring groups – to complement its litigation and trial practice, investigations and governance capabilities, and its premier private wealth group.
Craig C. Martin, Partner and Chairman, Americas, told Law360 that the team spirit and entrepreneurial energy of the group that launched Willkie Chicago continue to define and differentiate the office.
"So, in this environment, we actually chose each other, and it makes it different," Craig said. "This, the group of people that created Willkie six years ago in Chicago, and continues to build Willkie, and continues to come to Willkie — everybody's choosing it. It's very volitionary. There's no inertia."
As the office has grown, its lawyers have assumed leadership positions Firmwide. Chicago partners now lead or co-lead Willkie's global restructuring, class action, intellectual property, ERISA litigation and private wealth practices.
Law360 noted Willkie Chicago’s accomplishments in high-stakes cases, including a judgment for a leading biopharmaceutical company in a closely watched COVID-19 vaccine patent dispute, the dismissal of all claims against Univar in an antitrust multidistrict litigation against the crop inputs industry, and its successful defense of life insurers and Google in novel Genetic Information Privacy Act class actions.
The profile also highlighted Willkie’s broad transactional achievements, including advising Henry Crown & Co. on the sale of Provisur Technologies to KKR-backed Fortifi Food Processing Solutions. In addition, the restructuring team joined Willkie’s representation of Saks Global in its landmark chapter 11 case and a related refinancing involving $2.5 billion in debt.
Craig underscored the importance of Willkie’s culture, its deep commitment to diversity and inclusion, in attracting top talent, a Firm "superpower.” Willkie Chicago continues to grow because its attorneys practice law at the highest levels, in an environment that is intense and high energy but also has an emphasis on collaboration and teamwork, he said.
Law360 noted that a mantra in the office is that they're not just from Chicago, they're "of Chicago."
"[W]e are not just a law firm that has an office in Chicago, and there's an airport there," Craig said. "We are people who are deeply committed to the place in which we live and work."
Read Willkie’s “Regional Powerhouse” profile here (subscription may be required).
Willkie Chicago has grown steadily since its launch in 2020 to achieve powerhouse status, with more than 130 attorneys across a full-service platform. In recent years, the office has expanded its transactional practices – including its private equity, mergers and acquisitions, asset management, finance, private funds, capital markets and restructuring groups – to complement its litigation and trial practice, investigations and governance capabilities, and its premier private wealth group.
Craig C. Martin, Partner and Chairman, Americas, told Law360 that the team spirit and entrepreneurial energy of the group that launched Willkie Chicago continue to define and differentiate the office.
"So, in this environment, we actually chose each other, and it makes it different," Craig said. "This, the group of people that created Willkie six years ago in Chicago, and continues to build Willkie, and continues to come to Willkie — everybody's choosing it. It's very volitionary. There's no inertia."
As the office has grown, its lawyers have assumed leadership positions Firmwide. Chicago partners now lead or co-lead Willkie's global restructuring, class action, intellectual property, ERISA litigation and private wealth practices.
Law360 noted Willkie Chicago’s accomplishments in high-stakes cases, including a judgment for a leading biopharmaceutical company in a closely watched COVID-19 vaccine patent dispute, the dismissal of all claims against Univar in an antitrust multidistrict litigation against the crop inputs industry, and its successful defense of life insurers and Google in novel Genetic Information Privacy Act class actions.
The profile also highlighted Willkie’s broad transactional achievements, including advising Henry Crown & Co. on the sale of Provisur Technologies to KKR-backed Fortifi Food Processing Solutions. In addition, the restructuring team joined Willkie’s representation of Saks Global in its landmark chapter 11 case and a related refinancing involving $2.5 billion in debt.
Craig underscored the importance of Willkie’s culture, its deep commitment to diversity and inclusion, in attracting top talent, a Firm "superpower.” Willkie Chicago continues to grow because its attorneys practice law at the highest levels, in an environment that is intense and high energy but also has an emphasis on collaboration and teamwork, he said.
Law360 noted that a mantra in the office is that they're not just from Chicago, they're "of Chicago."
"[W]e are not just a law firm that has an office in Chicago, and there's an airport there," Craig said. "We are people who are deeply committed to the place in which we live and work."
Read Willkie’s “Regional Powerhouse” profile here (subscription may be required).
