Irish Legal 100

LISA MADIGAN

LISA Madigan is a litigation partner in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis. She maintains a broad practice focused on state and federal level investigations and regulatory work, internal investigations, crisis management and litigation.

Madigan has more than 25 years of experience handling a range of issues including consumer protection, data security and privacy, health care, the environment, and sexual assault and harassment.

Madigan joined Kirkland in 2019 after a distinguished career in public service. She was the first female attorney general in Illinois and held the post for 16 years, becoming the longest serving attorney general in the state’s history.

Madigan had more than 150 bills signed into law while attorney general. Under her leadership, the Consumer Protection Division established a national reputation for safeguarding consumers from financial fraud and discrimination. She also served as a lead negotiator in the National Mortgage Settlement with some of the nation’s largest banks.

She has made protecting children and women from violence a priority, and reformed the Illinois criminal justice system to prevent and respond to sexual assault and domestic violence, including requiring response standards on college campuses and hospital emergency rooms. She also worked to effect important systemic reform of the Chicago Police Department.

Madigan was the first Illinois attorney general in over 25 years to personally argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, Illinois v. Caballes ,in which the Supreme Court upheld the ability of law enforcement to detect the presence of illegal drugs during traffic stops.

Prior to her election as attorney general, Madigan served as an Illinois state senator, a litigator, an assistant dean, and volunteer teacher in South Africa during apartheid. She is also a lecturer in law at the University of Chicago Law School.

Madigan is the recipient of several awards throughout her career. Among them are the Kelley-Wyman award from the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), given to the attorney general who has done the most to achieve NAAG’s objectives, which include leading litigation on behalf of the states, reforming the law and leading legal and public advocacy initiatives to benefit the state.

She also received the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award, an honor presented annually to an American elected official whose contributions in office demonstrate the impact and value of public service in the spirit of President Kennedy.

Madigan earned a BA from Georgetown University, and a JD from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

Married to Patrick Byrnes and the mother of two daughters, Madigan traces her Irish roots to her great great grandfather Michael Madigan, who arrived in the U.S. on July 23, 1864 from Parteen, Co. Clare.

“I have been to Ireland several times. The first time I went back my father, also named Michael Madigan, and I visited Parteen and the church the family had attended. In fact, I turned 21 while we were there. I have traveled through much of the country, and my husband and I have taken our children there,” Madigan says.

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2022-10-19T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-10-19T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://irishlegal.pressreader.com/article/285172952288700

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