Atty. Stephen R. Patton
Steve Patton is of counsel to the Litigation group in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Steve has extensive experience trying cases and arguing appeals in federal and state courts throughout the country in a wide variety of commercial disputes.
Profile Summary
About Stephen R. Patton at a glance
Stephen R. Patton is a business and litigation attorney based in Chicago, Illinois, practicing at Stephen R. Patton LLC. Educated at Georgetown University (J.D., 1978). Recognitions include Best Lawyers in America — Commercial Litigation (2026) and Lawyer of the Year — Bet-the-Company Litigation (Chicago) (2011). Serands clients in Chicago, IL and the surrounding metropolitan area.
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About
- Steve Patton is of counsel to the Litigation group in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Steve has extensive experience trying cases and arguing appeals in federal and state courts throughout the country in a wide variety of commercial disputes
- He has also served as an advisor to senior management in a number of “bet the company” exposures and negotiated several multibillion settlements in complex disputes
- Steve is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and previously served on the College’s Selection Committee for Northern Illinois
- During his first, 33-year stint with the Firm (from 1978 to 2011), he was a senior litigation partner and served in a number of leadership positions, including chair of the Firm’s Litigation Management Committee
- From 2011 to 2017, Steve served as the City of Chicago’s Corporation Counsel and Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s senior legal advisor
- Since his return to the Firm in 2017, Steve has served as lead counsel in several litigation matters, including two nationwide, pro bono impact cases
- In the first, Ramirez v
- ICE, Kirkland represents a nationwide class of immigrant teenagers illegally detained by ICE
- On July 2, 2020, after a four week bench trial, the U.S
- District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of the Plaintiff class on all liability issues
- After further proceedings with respect to remedial relief, on September 21, 2021, the Court granted Plaintiffs’ request for a permanent injunction and final judgment
- In the second case, Karnoski v
- Trump, Kirkland represented transgender persons challenging President Trump’s ban on transgender persons openly serving in the military
- The case was voluntarily dismissed in 2020, after Defendants repealed the Trump ban and reinstituted their prior policy of allowing transgender persons to serve openly
- In addition to his pro bono work, Steve has worked with various not-for-profits to reduce crime and violence in Chicago, including violence interruption and prevention programs that work with gang members and other at-risk youth and leading efforts to enact legislation to ban “ghost” guns, require criminal background checks, and keep guns out of the hands of criminals
Practice Areas Explained
Stephen R. Patton's Areas of Practice
Each practice area below reflects the types of cases Stephen R. Patton handles, with a brief overview of what that area of law covers.
Business attorneys advise founders and growing companies on entity formation, contracts, financing, M&A, and dispute resolution.
Stephen R. Patton is one of 501,317 business attorneys indexed nationally. Browse business attorneys in Illinois →
Civil litigation attorneys for breach of contract, business disputes, civil rights, and class action lawsuits.
Stephen R. Patton is one of 454,532 litigation attorneys indexed nationally. Browse litigation attorneys in Illinois →
Jurisdictional Context
Why local counsel matters in Illinois
Practicing law in Illinois. Legal matters in Illinois are governed by state-specific rules of civil and criminal procedure, statutes of limitations, and substantive law. Cases originating in Chicago are typically filed in the local municipal court or the appropriate Illinois state district court, depending on subject matter and amount in controversy. An attorney licensed in Illinois brings working knowledge of local procedural deadlines, judicial practices in this andnue, and the substantive law that applies to cases brought here. Out-of-state attorneys generally cannot represent clients in Illinois courts without local counsel or pro hac vice admission.
Looking for additional Illinois attorneys? Browse all attorneys in Chicago or all attorneys in Illinois.
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