Anton R. Valukas (born 1943) is an American attorney who served as the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the

Northern District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (in case citations, N.D. Ill.) is the federal trial court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois. It is one of the busiest federal trial courts in the Uni ...

from 1985 to 1989. In 2007, he became the chairman of

Jenner & Block Jenner & Block is an American law firm with offices in Century City, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. The firm is active in corporate litigation, business transactions, the public sector, and oth ...

. He was later appointed bankruptcy examiner during the

bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, also known as the Crash of '08 and the Lehman Shock, on September 15, 2008, was the climax of the subprime mortgage crisis. After the financial services firm was notified of a pending credit downgrade due to i ...

Early life and education

Valukas is the son of Anton J. Valukas, a former Illinois Circuit Court judge. His grandfather, Anton Kasmir, migrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

from

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. He attended

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a Private college, private liberal arts college and Music school, conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second colle ...

, graduating in 1965, and

Northwestern University School of Law The Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (formerly known as Northwestern University School of Law from 1891 to 2015) is the law school of Northwestern University, a Private university, private research university. The law school is l ...

, graduating in 1968. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

in 1968.

Career

Valukas became an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gov ...

in 1970. In 1974, he became Chief of the Special Prosecutions Division of the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

. Then, in 1975–76, he served as First Assistant United States Attorney. In addition to his duties at the Department of Justice, from 1972 to 1976, Valukas was an instructor at the John Marshall Law School. A Republican, Valukas left the DOJ in 1976 when

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

assumed office as

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. Valukas joined

as a partner at this time. He also served as an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...

at the Northwestern University School of Law from 1980 to 1982. In 1985, President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

appointed Valukas as

for the

. The most notable event of Valukas' four-year term as United States Attorney was

Operation Greylord Operation Greylord was an investigation conducted jointly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Chicago Police Department Internal Affairs Division and the I ...

, an investigation into judicial corruption in

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the List of counties in Illinois, most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the List of the most populous counties in the United States, second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, C ...

that ultimately resulted in the indictment of 92 people, including 17 judges. At the end of his term as United States Attorney, in 1989, Valukas returned to Jenner & Block. There, his practice has focused on

white collar criminal The term "white-collar crime" refers to financially motivated, nonviolent or non-directly violent crime committed by individuals, businesses and government professionals. The crimes are believed to be committed by middle- or upper-class indivi ...

defense. He also tutored three young men from Chicago's projects, all of whom earned college degrees. In 2009, Valukas was appointed bankruptcy examiner in the

. His Examiner's report was released to the public in March 2010."Court-Appointed Lehman Examiner Unveils Report"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Dealbook blog, March 11, 2010
"Learning from Lehman", ''The New York Times'', March 14, 2010Mike Spector, Susanne Craig, and Peter Lattman, "Examiner: Lehman Torpedoed Lehman"
''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', March 11, 2010. Recently, he enquired into and submitted a report on General Motor Company's safety record.

References

Valukas Biography at Jenner & Block website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valukas, Anton Living people United States attorneys for the Northern District of Illinois Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni Lawrence University alumni 1943 births American people of Lithuanian descent