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-level court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois. Appeals from the Northern District of Illinois ar ...

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

Jenner & Block Jenner & Block is an American law firm with offices in 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 other legal fields ...

. He was later appointed bankruptcy examiner during the

bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers 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 its heavy position in subprime mortgages, the Federal R ...

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 (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

from Lithuania. He attended

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second college in the U.S. to be founded as a coeducati ...

, graduating in 1965, and

Northwestern University School of Law Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the law school of Northwestern University, a private research university. It is located on the university's Chicago campus. Northwestern Law has been ranked among the top 14, or "T14" law scho ...

, 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 state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

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 go ...

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 United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and a ...

. 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. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...

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 of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

. Valukas joined

as a

partner Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to: Books * ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997 * ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928 * ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart * ''Partner'' (m ...

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, however the gener ...

at the Northwestern University School of Law from 1980 to 1982. In 1985, President Ronald Reagan 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, the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Chicago Police Department Internal Affairs Division and the Illi ...

, an investigation into judicial corruption in

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

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 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'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' 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'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', 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