Susan Bogart

Susan Bogart has been involved in trial work since her career began in 1978.  As a law clerk with the U.S. district court she worked on the full range of cases involving federal civil and criminal laws.  As an assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago for seven years, Ms. Bogart had experience in investigating and prosecuting the full range of federal criminal laws with a special expertise in prosecuting complex white collar and financial crimes and organizations engaged in federal criminal offenses. Her experience includes the first successful investigation and prosecution of bank officials who caused the failure of Savings and Loans during the 1980s, being the first woman to chair a high-profile federal terrorist prosecution of leaders of the El Rukn street gang for conspiring with Muammar Gaddafi of Libya,  acting as senior investigative counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives, Judiciary Committee’s oversight of the U.S. Justice Department, and as outside counsel advising the managers for the Majority, U.S. House of Representatives, Judiciary Committee in the impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton.

Successes

In private practice, Ms. Bogart turned her extensive knowledge of the federal civil and criminal justice system to her clients’ benefit.  She has been able to counsel senior-level executives and members of boards of directors in performing their duties in compliance with regulations applicable to their particular industry, including Sarbanes Oxley requirements.  She successfully defended an officer and director in the gas industry charged with RICO, RICO conspiracy and various breaches of fiduciary duty in a suit seeking $90 million in damages.  She successfully defended a small business owner charged with attempted extortion.  She was successful in overturning a 20-year sentence for a business owner convicted of money laundering.  She successfully defended an outside director of a savings and loan alleged to have breached his fiduciary duties as a member of a board and audit committee in a suit seeking $30 million in losses.  She successfully represented a 30-year officer and director of a savings and loan terminated for reporting financial irregularities.  She successfully represented high ranking female officers of the Chicago Police Department in the first sexual harassment action against the Department by obtaining a million-dollar settlement and substantial changes in the Department’s handling of sexual harassment investigations. Ms. Bogart has represented and counseled senior-level officers of public and private institutions in the performance of their duties and in defending internal investigations challenging the performance of their duties.  These include officers, employees, special agents and investigators who are employed in the private sector, employed with various federal, state and local entities and/or who interface with regulatory agencies such as Inspector General’s Offices, Department of Energy, Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodities Futures Trading Commission, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, National Association of Securities Dealers, Comptroller of Currency, Federal Reserve Bank, Federal Deposit and Insurance Institution, Resolution Trust Corporation, Federal Home Loan Bank, Federal Savings and Loan Association, Internal Revenue Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Treasury, Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, U.S. Marshal’s Service, Department of Homeland Security, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Superintendents and Chiefs of Police.

Shared Knowledge

Ms. Bogart has served as an adjunct faculty member of several local area law schools in a variety of subject matters, including law school courses on Legislation, Remedies, Ethics, legal writing, appellate advocacy, and evidence and trial practice.  She has prepared and given continuing legal education seminars in trial practice and evidence and on changes to the federal civil rules of procedure; has spoken to bar association groups on jury selection and Batson issues, on issues involving sexual discrimination and harassment litigation; and on the impact of the changing Justice Department and Sarbanes Oxley regulations for senior-level executives, officers and directors.  She recently was honored with an invitation to be a member and to be on the Executive Committee of the Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, whose mission and role is in mentoring and advising women in corporate, government and political leadership positions around the globe. She was invited to speak in Shanghai, China to a group of lawyers on “Protecting a Chinese Company’s Interest in the U.S. Through Employment Agreements” and “Effectively Representing Chinese Companies in the Federal Courts and State Courts of the U.S.”.

Education

She earned her B.A. with Distinction from the University of Michigan (English Major, Economics and Urban Studies Minor), and her J.D. from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law.  She is admitted to practice in all Illinois state courts, the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Central and Southern Districts of Illinois, Northern District of Ohio and Western District of Missouri, the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Sixth and Seventh Circuits and the U.S. Supreme Court. She has been admitted to the U.S Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Illinois. She has been certified as an Arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association. She was a certified mediator for National Association of Securities Dealers (“NASD”) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), and Chairperson for arbitrations with the National Association of Securities Dealers and the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.  She also has been  appointed counsel in the Northern Districts of Illinois and Ohio and for the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Sixth and Seventh Circuits.

Memberships and Honors

Ms. Bogart was recognized in 2012 as one of Chicago’s Top Rated Lawyers, she has received LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating as an AV Preeminent Rated Lawyer, she has been selected for an exclusive memberhip in The National Trial Lawyers (The NTL) Top 100 Trial Lawyers (invited), and is included in Martindale-Hubbell’s Bar Register Preeminent Women Lawyers. She is a member of the International, American, Seventh Circuit, Federal, Illinois State and Chicago Bar Associations, the Federal Lawyers Association, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, American Arbitration Association, and The Lawyers Club of Chicago. Among her honors are a Loyola University School of Law Leadership and Service Award, U.S. Department of Justice Special Achievement Award and listing in Strathmore’s Who’s Who and Cambridge Who’s Who VIP Registry of Executives and Professionals.  She also served as an American Bar Association delegate to China and Moscow. For additional information, please see her Martindale-Hubbell biography, The National Trial Lawyers Top 100, Chicago’s Top Rated Lawyers.

• Recognized in Legal Leaders: Women Leaders in The Law in The American Lawyer, the National Law Journal and Corporate Counsel
• Recognized by National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers
• Recognized in Women Leaders in the Law-Fortune Magazine’s 50 Most Powerful Women Edition
• Recognized as a Leading Woman Lawyer in Illinois by the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois (WBAI)
• Recognized in Legal Leaders: Top Rated Chicago Lawye