Sheldon T. Zenner is national co-head of Katten's Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice and a member of the firm's Board of Directors. Sheldon has built a broad-based white collar and civil litigation practice representing corporations and executives around the world in antitrust, securities, health care, customs, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), education, fraud and tax matters. He also counsels boards of directors and companies on compliance and corporate governance issues and represents companies and executives in both internal and external criminal and civil investigations and ancillary lawsuits.
Clients benefit from Sheldon’s vast experience working with federal and state prosecutors, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other regulatory agencies. He founded Katten's White Collar Defense, Internal Investigation and Compliance practice when he joined the firm and has since expanded the team to include former federal prosecutors and numerous other experienced white collar defense attorneys.
Sheldon “is widely recognized as a key figure in the market” with “an exceptional reputation” according to his clients (Chambers USA). He works with many well-known corporations and individuals in the financial services, health care and sports and entertainment industries. He represents major corporations that have been victims of fraud and other white collar crimes as well as those companies that have come under investigation. His practice has taken him around the world as he has worked on matters in Japan, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, Singapore, China, Brazil and South Africa.
Upon graduating from law school, Sheldon clerked for Judge Marvin E. Aspen in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. After his clerkship, he joined the US Attorney’s Office, Criminal Division, in Chicago as an Assistant US Attorney, where he held various senior supervisory positions. In that capacity, he was actively involved in numerous complex federal trials involving sophisticated financial transactions, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), political corruption, health care and tax issues. After seven and a half years, Sheldon left the US Attorney’s Office as the Deputy Chief, Special Prosecutions Division, to join Katten.
In addition, Sheldon has been an adjunct faculty member at Northwestern University School of Law and the Medill School of Journalism, teaching courses on clinical trial practice, the legal system and law and ethics of journalism. He lectured at the Corporate Counsel Institute and the American Bar Association’s National Institute on Securities Fraud and served as a faculty member for Northwestern University’s Short Course for Prosecutors and Defense Counsel. He was co-chair of the Legal Assistance Foundation's (LAF) Campaign for Justice and was named the winner of LAF's 2010 Champion for Justice Award. In 2014, he was honored by Northwestern University School of Law for his outstanding contributions to public service and the legal community.
