CHICAGO – Gair Gallo Eberhard LLP, a booming litigation boutique, announced today that longtime criminal law attorney Corey B. Rubenstein is joining the firm as a partner after serving six years as a federal prosecutor in Chicago. Mr. Rubenstein has blazed a unique career path by becoming an Assistant U.S. Attorney after working for more than 20 years as a prominent defense attorney, and now, he is returning to the defense side of the courtroom.
Mr. Rubenstein, 54, is joining one of Chicago’s hottest litigation firms and uniting with former Chicago federal prosecutors Chris Gair and John N. Gallo, and partners Jeffrey Eberhard and Vilia Dedinas. Only 18-months after its formation, Gair Gallo is on a roll. In March, the firm was named one of Law360.com’s “Legal Lions of the Week” after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a local Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in the case of former Chicago Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson for making false statements about loans from a defunct bank. Mr. Gair, who also represented former Ald. Ed Burke in a 2023 federal corruption trial, argued and won Thompson’s Supreme Court appeal.
Mr. Gair, Ms. Dedinas, and Mr. Gallo are partnering with the Democracy Forward Foundation in leading the challenge to a Trump administration Executive Order cutting hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Representing the American Library Association and the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Mr. Gair just last week argued before a federal judge in Washington, D.C., and won a court order temporarily blocking the administration from taking any further steps to dismantle the agency while the judge, who found the groups’ have suffered irreparable injury and have a strong likelihood of success, considers their request to extend the injunction.
Suing the Trump administration on behalf of the ALA and AFSCME employees shows Gair Gallo’s willingness to fight the administration in court at a time when prominent big law firms are making deals to avoid the administration’s crosshairs.
“I’m thrilled to join GGE – going back to my roots in private practice at an outstanding litigation boutique,” Mr. Rubenstein said. “My six years in public service as a federal prosecutor were beyond rewarding. But I’m excited to advocate for individual and business clients once again.” He is starting at the 11-attorney firm today, after ending his government service on Friday.
During his prosecutorial tenure, Mr. Rubenstein led the investigation that resulted in a Chicago indictment against disbarred Los Angeles attorney Tom Girardi for the alleged misappropriation of more than $3 million dollars in client funds from the families of victims of the 2018 Lion Air crash in Indonesia. Girardi, who is often associated with the movie Erin Brockovich and the reality television series Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, was previously convicted on federal fraud charges in Los Angeles and is awaiting sentencing. His son-in-law, David Lira, is scheduled to stand trial this summer in Chicago on charges stemming from Mr. Rubenstein’s investigation.
Mr. Rubenstein also secured the conviction of a former Art Institute of Chicago manager for a multi-million-dollar embezzlement scheme, and he handled various investment fraud prosecutions, including a case against hedge fund promoter Sean Grusd for a $23 million FinTech fraud scheme.
“I’ve worked with Corey both as co-counsel and opposing counsel for more than 25 years. His judgment, integrity, and skills as a trial lawyer are unparallelled. We’re incredibly excited to have him join the team,” Mr. Gair said.
In his previous 20-plus years as a defense attorney ─ primarily as a partner at the former Stetler, Duffy & Rotert and, later, at Loeb & Loeb LLP – Mr. Rubenstein represented a number of high-profile defendants, including Block 37 and Streets of Woodfield real estate developer Larry Freed, former Cicero town lawyer Charles Schneider, BP’s lead engineer in the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling catastrophe, and former Chicago City Treasurer Miriam Santos.
“I am absolutely thrilled Corey is joining us,” said Mr. Eberhard, who spearheads Gair Gallo’s robust and growing commercial litigation practice. “Corey will help continue to grow both our white-collar and commercial litigation practices, and I look forward to being partners for years to come.”
Mr. Rubenstein, whose career began as a litigation associate at McDermott Will & Emery LLP, adds another strategic litigator with Big Law experience to Gair Gallo’s trial ready practice. Messrs. Gair and Eberhard previously were partners at Jenner & Block before Mr. Eberhard joined the successful boutique litigation firm that Mr. Gair and Ms. Dedinas launched a dozen years ago. Mr. Gallo was a partner at Sidley for 21 years and served terms as the firmwide co-chair of its white-collar practice and head of litigation in the Chicago office. During that tenure, he represented former House Speaker Dennis Hastert.
After leaving Sidley and before teaming-up in 2023 with Mr. Gair, his former U.S. Attorney’s Office colleague, Mr. Gallo served six years as the CEO and Executive Director of the nonprofit Legal Aid Chicago, which in his last full year served over 11,000 clients with a team of more than 200 lawyers.
“Corey’s deep white-collar and commercial-litigation experience aligns perfectly with the direction of our thriving firm,” Mr. Gallo said.
Link to the Crain’s article: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/law/chicago-prosecutor-corey-rubenstein-joins-gair-gallo-eberhard
Link to the Law360 article: https://www.law360.com/pulse/articles/2335562/gair-gallo-adds-prosecutor-who-led-girardi-probe-in-chicago