When Patrick Fitzgerald announced at a press conference last May that he was stepping down as Chicago’s U.S. attorney after more than a decade, he looked like a tantalizing catch for any law firm. Fitzgerald was supremely accomplished, respected, and still young at 51. He had made a national name for himself by successfully prosecuting former White House adviser I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, and former Hollinger International, Inc, chairman Conrad Black.
But at that event, Fitzgerald may have caused a few managing partners’ hearts to skip a beat when—in response to a reporter’s question about his future—he smiled and quipped: “Can you see me as a defense lawyer?”
