Maggie Hickey, Illinois Executive Inspector General, Joins Schiff Hardin as Partner

Schiff Hardin LLP today announced that Illinois Executive Inspector General Maggie Hickey will be joining as a partner in its Chicago office, effective in April. Hickey will lead and expand the firm’s White Collar Defense and Government Investigations Practice Group nationwide.

“Through a long and varied career in government, Maggie brings a unique skill set that is in high demand and we are excited to offer her services to our clients,” said Marci Eisenstein, Schiff Hardin’s managing partner. “She has a wealth of experience in internal investigations, compliance programs, sexual harassment issues in the workplace, and ethics training, among others. In addition, she brings sharp business acumen having for several years managed a $45 million annual budget at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and at the Inspector General Office where she had jurisdiction over more than 170,000 employees statewide.”

Hickey was appointed Executive Inspector General for the Agencies of the Illinois Governor by Governor Bruce Rauner in 2015 and also served as chair of the Illinois Health Care Fraud Elimination Task Force. Before becoming Executive Inspector General in 2015, she was the Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois for more than five years. Prior to that, she spent five years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division, Financial Crimes, and Special Prosecution Section in the Northern District of Illinois.

Hickey enjoyed widespread support and earned accolades in her role as Illinois Executive Inspector General, and was one of the final candidates for the most recent U.S. Attorney vacancy in Chicago. As noted in a Chicago Tribune editorial about Hickey’s candidacy: “She has a superb resume and reputation; if someone ever has uttered a negative word about her professionalism or incorruptibility, we haven’t heard it.”

“Maggie has a great breadth of experience in government investigations and white collar cases, including in the areas of health care, mortgage, and bankruptcy fraud,” said Schiff Hardin’s Litigation Practice Group Co-Leader Antony S. Burt. “Having tried many cases to verdict and successfully argued appeals in federal court, Maggie’s experience provides an exceptional background for building out this key practice area.”

Before becoming Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division in the Northern District of Illinois, Hickey served as chief of staff and chief legal counsel to U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald. She began her career with the United States Senate as the Investigative Counsel for the Committee on Government Affairs. Before serving Senator Fitzgerald, she was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division for the Southern District of West Virginia.

“Schiff Hardin is an excellent firm with a great reputation known for its independence and collegiality,” said Hickey. “The opportunity to continue in a leadership role was important to me, and I am eager to use my experience to help the firm’s clients and grow the white collar and investigations practice.”

In addition to leading Schiff Hardin’s White Collar Defense and Government Investigations Practice, Hickey will remain active in several community service and pro bono legal initiatives. She currently serves as chair of the board of directors of the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago. She is also a Circle Member of the Oak Park Infant Welfare Society, a former board member of the Association of Inspectors General, and a former board member of the Mikva Challenge Foundation.

Schiff Hardin has more than 150 litigators who have managed and tried cases before numerous federal and state jurisdictions in the nation. Its White Collar Defense and Government Investigations Practice Group is comprised of trial lawyers, including former federal prosecutors and regulatory officials.