Katten Litigator Tapped for Key Role in Ongoing UAW Oversight

(CHICAGO) Katten announced today that its Chicago managing partner Gil Soffer will serve as adjudications officer for the United Auto Workers (UAW) union to evaluate claims of misconduct after 15 people, including two former presidents, were convicted of misusing union funds among other misbehavior.

"Gil continues to draw the admiring attention of authorities needing his exemplary understanding of government investigations and enforcement actions and his outstanding leadership," said Katten Chairman Roger P. Furey. "We are proud but not at all surprised that yet again he has been chosen for this kind of high-profile work."

In 2017, Soffer was appointed corporate compliance monitor for a major international pharmaceutical company in one of the largest settlements ever under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He also has been named counsel to public company boards or their special committees to investigate shareholder allegations of misconduct.    

As UAW adjudications officer, Soffer will assess allegations of misconduct identified by the court-appointed UAW monitor and impose discipline if appropriate, which could include expulsion from the Detroit-based union that boasts nearly 1 million members nationally.

The details of Soffer's role are spelled out in the consent decree the UAW reached with the federal government following a multi-year Department of Justice (DOJ) corruption probe that found, among other things, high-level officials funding golf junkets and personal vacations with union funds.

Co-chair of Katten's national Litigation practice, Soffer is a former federal prosecutor and was a senior official at the DOJ, where he was the principal drafter of its Corporate Monitor Principles and Corporate Charging Principles. As an experienced white-collar defense lawyer, he devotes his practice largely to helping clients navigate through government investigations and enforcement actions.