Mark Filip

Filip political donations exclusively Republican per LittleSis: George W Bush 1999-2003, RNC 2012, NRSC 2002, NRCC 2002, IL Republican Party 2000-2002, 2002 Presidents Dinner Committee, Romney 2011-12, Kirk R-IL 2009-11, Dold R-IL 2010-12, Allen R-VA 2011, Freedom First PAC 2009, Skadden PAC 2003. No Democratic donations found. No FEC records under Kirkland Ellis employer. LittleSis entity 128114 maps 12 donation relationships.

Filip-Benczkowski revolving door tandem: Brian Benczkowski served as Filip's chief of staff in the Office of the Deputy AG (2008). Together they co-authored the Filip Memorandum establishing DPA framework. Benczkowski then followed Filip to K&E (joined 2010) where they served as co-counsel on at least three major corporate criminal cases: BP Deepwater Horizon, Volkswagen Dieselgate, and Abbott Laboratories misbranding. In 2018, Benczkowski returned to DOJ as AAG Criminal Division — the division that oversees DPAs — while Filip continued defending Boeing at K&E. Benczkowski received an ethics waiver to participate in Goldman Sachs 1MDB case despite Filip representing Goldman at K&E. Benczkowski then returned to K&E again in September 2020.

Filip Memorandum (Aug 28, 2008): As DAG, Filip issued binding revision to 'Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations' replacing the McNulty Memo. Key changes: (1) Cooperation credit no longer requires waiver of attorney-client privilege — now focuses on 'disclosure of relevant facts'; (2) Explicitly codified DPAs/NPAs as legitimate 'third option' between indictment and declination; (3) Prohibited government requests for non-factual privileged materials; (4) Set 'Filip Factors' for evaluating corporate cooperation. The memo was drafted with chief of staff Brian Benczkowski. Filip then returned to K&E and became the most prolific user of the DPA framework he created, defending Boeing (.5B DPA), BP (.5B criminal), and VW (.3B plea). The framework he authored as regulator became the tool he wielded as defense counsel.

Mark Filip career trajectory: federal judge NDIL (2004-2008), Deputy Attorney General of the United States (2008-2009), briefly Acting AG (Jan 20-Feb 3, 2009). Joined K&E May 2009. Authored the 'Filip Memorandum' (Aug 28, 2008) while Deputy AG — DOJ's guidebook for deferred prosecution agreements. Then as K&E partner, used the very DPA framework he created to represent Boeing, BP, and VW. Led BP Deepwater Horizon criminal defense ($4B criminal settlement, largest in US history at the time). Led Boeing 737 MAX DPA ($2.5B). Represented VW in emissions scandal ($2.8B guilty plea). The architect of the DPA system became its most prolific defense practitioner.

Goldman Sachs 1MDB defense: Filip was retained by Goldman Sachs as lead criminal defense counsel (K&E) to argue Goldman should not be prosecuted for its role in the 1MDB scandal (B raised, .5B allegedly misappropriated, Goldman earned M+ in fees). Critical conflict: AG William Barr (K&E Of Counsel 2017-2018, received .19M salary + K bonus) and AAG Criminal Division Brian Benczkowski (K&E partner 2010-2018, received .5K) both oversaw the case while Filip — their former K&E colleague and former DOJ boss — represented Goldman. Both received ethics waivers. Goldman ultimately paid .9B but escaped guilty plea — a favorable outcome considering the fraud's scale. This represents the K&E institutional capture pattern at its most complete: the firm's partners wrote the rules (Filip Memo), staffed the enforcers (Barr, Benczkowski, Rosen), and defended the targets (Filip at K&E) simultaneously.

VW vs Boeing monitor comparison reveals KE strategy: VW Dieselgate (2017) got guilty plea WITH independent monitor; Boeing 737 MAX (2021) got DPA with NO monitor, NO guilty plea, only 243.6M criminal fine (low end of guidelines) despite 346 deaths. Same defense firm (KE), same lead counsel (Filip), same co-counsel (Benczkowski on VW, returned to DOJ for Boeing era). Key difference: by 2021, AG Barr (KE Of Counsel), DAG Rosen (KE 29-year partner), and AAG Benczkowski (KE partner) had all recently occupied or still held the DOJ positions overseeing the Boeing case. Boeing DPA was later found breached by DOJ (2024), leading to new prosecution. Harvard Law analysis called it 'one of the worst deferred prosecution agreements' noting judge and venue were chosen to favor Boeing.

PG&E Corporate Monitor: Filip was appointed by Judge Thelton E. Henderson (Jan 26, 2017) as Compliance and Ethics Monitor of PG&E following its five felony convictions for willful violations of the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act and corrupt obstruction of the investigation of the 2010 San Bruno gas explosion (8 dead). Filip served as monitor for five years until PG&E's probation ended Jan 2022. During monitoring, Filip raised alarms about wildfire prevention: 'We doubt anyone would seriously contend PG&E's performance has been adequate, or that substantial improvement is not still imperative.' This role — appointed by DOJ he previously ran — demonstrates the bidirectional nature of Filip's government ties: he defends corporations against DOJ AND monitors corporations for DOJ, depending on the engagement.

Epstein NPA: Defense counsel appealed directly to DAG Filip's office. Deposition transcript (EFTA00009329) confirms: 'The DAG, Deputy Attorney General Mark Filip, and this is -- you certainly recall that there was an appeal, if you will, a small appeal to the DAG's office -- by defense counsel, and submitted a fairly substantial accounting of what had...' Separately, defense document EFTA02612560 (sent by Epstein to Ruemmler Dec 9, 2018) claims the NPA was 'reviewed by three levels of senior officials at the Department of Justice in Washington: first by the heads of CEOS (Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section), then by the Criminal Division, and finally by the Deputy Attorney General, Mark Filip, who, with the exception of the Attorney General himself, was the highest ranking official at the Department.' Filip was DAG from March 10, 2008; Epstein pled guilty June 30, 2008. The NPA was signed Sept 24, 2007 — before Filip's confirmation — but Filip's office reviewed it during execution phase.

Filip complete client portfolio at KE (post-DOJ): Boeing 737 MAX DPA 2.5B (signed DPA Jan 2021), BP Deepwater Horizon 4.5B criminal (2012-2013), Volkswagen Dieselgate 4.3B plea (2017, with Benczkowski), Goldman Sachs 1MDB defense (escaped guilty plea), General Motors ignition switch defense, JP Morgan Chase market manipulation/spoofing defense, Allergan opioid class action/MDL defense, Abbott Laboratories misbranding (with Benczkowski), PGE corporate monitor 2017-2022 (5 felony convictions). Also proposed as Live Nation/Ticketmaster compliance monitor by DOJ (Feb 2020) and represented Valeant Pharmaceuticals and Hospira per SEC EDGAR filings. Combined known criminal penalties in cases Filip defended: over 14B dollars. He has appeared before DOJ SEC FTC EPA DoD DHS Congress Federal Reserve NY DFS state AGs and foreign regulators.

Filip as KE institutional capture keystone: Filip represents the single most concentrated revolving door in modern DOJ history. As DAG (2008-2009) he: (1) authored the Filip Memo codifying DPAs as prosecution framework; (2) had oversight during Epstein NPA execution period; (3) hired Benczkowski as chief of staff. He then returned to KE and: (4) became highest-grossing corporate criminal defense lawyer in US; (5) defended 14B+ in corporate criminal cases using his own framework; (6) served as monitor appointed by the DOJ he previously ran; (7) was proposed as Ticketmaster monitor by DOJ while actively defending Boeing; (8) represented Goldman Sachs while former KE colleagues Barr and Benczkowski ran DOJ. LittleSis entity 128114 maps 14 relationships including campaign contributions and KE/DOJ positions. He sits on KE Executive Committee, meaning he influences firm strategy, not just individual cases.

Mark Robert Filip: Born June 1 1966 Chicago. Republican. Education: UIUC BA summa 1988, Oxford BA First Class 1990 Marshall Scholar, Harvard Law JD magna 1992 Law Review. Clerked for Justice Scalia SCOTUS 1993-94 and Judge Williams DC Cir 1992-93. Career: KE associate 1994-95, AUSA Chicago 1995-99, Skadden partner 1999-2004, NDIL judge 2004-2008 confirmed 96-0, DAG/Acting AG 2008-2009 confirmed unanimously, KE partner May 2009-present. KE Executive Committee. Fellow American College of Trial Lawyers. Taught U Chicago Law 2000-2008. IL bar 1995 DC bar 2010.