Brian S. Wallach

Brian Wallach represents corporations and individuals in federal and state criminal investigations and trials. He also has advised clients on Securities and Exchange Commission, civil regulatory and internal investigations, as well as complex civil litigation involving class actions and multidistrict litigation.

Mr. Wallach is the co-founder of I AM ALS, a foundation that provides critical support and resources to those living with ALS, as well as their caregivers and families, and engages with policymakers to help fund research. In recognition of his work with I AM ALS, Mr. Wallach received the Attorney of the Year: Highly Commended honor from The American Lawyer in 2023 and the Abner J. Mikva Award from the American Constitution Society’s Chicago chapter, which recognizes lawyers who have made extraordinary contributions to progressive legal causes.

From August 2014 to May 2018, Mr. Wallach was an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois. While in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he was a member of the Violent Crimes Section, with a focus on complex racketeering cases. In his four years as a federal prosecutor, Mr. Wallach tried numerous cases and handled a wide range of high-profile investigations, including the prosecution of 34 leaders of a violent street gang for violating federal racketeering statutes, as well as the prosecution of over a dozen doctors and hospital executives as part of one of the largest anti-kickback health care prosecutions in the Northern District of Illinois. Mr. Wallach also led the prosecution of a ring of individuals who attempted to steal millions of dollars through an elaborate bank and wire fraud scheme, two brothers connected to the Mexican cartels who engaged in a violent shootout with law enforcement and multiple individuals involved in trafficking of firearms and their use as part of violent crimes. He also argued two cases before the Seventh Circuit and has briefed numerous others.

Mr. Wallach received a number of awards and commendations for his work at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including an Award of Excellence from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and Certificates of Appreciation from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S Secret Service for his contributions to law enforcement.

Prior to his tenure as an assistant U.S. attorney, Mr. Wallach served as an associate at Skadden. During that time, he represented, among other clients, an individual facing parallel criminal and civil charges in the Southern District of New York, a corporation’s board of directors in an internal investigation of potential wrongdoing by the company’s chief executive officer and a former senior foreign government official whose testimony was sought as part of ongoing alien tort claims litigation. In addition, he authored an amicus brief in support of a petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court in Boyd v. Allen.

From July 2011 to April 2013, Mr. Wallach served as senior vetting counsel at the White House. In this capacity, he was responsible for overseeing the vetting process for nearly all Senate-confirmed executive branch appointees and all presidential appointments as well as working on congressional oversight investigations as part of the White House Counsel’s Office.