News

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1 Dec 2008

General Counsel of largest privately held bank joins DLA Piper

James I. Kaplan to Chair Firm’s Midwest Banking Practice; Will Join Former LaSalle Bank Chairman Norman Bobins to Continue Expansion of Banking and Financial Services Practice

Press Release

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(Chicago) – DLA Piper announced today that James I. Kaplan has joined its Chicago office as chair of the firm’s Midwest Banking practice and partner in the Corporate and Finance practice. He joins the firm from Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., the country’s oldest and largest privately held bank, where he served as its first general counsel.

As part of DLA Piper’s strategic alliance with bank industry veteran Norman Bobins, former LaSalle Bank chairman and current non-executive chairman of The PrivateBank, Kaplan will work together with Bobins to expand the firm’s relationships with banks and financial services firms in the Midwest and nationally.

“Jim is nationally recognized in the financial services industry and has a vast network of relationships with some of the largest Midwest- and US-based financial institutions,” explained Bobins. “Based on the critical role that banks will play in the recovery of the economy, Jim and I see a tremendous opportunity for the firm to expand its Banking practice.”

“We are excited to welcome another one of the financial services industry’s leading executives to the firm in Chicago,” said William Rudnick, managing partner of DLA Piper’s Chicago office. “We also look forward to the significant amount of in-house experience that Jim brings to the firm.”

Kaplan focuses on handling complex regulatory, compliance, securities, and merger and acquisition matters for financial institutions of all sizes. As the first general counsel at Brown Brothers Harriman, he created and managed the firm’s legal department and compliance functions while advising on the firm’s M&A matters, and helping expand its M&A advisory and private equity / mezzanine fund services.

Kaplan previously served as associate general counsel of Northern Trust Corporation and The Northern Trust Company, as well as general counsel of Cole Taylor Financial Group and Cole Taylor Bank. He received a J.D. from the University of Chicago and an A.B., magna cum laude, from Harvard College.