John F. Hartmann

John Hartmann is a partner in Kirkland & Ellis LLP’s litigation practice group, where he focuses on shareholder, professional liability and business litigation matters, as well as regulatory enforcement proceedings and corporate internal investigations.

John has represented leading corporations, professional services firms, private investment firms, as well as their directors, officers and partners, in numerous securities class actions, shareholder derivative suits, disputes over corporate transactions, and breach-of-contract actions in federal and state trial and appellate courts throughout the United States. He has also represented clients in dozens of SEC and other regulatory enforcement investigations and proceedings and has regularly advised corporations, boards, and board committees regarding internal investigations and corporate governance matters. John has tried many cases and argued numerous appeals in both state and federal courts.

John has been recognized by The Legal 500 U.S. for Securities: Shareholder Litigation, Securities Litigation: Defense and Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense; by Best Lawyers for Securities, Regulatory Enforcement, Commercial and Bet-The-Company Litigation; and by Who’s Who Legal: Litigation. He was named to the "Lawyer of the Year" list by Best Lawyers for Litigation — Regulatory Enforcement (SEC, Telecom, Energy) in Chicago. He has also received an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell.

Before joining Kirkland, John was an Assistant United States Attorney in Chicago and a law clerk to the Honorable William J. Bauer of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. John graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Minnesota Law Review.