Jack Levin (disguised as a professional corporation) is a senior partner in the international law firm of Kirkland & Ellis LLP specializing in mergers, acquisitions, buyouts, fund formations, and other complex business transactions, although it is widely rumored that Jack's professional corporation has done more of the work than has Jack.
In person, Jack has also long taught a course on private equity/venture capital at both Harvard and University of Chicago Law Schools, indoctrinating thousands of young minds in the devious art of combining complex business, legal, tax, and accounting concepts.
In 1958 Jack graduated summa cum laude from Northwestern University's School of Business, winning the Illinois Gold Medal on the CPA examination, and then in 1961 Jack graduated, summa cum laude, ranking first in his class of 500 from Harvard Law School, serving as Recent Case Editor of the Harvard Law Review. Jack was aided in these accomplishments by a complete lack of distracting athletic prowess.
After graduation Jack served as law clerk to Chief Judge J. Edward Lumbard of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York and later as Assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States for tax matters under Archibald Cox and Thurgood Marshall in Washington, D.C. where he argued numerous cases to the U.S. Supreme Court and various Federal Courts of Appeals, while slowly developing the modest tennis game in which he still takes immodest pride.
Jack is co-author, along with Donald E. Rocap, of an exciting 1,450 page treatise, Structuring Venture Capital, Private Equity, and Entrepreneurial Transactions, which has been updated and republished annually since 1994. Jack is also co-author, along with the late Prof. Martin D. Ginsburg and Donald E. Rocap, of a smashing 5-volume 5,000 page treatise, Mergers, Acquisitions, and Buyouts, which has been updated and republished semi-annually since 1989, although Prof. Ginsburg falsely claimed sole credit for the many creative and few well written portions.
Jack is a frequent speaker at major tax institutes, mainly in warm climates, and numerous M&A/private equity/venture capital conferences, principally at ski resorts, and has authored more than 60 inspiring articles and book chapters on a variety of captivating tax, M&A, and private equity topics, although to the best of anyone's knowledge no one has ever read any of them.
In May 2000 the American Jewish Committee bestowed on Jack the Learned Hand Award for contributions to the legal profession and the community. Although disagreeing with AJC's selection, Jack's co-author Prof. Ginsburg nevertheless delivered a warm keynote address entitled A Salute to Imperfection, while Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Ginsburg family's better part, presented the award.
In December 2002 the Illinois Venture Capital Association gave Jack a lifetime achievement award for service to the private equity/venture capital industry, which was presented by Senator (now President) Barack Obama, an honor Jack's co-author Prof. Ginsburg questioned, only in small part because not invited to speak at the awards dinner.
In May 2005 Chambers, running low on more distinguished attorneys, bestowed on Mr. Levin its global attorney lifetime achievement award, which was presented by U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair's spouse at a black tie dinner in London attended by 800 cheering attorneys and their guests.
In November 2005 the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center honored Mr. Levin with its Humanitarian of the Year award at a dinner attended by 1,200 paying guests. Frugally unwilling to become a paying guest, Professor Ginsburg boycotted the dinner but was reported to have remarked with surprise on the apparent dearth of more qualified Illinois humanitarians.
In March 2011 the Association for Corporate Growth Chicago presented a lifetime achievement award to Mr. Levin for his role (much overstated during the evening's speeches) in helping to develop the legal and tax framework for the private equity/venture capital industry.
Mr. Levin is a member of the Illinois State Treasurer's Advisory Board on Technology Investing (2004-present), the Harvard Law School Leadership Council of Chicago, the American College of Tax Counsel, the American Jewish Committee's National Board of Governors as well as president of AJC's Chicago Chapter, and the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee's Illinois State Council Executive Board.
Mr. Levin has testified before Congress on tax legislation, most recently in 9/07 to the House Ways & Means Committee on taxation of private equity funds.
Over past times Mr. Levin has also served as Advisor (on business and equity taxation) to Pres. Bush's 2005 Tax Reform Panel, a member of the Harvard Board of Overseers Committee for Visiting the Harvard Law School, Chair of the ABA Subcommittee on Corporate Distributions, Chair of the Chicago Federal Tax Forum, Chair or Co-Chair of Harvard Law School Fund Raising Drives in 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, and 2011, Mid-West co-chair of Harvard Law School's 2004-08 Capital Campaign, a member of Little Brown and Company's and CCH's Tax Advisory Boards, a member of the Tax Advisory Group to the American Law Institute's Federal Income Tax Project on the Revision of the Corporate Tax Laws, an Executive Committee member of the Chicago Bar Association's Taxation Committee, Chair of the Lawyers Division of the Chicago Jewish United Fund, president of the Birchwood Club, board member of the Mid-America Club, and, more importantly, for 13 years as Parliamentarian of the Winnetka Town Meeting (Winnetka, Illinois, being for the very few who do not know, the nation's model for honest and efficient government).