Bruce Baker

 

Bruce Baker - Professional Summary:   

 

After graduating with a J.D. from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Bruce Baker rose through the professional ranks of public and private law in Illinois. Earning his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois, Bruce Baker currently serves as Senior Vice Present and General Counsel of the Illinois Bankers Association.

Hired straight out of law school, Bruce Baker worked in the Antitrust Division of the Illinois Attorney General's Office. Operating as an Assistant Attorney General, Bruce Baker maintained responsibility over civil trial and appellate litigation. Bruce Baker specialized in cases involving price-fixing, bid-rigging, tying arrangements, and unreasonable restraints of trade. Proving himself a more than competent attorney with a bright future, Bruce Baker successfully argued and won two Illinois Supreme Court decisions and obtained over $5 million in class action settlements during his 4-year tenure with the office.

From 1983 to 1986, Mass, Miller and Josephson, Ltd., employed Bruce Baker as an associate lawyer. With the Chicago-based firm, Bruce Baker authored Illinois' first interstate banking law, as well as numerous amendments to the state's fiscal regulations. Additionally, Bruce Baker handled operational, regulatory, and legislative matters for the Illinois Bankers Association and various financial institutions. From 1986 to 1991, Bruce Baker represented Sears, Roebuck and Co.'s money-lending arms in state regulatory and legislative banking matters. In addition, Bruce Baker helped develop new products for Discover Card and Greenwood Trust Company, two of Sears, Roebuck and Co.'s financial entities.

As General Counsel for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Banking, Bruce Baker managed eight attorneys, three legal secretaries, and a legislative liaison at his departmental office in Chicago. During his three years with the regulatory body, Bruce Baker oversaw and mitigated the closures of numerous monetary institutions, both with and without the assistance of the FDIC.

In 1994, Bruce Baker joined Schiff Hardin & Waite, where he represented many high-profile clients, including First Chicago Bank, Bank One, Northern Trust Company, Harris Bank, and other institutions. Until he left the firm as a partner in 1999, Bruce Banker advised bank trust departments throughout the country in regards to mergers, acquisitions, and consolidations. Beginning in 1999, Bruce Baker has formulated the Illinois Bankers Association's policies and positions on state and federal legislative and regulatory issues. Bruce Baker cultivates an extensive expertise in national and state bank regulations, trust and fiduciary laws, payment systems, residential mortgage laws, and other areas of the banking industry. In his current position, Bruce Baker acts as a spokesperson and intermediary to senior executives at many of Illinois' major financial corporations.

Bruce Baker - Professional Experience:   

 

Illinois Bankers Association
Executive Vice President & General Counsel
Banking
Chicago, IL
1999 - Present

 

Bruce Baker - Education:  

 

Washington University School of Law
Juris Doctor
Law
St. Louis, MO
1976 - 1979

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