Professional Background.  Mr. Kempf spent 35 years with Kirkland & Ellis, where he was lead trial and appellate counsel in many of the firm’s most significant cases.  While at Kirkland, Mr. Kempf also served for nearly two decades on the firm’s management committee.  He handled a wide variety of cases, including commercial, intellectual property, securities, antitrust, employment, bankruptcy and other disputes.  Mr. Kempf also had an active counseling practice, particularly in advising on corporate governance issues and merger, acquisition and other transactional matters.

Mr. Kempf also spent six years as Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, Secretary and member of the Management Committee at Morgan Stanley, retiring in 2005.  The firm’s Law Division oversaw the legal, compliance, government relations, community affairs and internal audit functions (over 1000 employees).

 Currently, Mr. Kempf is on the AAA Commercial Dispute Resolution neutrals roster and CPR Roster of Distinguished Neutrals (General Counsel Panel and Illinois Regional Panel).  In addition, he is Senior Advisor both at Gleacher Partners, a leading independent investment bank and at Blaqwell, Inc., independent consultants to the legal industry, and an Adjunct Professor of Law.  In 2007, Mr. Kempf completed three years service as a Commissioner on the Antitrust Modernization Commission.  He also spent three years as an officer in the United States Marine Corps.

 ADR Training.  Mr. Kempf participates actively in ADR educational programs.  He has attended the AAA Arbitration of Intellectual Property and Licensing Disputes program, ICDR Forum on International Arbitration, CPR Annual Meetings, CPR Mediation Training,   CDS Advanced Mediation program,    AAA/ICC/ICSID   Joint Colloquium on

International Arbitration, AAA  Arbitrator I  workshop,  ICDR International Commercial Arbitration/Mediation Conference, CPR-CIArb Joint Arbitrator Training and Harvard Program on Negotiation.

Professional Activities.  Mr. Kempf is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.  He has been listed in Who’s Who in America, The Best Lawyers in America, The World’s Leading Litigation Lawyers and The World’s Leading Competition Lawyers.  Mr. Kempf is a member of the Chicago (Past President) and New York (Past President) Inns of Court and the Seventh Circuit Bar Association (Past President).  He has served as a Trustee (and Vice President) of the American Inns of Court and on the Visiting Committee of the Harvard Law School.  From 1988-1996, Mr. Kempf was a member of the board of directors of Safety National Insurance Company.

 Civic Activities.  Mr. Kempf has served as a Trustee of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York City Opera and Metropolitan Family Services of Chicago (Past Chairman).  He is a Sustaining Fellow of the Art Institute of Chicago and member of the Economic Club of Chicago.

 Education.  Villanova University, AB (1959); Harvard Law School, LLB (1965); University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, MBA (1989).

 Publications and Speeches. .  Mr. Kempf has written, spoken and testified on a wide variety of legal subjects, including commercial law, intellectual property, litigation, tax, competition, securities, corporate governance, employment and other matters..

 References.  Mr. Kempf will be pleased to provide references upon request.

 Fees and Expenses.  Mr. Kempf charges $500 per hour for arbitration, mediation, conciliation, mini-trial, conference and study time, plus reasonable expenses.  He also charges for half the time he has reserved when a proceeding is cancelled less than 21 days prior to its scheduled date.  Mr. Kempf is willing to enter into alternative arrangements such as flat fees and result-based fees in appropriate matters.

American Arbitration Association Profile

ADR Programs Attended

CPR Profile