Ruben Castillo, the former chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, will join Akerman as an equity partner in Chicago once Castillo retires from the federal bench at the end of the month.

The Florida-based law firm announced that Castillo will help train external lawyers and their clients in oral argument by leading its internal moot court panels—formally known as Akerman Bench. In addition to having served on the federal bench since 1994, Castillo has taught trial advocacy at Northwestern University School of Law for more than 20 years.

"We are excited about Judge Castillo's experience and what he will add to what I thought was an already impressive roster of former judges," said Lawrence Rochefort, the West Palm Beach, Florida-based chair of Akerman's litigation practice group.

Castillo will also "focus his practice on corporate investigations, white-collar criminal defense, private arbitration and mediation work for litigants" as a first-chair litigator, Akerman announced in a press release. The firm noted Castillo was a first-chair litigator in private practice and worked in the special criminal prosecutions division in the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago.

Rochefort indicated that a key reason why Castillo joined the firm was that he had previously worked with some of the attorneys in Akerman's Chicago office, while others had appeared before him in court. Rochefort declined to say who those attorneys were.

Akerman opened its Chicago office in 2014 with a staff of eight attorneys. Since then, the office has ballooned to 55 attorneys, and the Chicago-based partner who oversaw the office's growth, Scott Meyers, was promoted to chairman and CEO last month—becoming the firm's first leader outside Florida.

Rochefort said the firm is "really, really proud" of its office in Chicago, adding that the Windy City was a "target market for us for a long time."

"Judge Castillo was certainly one of the bigger names that we've brought to the [Chicago] office in recent memory," Rochefort said.

Apart from his upcoming work on Akerman Bench and as a first-chair litigator, Castillo will also be involved in the firm's efforts to improve the diversity of its attorneys, Rochefort said.

Castillo was the first Latino federal judge in Illinois; in 2013, he became the first Latino chief judge of the state's northern district. From 1999 to 2010, Castillo was the vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

Although Castillo will be based in Chicago, he will travel to the firm's other offices, Rochefort said.

Castillo's tenure on the federal bench will end Sept. 30.

Note: This story has been updated to clarify that Akerman Bench is a service for external lawyers and clients. 

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