Ted Banks has been repeatedly recognized over his long career one of the nation’s premier compliance and antitrust lawyers. After a long career at Kraft Foods, ultimately serving as both Chief-Counsel – Global Compliance and as Associate General Counsel (with responsibility for antitrust, general litigation, corporate transactions, sales, legal computer applications and public policy coordination), Ted co-founded Scharf Banks Marmor LLC.
Ted concentrates his practice on corporate compliance, antitrust, corporate transactions, and enterprise level business counseling, particularly in industries with consumer-facing products. He is a recognized leader in the field of product distribution law, and is the author of a number of publications in the area, including the leading treatise on the subject, Distribution Law: Antitrust Principles and Practice (published by Wolters Kluwer). He is a frequent speaker and writer on corporate compliance programs and is the editor of the Corporate Legal Compliance Handbook (published by Wolters Kluwer).
Ted has negotiated more than 50 major corporate transactions, including a $19 billion acquisition and an $8 billion IPO. He has advised a 5,000-member corporate sales division on pricing, distribution, and marketing issues and has assisted many corporations, large and small, in developing corporate compliance programs, including formulation of risk assessment, policy creation and program development. In recognition of his considerable reputation and skill in the space, Ted has been appointed as a corporate compliance monitor by both the Federal Trade Commission and the Competition Bureau of Canada to oversee compliance programs of respondent companies. He has developed records management systems for global organizations, including the design of document management, electronic discovery and legal hold applications, and counseled clients on a wide variety of cutting edge corporate compliance issues.
Ted has been recognized as an Illinois "Super Lawyer" in the field of corporate governance and compliance, is a "Leading Lawyer" in Antitrust and Publicly Held Corporation Law, and is "AV Preeminent" peer review rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Ted is an adjunct professor of law at Loyola University Law School, teaching corporate compliance. He was recognized by the National Law Journal as a "Compliance Trailblazer and Pioneer," and was awarded the Alumni Masters Award from the University of Denver.
Ted has been a leader in bar and community organizations. He founded and served as first chair of the North Shore Compliance Officers' Roundtable, and is a member of the steering committee of the Chicago Regional Business Ethics Network. He is pro bono General Counsel of Keep Chicago Beautiful and is on the Board of Directors of the Jewish National Fund-USA. He previously served as a board member of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. Ted is also an active member of the American Bar Association and the Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics.
Ted received a B.A. from Beloit College in 1972. He graduated from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 1975, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Denver Journal of International Law & Policy.
